So maybe the original article was going after this question: now that the FFP's are all in a fairly mature state, with the differing rules and perks between them being somewhat minor nuances, is there anything that a loyalty program could do to pry you away from your primary airline today? That is, your current airline is and still would have a better schedule and route structure for your needs...but the less-convenient airline introduced an FFP perk or benefit that made you switch.

Only thing that comes to mind is abnormally loose SWU rules - both with the SWUs going to the mid-tier type statuses and being applicable to any fare. It sounds insane in the UA or AA world, but US Airways did exactly this a few years back. I was never higher than Gold Elite (50k tier), and I applied my paper SWUs to cheap fares to Europe several times.

Not that I ever expect to get this again...I think airlines have better figured out how to sell their J seats - whether by actually trying to sell them at semi-sane fares or selling upgrades that bring in a sizable amount of revenue.