My flight time has changed enough that I can get a refund or according to UA, do a "one-time free change" for my flight.

I thought as stated in the OP's announcement that :

"The new change fee policy applies to all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S. 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and customers will not be limited in the number of times they adjust their flights.

Did I miss a change in the rules or is UA back tracking on "change fees are gone for good"