Interesting (to me, anyhow) to see an airline acknowledge this:

From FT chat-
http://www.flyertalk.com/transcripts/111501.html
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Randy Petersen
Renee and Carol. Much has been made of extending elite level benefits to members of many programs brought about because of the rather slow year long economy problems and companies cutting back commercial travel. Is there any decision BA Executive Club has made in this area for 2002?

Carol Spano
We have extended tier memberships in the past. What we noticed was that the flying pattern of those members dropped off dramatically; some stopped altogether. The reason, they told us, was that they had no need to achieve Gold since they already had it, so they were looking to fly other carriers and achieve status in other programs. This does both us and our members a disservice... We do look at individual cases in which extenuating circumstances may have arisen and make decisions on a case-by-case basis where necessary. Thanks for your question.

Randy Petersen
I appreciate the answer because i had thought that was the case. Very well put, thanks for the honesty.
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