hello. i just finished my a rt on ac pek-pdx; it was my first time flying ac since the cp merger and i'm not anxious to repeat my experience unless i have pressing business in yvr that calls for a stopover. ac wasn't that bad, but it was a far cry from ua (upgrades and y+) and nw (330) even though yvr is a more logical connection than sfo or nrt.

therefore, i'm trying to figure out how to get nw back into my airline choices, in spite of the fact that i think the new award levels blow.

so, i'm wondering if hp and as are decent ff programs for this purpose. i'm gold on hp, but am inclined to go the as route because they have lots of partners and are strong ex-pdx.

have any of you adopted similar strategies in light of the recent award price increases?

byw, i will still always try to fly ua first, but nw tends to be a bit more competitive to pdx in general.