My old tags, coupled with the current EliteAccess tags, convey the message to CO staff that I've been an elite FF for quite a while.

I got angry once in ORD when--right in from of my eyes--a TSA goon at the x-ray machine ripped off an old CO elite tag of my garment bag and tossed the tag in the trash. I immediately retrieved the tag and complained to him and the supervisor. His contention? The tag was old. I made it clear to him and the supervisor that the tag was not his property; that he is clearly not a CO employee and thus no enforcer of CO OnePass elite policies; and whether that tag was out of date or not had no security implications whatsoever. I filed a formal complaint with TSA. Of course, I never heard anything about it again.