Might. On the other hand, it potentially also makes for a nice excuse. To the extent that AC is a monopoly, at least in many of their markets, they don't really need to care too much about their FFs anymore, or so they may think.

It's not really their job to be candid. It's sales. Make it sound like they are. And the better ones may be quite convincing.

Sorry, but I have a hard time trusting anything I hear from AC. Trust is hard to win and easy to lose. And way too much of what we hear from them is such obvious spin, at least from Aeroplan. Just look at the disingenuous way they handled the announcement of the 2005 program.

As they say, hope for the best but prepare yourself for the worst. I would hate to have to commute in the US. For sure, not there yet. But if things continue getting worse, who knows. I don't believe US FF programs will deteriorate all that much, at least as long as the market remains competitive. Ultimately that's the real issue; the day AC absorbed CP, the writing was on the wall.