Typical benefits of elite status have already been mentioned. The point is that one usually earn elite status by flying a lot. On AA, they measure this by adding up your miles. You need to fly 25,000 miles in a calendar year to earn the lowest level of status (or two other options that are less relevant here). Some people add up the miles they earn, including miles from bonus promotions, sending flowers, using an AA Visa and the rest, and when they hit 25,000 wonder why they didn't get a gold AAdvantage ID card and the stated benefits. The statement you read is an attempt to clarify that bonus miles from this promotion do not count toward the 25,000. Only BIS ("butt in seat") miles do.

Miles for status qualification are often called "Q-miles" here when it's important to clarify which kind of miles someone is referring to.