Ok, now this is in "very strange" category...!

This is a simple business transaction. There is no respect or anything else due to OP other than a license to board a given flight on a given day and be flown between two points in a manner consistent with the contract to which OP and AA agreed.

In this case, OP apparently chose to buy a discounted ticket which carries a penalty for changes. He got exactly what he asked for from AA and then came back and wanted to revise the deal.

AA's business model works quite well so don't worry that the sky is falling because people are running to WN where the change fee is disguised as an upfare.

When the price for the flight goes up to $500 before departure, will you be calling them out of respect, giving them your credit card number for the increase?

(bolding mine)

the customer is always right, except for when they are wrong.

Here's a principle for you:

You bought a nonrefundable ticket with published rules that stated the ticket was nonrefundable. You committed to that when you choose to make the purchase. It's not crap - it's the conditions of purchase. On principle you have no ground to stand on.

In other words, you agreed to the rules when you purchased. Why should AA not follow those rules?

Is this "prison respect" or normal business "respect"? They are two different things. The former is totally illogical and the latter is transparent to the customer.

In other words, if you want the ability to re-fare downwards (and not upwards), then fly Southwest. If AA is charging a lower fare than Southwest, which happens often, then fly AA and don't expect them to act like Southwest. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

And by either definition, I don't think the word respect means what the OP thinks it means.

Only? What about AS?

There is no vendor anywhere that doesn't put some sort of cap on how long they will let you benefit from a post-purchase price drop. Amazon doesn't do it at all, except for TVs... do you not buy from Amazon because they don't respect you? I doubt your grocery store gives you money back if they put food items on sale after you bought them.

It has nothing to do with respect. Once you have an agreement, you should expect both parties have found that transaction to be fair, and adhere to it.

I acquired some in-demand event tickets, and quickly found I botched my calendar and couldn't attend the event. I sold half of them. Ridiculous demand subsequently spiked the going rate by 30%, even within the 24 hours before I shipped them. I did not cancel the sale, nor ask the buyer to pay me more. I sold the other half of the tickets at the peak of the demand surge. The market rate dropped 45% within the next 24 hours, before I had even shipped those, as more sellers decided to get in on the action. The buyer did not ask for a price adjustment, nor would I have entertained such a request. Neither I nor the buyers knew where or when the market would peak, nor where it would bottom out. We locked in at a mutually agreeable price, each agreeing to forfeit the opportunity to strike a more lucrative deal in the future, in exchange for being protected against the market turning against us in the future. You win some, you lose some.

Completing a sale means AA foregoes the possibility of charging you a higher price in the future, and you forego the possibility of being able to pay a lower price in the future.

Oh AS has its GARR as well ^

Respect does not equal something you did not pay for. Is shoplifting respect?

Maybe I'm missing something but what does this mean? What does checked luggage have to do with a refund?? :confused:

I think OP felt if AA refused to provide a refund, then perhaps they would offer certain add-on services (like checked bags) for free instead of charging for them. An indirect way of getting a partial refund, in OP's eyes.

On every itn I've booked AA has offered holds: 1 day (free) and up to 7 days ( $15.99); for OP the 7 day hold would have been good insurance.
Hypothetical: Someone buys itn with 7 day hold and notices a price drop on day 9 should they contact AA to get the NEW price difference refunded?:rolleyes:

During the 24 hour colling off period I noticed that I could fly the Air France nonstop back from CDG to SFO on a Delta ticket for $150 less and get in 2 hours earlier and avoid AMS on KLM and got a $150 voucher which I used without a problem.

If you were entitled to a refund, why did you only get a voucher?

You stated that you knew the policy before you called, so I assume that the policy is only supposed to apply to others then.