I used to be a frequent flier mile junkie with Northwest WorldPerks. I played all the games, signed up for the promotions, did the dining rewards stuff, blew time on the surveys, looked at a bunch of ads, continually transfered all my hotel points and most importantly, I paid every single thing I could using my WorldPerks Visa. Over the years, I used that card for everything except for my mortgage. I never carried a balance. I used it like a check card.

The miles racked up. I used to fly for free regularly. When I didn't fly for free, I knew how to book cheap flights and play the system well enough to get bumped to other flights -- thereby getting more free travel.

I liked my situation but a lot has changed with the recent years of problems with Northwest and its unions, the noticeable tightening up of mile promotions across the board, the increased difficulty in booking decent reward flights (I regret flying through Newark a few weeks ago) and the fears of what may happen with Northwest and Delta's planned merger. Suddenly these games and the $55 Worldperks Visa annual fee didn't make much sense anymore.

I transferred my rewards from most of the third-party miles programs I've been involved with into miles and closed those accounts. I put the renewal date of my WorldPerks Visa in my calendar so I know to cancel before November. Then today, Bill linked me to the last straw on the camel's back:

The airline will also add a $15 fee to the first bag, a charge that will go into effect July 10. Northwest charges $25 for a second bag and $100 for a third. Checked bags have been a no-charge service for years, but in recent months other airlines have begun charging for even the first checked bag.

A service fee for WorldPerks Award tickets will be in effect September 15 with a charge of $25 for domestic tickets, $50 for Trans-Atlantic tickets and $100 for Trans-Pacific tickets. And a ticket change fee will increase from $100 to $150 starting July 9 for domestic flights and international flight ticket changes will increase by an additional $50 to $150 per ticket.

Two big problems for me here: I'm used to packing with only a carry-on, even if I'm away for two weeks. Now with every other passenger trying to fit everything in one bag, I'm guessing Northwest will need to tighten up their rules as to what flies as a carry-on. On recent full flights I've been on, every overhead compartment was filled and many people were packing what they could under the seats in front of them. That problem will get worse. The other issue is paying for award flights. It's a small price in comparison to a full fare but with everything else added up it's not worth it anymore.

It looks like I'll be taking my last reward flight for awhile sometime before September 15 and I'll be canceling my WorldPerks Visa around then.

My only other credit card is a Target REDcard, where I get a 10% coupon for Target after every thousand bucks or so I spend on it. It's free. It's not a bad deal, but I'm shopping around if there's a better card I should stick to. Does anyone have any good ideas?

This is just my story as a consumer. Over all of this, the real story today is that Northwest Airlines cut 2,500 jobs.