Using the LON-US fare to get NW status?

[pilot]

I'm an oldie on the boards, although since most of my travel is cheap leisure trips I have never hit status. But the current $280 glitch LON-ORD fare has peaked my interest.

So lets say some really CRAZY person (me) who has a friend in London with a couch, went ahead and spent an insane amount of money ($2500), buying 9 such tickets. Since I'll have to toss the last Chicago-London return, I'd have 8.5 flights at approx. 9000 miles each, or roughly 76,500 miles BIS.

Now there is no way I can cram all nine flights in before December 31st. I'll already be there in October on the UA dropped fuel surcharge deal, so I can toss my return flight and start then. If I can get three flights in by Dec 31. I'm assuming I will hit Silver? Does it start over on January 1, so I could only hope for Gold off the 50,000 miles flown in 2009? Or is there a way to get Platinum with it spread out like this?

This is probably quite crazy to even consider, and I am sure somewhere my logic completely flawed, but that is why I come to you, oh great FlyerTalk Brain Trust, to teach me the path. :D Or talk me out of it, which is probably better!