Thanks all for the replies and perspectives.
To provide the epilogue, I did get the 12,500 UA miles refund and booked a $540 first class ticket on Delta to get home the next morning. Lowest Y ticket on OA was $400 (also DL) so I sprung for the DL P fare.
Originally Posted by
yyz_atc_qq
why didn't you do OLCI? and why were you cutting it so close?
Was desperately trying OCLI 5 or 6 times on the way to the airport to get in before the cutoff, but AC app and website kept throwing out errors.
Cutting it close to save money taking the 747 bus rather than an Uber (ha! didn't work out that way...). Boarded bus at 6:05 and arrived to airport at 7:00 for 8:00 flight, just underestimated how long the bus would take.
Originally Posted by kacee
Sounds like UA was willing to give you credit for your existing award ticket towards a new standard award (25,000 miles one way). I think that's the most you can reasonably expect from them in these circumstances as the non-operating carrier.
Originally Posted by emcampbe
Sorry to sound a bit harsh, but your expectation is off, and your first part of the first sentence above says it all. Yes, admitting fault is the best way to get an agent to help you out, but they still aren't required to do anything except for offering flights to purchase. My guess is the UA ticket/AC-operated thing contributed to some of your troubles. A trip to the UA counter at YUL may have yielded a better result, but maybe not. As they say - c'est la vie.
Totally understand that the airline is not required to do anything beyond offering me current market prices for re-booking, given it's my fault.
UA didn't really do anything for me by offering to 'credit' the 12,500 miles towards a new ticket; the saver ticket was already refundable since I am UA Platinum.
I have been offered free re-booking due to flat tire rule on UA operated / UA ticketed flights, so the lesson I'll be taking from this (as mentioned by
emcampbe) is that booking partner awards can open you up to risk of re-booking issues during IRROPs / flat tire situation.