alany611

Closing the loop on this so others may benefit from the info.

Steps I tried to fix myself:
-Different browsers (Chrome and Edge)
-Disabled adblockers (Ublock Origin)
-Cleared all cookies on UA (I use the EditThisCookie extension on Chrome)
-Was signed in to my UA account at all times
-United was the only carrier
-Booking was for round-trip domestic flight that was non-stop each way

Calling UA was also a nightmare. First person transferred me to Chase because they heard "Travel Bank." Chase transferred me back. The line disconnected at some point and I had to call UA again. Got transferred again. Transferred yet again. Finally the last person was able to help me, however by this time the total price increased $100. Went through some troubleshooting steps on the phone. They tried to have me select "pay at airport" but there was a message under "Other Forms of Payment" that said something along the lines of "Alipay and Pay at Airport are not options due to your current selections."

Finally this UA representative was kind enough to book the flight for me using my Travel Bank balance, waive the phone booking fees ($25 per ticket, $50 total?) and assign seats for our first flight that would have cost $54 as this is a basic economy fare, although I've been refreshing my trip details page and it still does not show that I have been assigned seats so I may need to call back if I want to try and get those seats assigned for free..

all in all I would not bother with the travel bank again if it were not for the Amex airline fee credits. what a nightmare.