Not to doubt you, but do you have any proof of the qualifier? I seem to remember reading the FAQs that this will not increase their level if they flew to achieve Silver later.
The FAQs seemed clear to me that for the 2010 selections that there is no bump even if the "gifted" crosses a threshold. As a DM, you could gift gold to this person and if you got the Platinum 2009 gift selection back, you'd be even, right?
I'm not a big fan of CS going back on their promises. Worse, there are often solutions to problems that are cost neutral to companies yet CS agents either aren't smart enough to figure them out or creative enough to get them done.
Good luck.