About 6 or 7 years ago, Continental began a program to try to attract many of the members it lost during the Continental Lite "experiment" by offering lifetime Gold Elite status to those members who successfully qualified for Gold status for five consecutive years. But you had to have qualified by the end of 1997 I believe. Outside of that program, I do not know of any other offers. Membership drives such as this are usually targeted to a specific segment of the membership as determined by the folks in marketing. Lifetime elite status is not as common a thing as one might believe. I believe such offers are only extended to DL and UA members. I don't know of any other carriers that offer a similar benefit.

Regards,
Ryan Chavez