I really wish AMEX would loosen up its travel credit because it is no longer competitive with other issuers. The fact that there have been multiple public threads for years about how to game the credit is silly.

Anyway, if you do get credited for something like a pet fee, and the fee is ultimately refunded, the risk is that AMEX may try to claw it back, but at least that puts you at net $0, which is less risky to me than trying stuff that may or may not work to trigger the fee and being stuck with it, even if it's something relatively usable like travel credit.

I don't really see anywhere in the terms of this benefit though that AMEX can claw back reimbursements of fees that were ultimately refunded for whatever reason.