Not sure if I conveyed the title correctly.

I purchased a ticket on a non US airline in February of this year. The ticket was for $927 for an 'H' fare. I was unable to take the trip so I had to cancel. The rules of the ticket were 1. upgrade to next highest fare, which would be a K fare and a price of $1250 (for the time I want to go now), or 2. Return for refund with $100 fee.

The thing is, I payed for it with an AMEX card. I closed this account a few months ago so I no longer have it. I called the airline today and asked them about that. They said if I returned the ticket, it could only be refunded to the Amex card with which I bought it.

I could still 'upgrade' it to the next highest fare, but that would cost me about $350-400 more, OR, they mentioned, I could get an MCO, which is basically I guess sort of 'airline money' which could only be used for that particular airline and to purchase services from them.

Has anybody ever heard of an MCO and used it like that? I am very hesitant about sending the ticket to the airline as I am not near one of their offices (they have an office in Los Angeles and San Francisco), so I am afraid they would try to credit my 'no longer used' Amex account.

Any words of wisdom here?