Through comping, challenges, and special offers, plus earning, it is possible to achieve mid or top tier status in multiple programs. A year or two ago I was UA 1K, AA PLT, US Silver, and CO Silver at the same time. Both the UA and US statuses were earned, AA was from a challenge, and CO was a complimentary downgrade from Gold the previous year.
This year I am UA 1K (qualifying under the special "25K miles in first quarter to renew" offer), AA PLT (earned), and US Gold (special offer to fly certain number of segments in a given period of time).
For next year, I have qualified for UA Premier Exec and US Silver, both under regular requirements. I will retain AA PLT because of the extension they have offered.
Contrary to prevailing thought, I believe comping status is usually a good deal for the airlines as well as the traveller. I was comped to UA Premier Exec more than 2 years ago and followed up with over 100K earned flight miles to make 1K. Add another 70K this year. With AA I did a challenge to get Gold and then Platinum and then followed up with about 60K earned flight miles for PLT. In both cases, this is revenue that likely would have gone to a competitor. The airlines are not out very much if a comped flyer doesn't fly.
I am hoping UA extends status this year for all Premiers so I can retain 1K. At this point, running for the extra 28K miles I need for 1K is really not possible, and since there are rumors that the biggest benefit (SWUs) of 1K may be changed for next year, not a wise choice in my view. Some people have blasted AA for extending status, but they now have me seriously thinking about giving more/all of my business next year to them. When I compare UA Premier Exec and AA PLT, AA wins on a number of points from my experience:
1. AA is less expensive
2. Upgrading is easier as AA PLT than as UA Premier Exec
3. My AA miles go towards lifetime AA PLT (I am already lifetime AA Gold)
The recent schedule cutbacks also suggest that I will be making more connections with UA flying out of IAD than I would have in the past. Decisions, decisions!