Originally Posted by SS255

Does it irk anybody else that 100 people (50 X 2) will be given Gold status by virtue of shopping with 24 US merchant partners without having to fly at all? I think that this is more insulting that the Mistake Golds from last year, because this time they are consciously giving away Gold status, while those of us who earned it by 50K+ miles of BIS flying are "rewarded" by losing our bonus miles!