Originally Posted by
WineCountryUA
Strictly speaking the is no such item. Everyone gets a new card, good for one year, each year.
That's true, but I think OP was asking a general question about the benefits of MM (and I suspect that he is not a MM himself).
It's not unreasonable to say "lifetime Gold status is a published benefit." It's also not unreasonable to say "it's definitely not normal to get a Gold card given to you on the plane" (a la fineark's post).
By contrast, Exleftseat's post left open the interpretation that lifetime Gold status is not a benefit, which it is.