OP here. I called AA and they processed the cancellation and refund. Since the reservation I held still shows as valid in the AA system, the agent had to look up the flight to see it was cancelled.

I was offered to fly on another airline, declined that. I was offered 120% of the ticket value, and politely declined that. I asked for a refund and it was processed. My reservation still says I have the full value of the ticket. But the refund site states a refund is pending review - so now it's just a wait for processing.