Some years ago OnePass (At the time Eastern and Continental) would give elite status based on being on the top percentage of travelers in a particular market.
OnePass members who were in the top 7% in their market would become Bronze Elite regardless of actual milage flown. I first achieved Silver Elite status after flying only 2 roundtrips in the previous year. When I first qualified for Gold my letter from Earl Quenzel (The director of marketing at CO at the time) stated that I was in the top 2%.