Yeah, I don't like this idea either.
I'd rather they just come up with legitimate benefits to add on, than just take benefits from others and turning them into entitlements for the elites.
However, early access to the PB list, and maybe a few additional properties with perhaps a higher PB value (ie, maybe have a few higher-end hotels go on PB for 10,000 points for elites only...?).
Point being, if they're going to actually give us benefits, they should actually GIVE us stuff, rather than take what we already get and make it more elusive to obtain.