So, I was just pondering blankly about the future (I promise this is on-topic), and came to the realization that there might be a time when I no longer fly often enough to qualify for status anywhere.

Currently I'm UA Plat, purely by virtue of the spending requirement exemption for non-US members. For the next 3 years (barring any catastrophic changes in my life...i.e. dropping out of college), I should be flying enough to secure, at the minimum, UA Gold. But depending on what kind of employment I end up securing, I might not be flying often enough to retain that status.

Which made me think about SFC. The way I understand it, once one hits ANA Platinum, then s/he can indefinitely cling on to Star Alliance Gold just by holding an eligible ANA co-branded credit card, correct?
Obviously, earning 50000 PPs isn't as easy as 50000 PQMs, especially on the bargain-basement fares that I usually fly on. But if the above is true, if I switch allegiances from UA to NH on my final year in university and make at least Platinum, I can then enroll in SFC and get pseudo-lifetime status, right?

Which brings me to my second question - how hard are these ANA CC's to get for those with a thin credit history in Japan? I only ask because I've been denied for a bog standard JAL card before, and I've only had success with Mitsui Sumitomo Visa since then. Since the JAL rejection, my application has improved slightly--for one, I have baito here and there so my income isn't "0"--but it's not great either. I'm still a lowly college student, the Mitsui Debut Plus has never been touched since its arrival (ewww foreign transaction fees) and I still have that JAL/View Card rejection on my credit history. So has anyone here with a crappy Japanese credit history here have trouble getting a SFC credit card?

Apologies if this is a stupid question, but I figured I'd have better luck here than 2ch or the Japanese affiliate bloggers...