Recommended change to the wiki, I can't edit it. FAQ #1 is currently ambiguous about Gold cards and the World to World Elite loophole. It implies that the loophole might not work for Gold cards, when it has been confirmed many times over to work. Maybe it will cut down on the number of questions about Gold cards. Change it to read something like this:
Important exception: If you receive a Platinum World MC or a Gold World MC which is later converted to a World Elite MC (as indicated on the back of the card), the opening of that card will no longer count for purposes of the 18-month rule. This is true not only for conversions in early 2015, but also for those in more recent months.
And delete the second bullet.
Just another data point:
Applied for my first Gold card on 09/25, was converted about 1 month later, received the 25k bonus.
Applied for my second Gold card on 11/11, was converted about 1 month later, received the 25k bonus.