Yes, it's an unwritten benfit, that once you get to 1,000,000 lifetime miles, regardless of method of acquisition, you get Gold status for the rest of your life (and 2,000,000 gets you lifetime Platinum). I've been in the million club for 5 years and am only 150,000 away from the lifetime Platinum club, and I get my gold status renewed every year even though I don't fly 25,000 miles. I enjoy the gold benefits, such as Group 1 boarding, Business Class check-in, 4 free upgrades for every 10,000 miles flown between March 1 and Feb. 28, 25% bonus miles on all flights, and the ability to book exit row seats when making my reservation (did I forget anything?)