AA does on occasion run targeted promotions in which selected people are offered a temporary status, with an offer to maintain the status for the rest of the status year by meeting a significantly reduced threshold. I, myself, benefited from such a targeted promotion last century. (I was unexpectedly seated in the J section of a three-class plane that was substituted for our scheduled two-class aircraft on a business trip; a coworker told me it was because I had status, which I tried to insist I didn't, but he pointed to the "Gold" printed on my BP. On arriving home I discovered paper mail from AA informing me I'd been granted Gold status for 90 days, and if I flew a modest amount on AA (not partners), I'd keep it through February of the following year, and if I flew a bit more, I'd earn Platinum. That year I did my first ever status run.)