Originally Posted by
USFlyerUS
Decline the trip credit. They would prefer you take the credit, but you're entitled to a refund if 4+ hours schedule change occurred. As to whether you're being "tricked", there is clearly some marketing here to push people towards credits. I can't fault AA for that as even Amazon tries to push you into taking a credit rather than a refund -- it's normal these days.
I will point out the difference. Amazon offers "Gift card or refund to original payment method". AA just says "accept or deny", which is more vague, especially since refund rules can be so incredibly convoluted.