I totally agree the flexibility has a higher cost upfront, same as hotels with refundability, but when buying flexible tickets or hotels, it is gambling, but definitely not a loophole. If you bought a refundable hotel at higher upfront cost or Latitude tickets, I believe 99% of people if not mentally illed , will refund the hotels or tickets, and rebook it again. But in theory, what's the difference between rebooking into a lower fare or a full refund? A full refund just means I need to refund the ticket and repurchase it at a lower price, take me two steps instead of one to get that lower price ticket.