I'm sorry you are disappointed. I guess it's a "lesson learned" situation here. You have to do your homework and look up mileage earnings before booking tickets. I would also point out that NW and KL flights always give you [at least] 100% miles, so you may want to look up those options first. PDX-AMS-OTP is a much better itinerary IMO (think stroopwafels!).

Intra-EU flights are a different animal. If you want cheap, definitely go for LCCs; there are so many in Europe that you're bound to find a cheap itinerary between pretty much any 2 cities. If you want miles, keep an open mind and also look up CSA and Air One (former Alitalia); they often have good deals.