I will attempt to help out. First of all, it is OK to post on the B&G to ask for help, when on probation. You just want to avoid getting into any of the "discussions" there.
Did you look at all airlines or just AA?
you can book a non-refundable ticket which would be a lot cheaper, but it is risky if your trip changes.
do you have any money in your ticket bank? make sure you book at least 7 days out if you want to deviate and use ticket bank money
you can book a ticket now (refundable) and if the price goes down, they will re-book it at the lower price.
Commercial travel is really busy now with all the cancellations, but give them a call and see if they have time to give you some suggestions. That said it is better if you have the itinerary you want, and can book it online (CMS)
on the AA website, go to advanced search, then check "flexible fares". sometimes flexible (refundable) business/first is less than fully flexible coach. You can book it in first/business but you have to call commercial travel to do this, if you have a coach index. anything over index in this situation is payroll deduct (if you ticket in First but have a coach index) . The fares that we (UPS) pays is about 10% discount on what AA.com shows .
good luck and I hope this helped.