Originally Posted by Fly AA J all the way
If you are collecting Starpoints, then yes, they are. I, however, cannot keep my Gold this year and get them, due to the way I made Gold the first time. It was a give-away from AA, and was set up so that I get all Starpoints direct deposit as AA miles. It would only be a few thousand AA miles, and considering I get anywhere between 100k-150k miles/year from all sources, it's not a very big deal to lose out on a few, given what I might gain. I just remade Gold on my own, so starting next year, I will begin collecting Starpoints, as either Gold, or more likely, Plat.
On this subject -- how long ago did you get SPG Gold via the AA promo? Many years ago I got SPG gold via AA Platinum status. When I realized how valuable the points were, I switched my earning preference over -- I think it was about 4 months later (and it was a good marketing move for them -- went to Plat the next year and stayed at least Gold since).