Originally Posted by pigeonbutler

I'm in a broadly similar situation and my understanding is that we can't use a challenge to retain status. I did a bit of AA flying this year but fell short of gold. Take a look at whether they e-mailed you an offer to buy back your status. I was offered gold buy-back for $699 and Plat for $1299.

There's a whole thread on the range of offers people in different circumstances got for that bought-back retention or soft landing. YMMV.