The cheap BC fares - which apparently have been running regularly for quite a while - are certainly attractive as they don't reduce elite status (just the earned miles). All these changes at FB (and other airline FFPs) are new to me to me as I stopped flying for quite a while.

FWIW, the very few times I've checked, the BC fares to Germany and Austria (among some other places) seem to be a higher than to say, FR, NL, IT, HU, CZ among other European countries. Might as well tag on an "international" (AMS/CDG-BRU/LUX?) segment if you can to earn more XP.

Have you ever priced out SEA-YVR-FRA (or wherever) on AC vs YVR-FRA at the same time? I imagine there is probably a non-stop premium for the latter.