Wanted to bump this thread since I was wondering if anyone had any luck getting this method to work with PWM on a refundable ticket, then getting an e-cert to use on a flight that will earn miles.
I'm seriously considering a trip to Japan and I wanted to take advantage of the Tokyo Haneda promotion, plus use my SWUs to upgrade into BE. I already used my $200 ecert from Choice Benefits for the special BOS-LHR new route in BE.
I definitely have a good chunk of miles I wouldn't mind converting into ecertificates to knock down the cost of the trip.