Actually, it makes perfect sense to me. Not sure if you have a reading comprehension problem, or if you are just looking for an answer that is different from the one you got.

That being said, although the response was understandable, I think the answer is, in fact, wrong. The old system didn't take a month. It took, at most, a couple of days, with retroactive bonus credit given for the flights that occured after the last qualifying trip.

I've never made a new level after the first leg of a 2-leg trip, but I would guess you wouldn't get the credit for the new level until you complete the MAD-AGS trip.