Originally Posted by oldtraintraveler

Update: I spoke to the Premier desk (was having trouble getting connected as I am in Manila) and the gentleman told me there was no issue just buying the new ticket and walking away from the 3rd leg. To quote him, "We can't force you to get on the plane...And the concurrent reservations WILL NOT cause any cancellations. Have a nice trip."

So I avoided any change fees, and instead of paying >$1100 for a formal change, or $492 for a "rebooking" fee plus cost of new flight, I just paid cost of new flight.

Thanks for all the thoughts and advice. Really appreciated.

Steve