I would definitely value it and I believe it also makes a lot of sense from the airline's point of view. Heres why: I typically get enough tier points to re-up my Gold status about 2 months into the membership year. I have no further motivation to stick to the carrier (apart from the miles - which you can get anywhere). I just had a very lovely lady from Etihad in my office (are we even allowed to say that name on this forum?!) who handed me my status-matched Etihad Gold card and did quite a convincing sales pitch for her airline. If Etihad offered lifetime loyalty, I would instantly have switched all the rest of my travel to them as I think its a worthwhile perk to aim for. All this business travel in Business class and First is not going to last forever and I can just imagine me, after I am retired, shuffling along in the back of a long line, reminiscing about the good old days when I meant something to the airline!

Starwood recently introduced lifetime status in their SPG program after a lot of consumer research. It demonstrably influences buyer behavior and fosters long term brand loyalty and goodwill.