The pax beside me on a flight a couple of months ago brought up this topic to MB who was making the rounds on the flight. This passenger has flown for many years, several million miles apparently, and is near retirement and doesn't wish to lose his SE.
His answer was a resounding "no" for many of the reasons mentioned in the other thread. Primarily, they want to use the programs to increase loyalty=revenue.
It's more likely that certain commitment of spend (i.e. with flight passes) will result in advancement of status, instead of rewarding pax after they have flown.