I apologize for the vague title; I wasn't quite sure what to name it.

Anyways, I booked a ticket for CX in J class, however I am located in Oregon and the flight departs from SFO. I booked a separate itinerary on AS. According to the CSR AS has a baggage agreement with CX; my dilemma is that if I check it in at PDX I might not be able to get the priority baggage tags. Should I pick up my bags in SFO and recheck them in at the CX counter? Or would you recommend checking them all the way?