just thought i'd throw this out there in case it's of use to anyone.
i had an amex spg card perhaps six or seven years ago, maybe more. i wanted to find out if i was eligible for the bonus so i called amex and i told them that i wasn't sure if i had the card before. the agent said that there was no record of me having the card and that i was eligible for the bonus.
i applied, got the card, and now a statement has come and i got the 60k points.
so this goes to show that "lifetime" is up for interpretation.
I will keep the card but not really use since i can get a huge value out of the annual one night for CAD120 .