Airline logic...
I don't know what constitutes airline logic, as nothing the airlines appear to do is logical, to me...(at least). However, what happens IF a flyer gets to 101K+ EQM miles at year end 2017, but spends only say $4000? What is their status then? Which factor has the greatest weight? [I'll bet $ spend] I haven't seen this addressed, and may have missed it in the thread. -- And for those of you who jump at the bait: now with the red/silver-barclay card, a $40K spend gets you $6000EQD --- 1/2 way to EXP, so in a way, there are multiple avenues to getting and maintaining EXP without meeting any of the stated requirements. Now that's airline logic.