Regarding the 50% e-ticket bonus when buying from CO reservations, I had it happen to me by surprise last June on an IAH-NRT flight. I noticed it on my statement, did not know what it was, and decided to keep my mouth shut rather than ask about it :-) I learned later on one of the forums what it was for.

I'm booked on IAH-NRT again next week, and I asked about the bonus when I ticketed a few weeks ago, and was told that I'd get it for this flight too. I don't know if it relates to elite status or not (I'm Gold), but it's a much better bonus than the 1000 mile eService Online bonus, especially for the long runs.