I had seriously considered doing a lot of flying on NW this year (I even got comped Gold for my WN travels), but this is, by far, the most alienating rule I've seen on an airline, and I refuse to give even one cent of business to the airline if this is how it will treat its most loyal customers (by which I refer other Elites on the forum, not me. ).

It looks like the NW Gold card will have exactly one use for me...a speedpass through the PHL security lane for my WN flights.