I gave my wife US Silver status in early 2015 from a "Special Dividend" I earned in 2014. US changed it from a 90 day trial silver to a full year. She flew one or two paid tickets with me and she got the spend "$1,000 a month for three months". So that special dividend is gonna equal almost two full years of Gold/Silver for her (once she spends the $3k)...I miss those "Special Dividends"!