Had the agent told me my ticket was not eligible because I was connecting to an international flight, I would have understood that (but wouldn't have liked it).

But she didn't.

What she said was that there was no inventory on any of the 14 flights for a same day change. It was only when I asked for a downgrade to economy that I was told she would have to reprice the ticket.

As far as restrictions on the ticket, good luck finding those spelled out readily before one buys a ticket. And I have yet to see one that says same-day changes are not permitted in a premium cabin.

For the airline protection advocates here, which pop up on just about every thread when someone raises a complaint, perhaps THEY should read what AA posts on its web site about eligibility for same day changes: https://www.aa.com/i18n/plan-travel/...day-travel.jsp

See anything on that page about excluding international connections? I don't.

What I do see is, "Offer is made at our discretion and subject to change or termination at any time."

Now I understand that agents don't know a lot of things and make things up as they go to get onto the next call, but there is a pretty fundamental difference between your ticket is not eligible and there are no same day change seats.

And, yes, she told me there were no supervisors working and that nothing could be done.

When AA has the option to exercise discretion, and availability is 0 for 14 when seats are for sale on every single flight today, that is flat out fraud.