No code got my tech in 93 when they dropped the requirement then upgraded to general and extra when they dropped those requirements.  Don't feel shorted in the least I stay out of the CW portion of the band but do utilize digital modes.   Mainly got my extra to help with giving exams.

Hey, now! I'm not a complainer, but I have a flip phone in my pocket right now. I'm retired and don't need or desire the additional features or the associated cost of more elaborate devices.

FWIW, I used to teach CW for our club's ham radio courses.

CW is best taken in short sessions that can be shoe-horned into a busy schedule. There are several apps that can be installed on numerous portable devices that teach a few letters at a time, and generate short practice sessions. One easy exercise is to pause for a moment and translate any text into CW. Many can do this while driving past road signs without becoming distracted by the task at hand. For instance, whenever you see a stop sign, think di-d-idit, dah, dah-dah-dah, di-dah-dah-dit..

It's probably not relevant now, but I learned CW in about a month. It was back in the early '50s, using an old Signal Corps training manual, a straight key and buzzer, and listening to code practice transmissions from W1AW. There were 78 RPM records, but one usually memorized the text before the CW was firmly imprinted into their brain. Now a teaching app with random code generator can be loaded into your smart phone.

Learning CW is really not that hard, it just takes commitment and doing the 15 minute sessions several times a week.

No Code Extra.

Why doesn't ARRL start a CW test?  People go $#!+house to get WAS,... seems like adding another test that would come with a shiny certificate for the wall would go far to add more CW users...

They do, with the W1AW Qualifying Runs: http://www.arrl.org/code-proficiency-certificate

I did it the old way.