I searched and searched, and even tried the "simple questions" thread but nobody was able to offer a (helpful) answer and then it just got buried among 12 new questions.

If I purchase a gift certificate from United, can I use that to pay for:

Close in award ticketing fees?
Award ticketing fees in general?
Taxes on award tickets (UA flight)?
Taxes on award tickets (*A flights)?

The UA site is unclear: http://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/prod...tificates.aspx

--"Not valid in conjunction with any other programs (such as MileagePlus® award travel)."
--"Certificates are only valid for air travel purchases, including ticket, taxes and surcharges."
--"Valid for use on flights operated by United Airlines and United Express® only."

To explain my confusion, the first bullet I cited from the site doesn't explain what "in conjunction with" means. You would think that a gift certificate purchased from UA.com is equal to cash that can be used on UA.com for any purchase, so here's the start of my confusion. Same with the 3rd bullet...

Then, bullet 2 seems to contradict bullet 1 in that if I'm purchasing an award ticket, that's an air travel purchase that will have taxes and surcharges, which seem to be allowed to be paid for with the gift certificate.