Originally Posted by
enpremiere
A very long time ago, IIRC when one redeemed their miles, there was at least one or more FF programs that would actually credit the FF account with a decent sum (something like the Barclay/Citi's 10% back on redemptions up to 10K in a given year) with the thought that if you were cashing out, by not having to start from scratch there was incentive to continue accruing with them going forward. This was well before my time so someone wiser and with better memory will surely know more and aside from the Citi/Barclay program, I'm not aware that this has existed for many many many years.
NH is an example of an airline that currently awards MM credit to flight taken on their metal, even awards booked through partners. And you can claim it retroactively.
The people acting as if earning MM credit for award flights is some kind of insanity, but accruing 1MM+ status solely through Citibank credit card spend is totally normal, are acting a tad silly.