If recently includes the last 6 months or so, then I can say I successfully achieved a gold challenge offer (I am VA Plat......they do not recognise any SCs gained via family pooling and will only offer the level you can prove to be your flying. Funnily enough, at the time I was using family pooling to maintain VA plat whilst accruing QF SCs but they wouldn't recognise their own SCs in the tally, which should have seen me offered a plat challange.......but that's sundry information) and I successfully made the required QF SCs on QF flights wihin the time limit, only to have them renege on the offer......after I'd achieved it! I was entirely within their limited conditions of the offer, but they make them up and alter them as they go as there is no official policy to offer challenges. As some kind of "olive branch" to me for their braindead backflip, they decided to offer me a plat challenge, but would not include the SCs I'd just successfully made for the reneged gold challenge.......meaning I was no better off and actually flying more then I needed for gold (which was my intention to achieve).......yeah righ, no thanks. Once bitten, twice shy. Beware all, VA are floundering idiots and QF are arrogant A-holes.......take your pick, but they're both as bad as each other.
I now fly to suit myself. It's still more than likely I'll have plat with one and gold with the other, and soft landings mean I may well alternate between them, but I will not give them anymore money than I have to, regardless of status. I have to fly with someone. I don't really care who. I'm sick of lounges, the terminals these days are far more entertaining than the stale crowded lounges.