Originally Posted by
WineCountryUA
On non-refundable fares, there are no change fees and your fare credit is 100%. So also long as you plan to travel, the risk is low.
As for the issue you are seeing, it could be a fare combinability issue between the partner fare rules and UA fare rules. The specific fares available can be an issue.
Don't expect the earlier agent to call back. Worth asking the agent to call the fare desk to get a better answer.
What is the other carrier? All normal connections?
I have booked fully refundable fares with UA and LH with no problems for a trip I did eventually cancel.
One thing to try is book this a multiple city in the advance search or try Google Flights. Sometime those work better.
Yes, I agree that I don't risk losing money if I were to cancel. But if I don't have to cancel, I am willing to live with the refundable fare that I am seeing now (but not able to book). It has happened on occasion that the refundable fare I had booked in advance turned out to be cheaper than the non-refundable fare available at the last minute.
The other carriers are LH and LX (two different itineraries that will work for me, i.e. it's either UA+LH or UA+LX). Straightforward non-convoluted routing.
If the partner fare rules are not compatible with UA rules, the UA website should not display the option.
The problem with Google Flight type comparison sites is that you have to actually go to a site from where you can make the booking. Google Flights often shows totally BS fares which are not found when you go to the airline website. So I stopped bothering now. I either use an OTA or the airline website.