I got this letter too - though they had also offered me a promo for some # of nights prior to the end of the year in order to renew my status. I did requalify via the promo, but it looks like that's not showing up in their records at this point for some reason.

In any case, I'm Gold for another year - whether due to a 'soft landing' policy or the promo - so all's well that ends well, I suppose.