I am jealous of you. The elite for life program ended in November of 1998 when the code sharing arrangement with NW started. I remember it well, because 1998 was my fifth consecutive year of gold--the top tier at that time. It still irritates me that the program ended.

One good thing about joining FT was that I discovered that both AA and UA have an elite for life program. AA seems to count miles from any source (flight miles, credit cards, etc.), but elite is gained by air miles. UA, I am told, still has elite for life, but it doesn't seem to be published anywhere--at least anywhere I could find! It seems to be a hassle to get started as an elite with both carriers, so I won't try.