But the top prize is one million miles, which would get you lifetime status. Delta and United don't (yet) have spend requirements for lifetime status, AFAIK.

But the top prize is one million miles, which would get you lifetime status. Delta and United don't (yet) have spend requirements for lifetime status, AFAIK. Conferring lifetime status isn't necessarily even that expensive to the airline--you only get the benefits after you give the airline your money for tickets. It also creates an incentives to buy tickets on one particular airline, even when they might be slightly more expensive (which is the whole purpose of frequent flier CRM programs).