I have a full-fare (J) ticket issued by another carrier, but involving a CX flight. CX telling me that they have to charge HK$300 even if I want to change to an earlier flight on the same day -- fee applies whether confirmed in advance or even if standby for flight. Wow! Never heard that for a full-fare ticket. Anyway -- any suggestions for how to avoid the fee? I know that sometimes rules are different in different countries -- maybe I can call reservations in a different country (one in which that fee still doesn't apply?)

Any other ideas? On principle, it makes we want to just endorse it over to another carrier, but I'd rather fly CX!