Sometimes during a mis-connect I ask for something even more strange... my MCO-IAD-ORD was delayed at MCO... so I ask for MCO-LAX-ORD (red-eye) so I could get to my breakfast appointment in ORD. Got to breakfast on time and netted 4K extra EQM... it didn't hurt being upgraded on both legs too. Sometimes UA's system is just broken enough to give you perks, but not so broken as to hose you up.