It's permanent Plat status now.

I've lowered my expectations and now it's not so bad. With lower expectations, it seems like any mid-tier elite status is about comparable and with the credit card perks it's pretty easy to maintain a few concurrently.

Regardless of the written terms, I've found my US and Canada stays with PC to be the best upgrades and, even though there is no free breakfast, I get at least a significant discount most of the time. And I don't have to do anything to keep the status. Works just fine for me.

As far as communicating a value proposition by e-mail, they're all pretty bad. But really, the only communication I want are crystal clear T&Cs on benefits and someone to advocate when I don't get them. And most can't do that very well. If they are so content to make everything YMMV, then my loyalty will too.