On the other hand, access to exit rows (or other preferred seats) can greatly help some people with being able to survive mileage runs, especially useful when a double EQM opportunity you can partake in comes around. So in that sense, Lifetime Gold can help with qualifying (from scratch) for annual Plat or EXP.

It makes all the difference to me on endless LAX-DFW MRs (first during LASF2 and now during the TX/CA-residents-only DEQSL) to be able to (on most flights) get a row 9 seat on a 757. I don't need to bother requesting upgrades on 3-hour 757 flights where I've got a row 9 (true exit row bulkhead) seat reserved.