Thanks a ton for all the responses, and especially to those who checked the miles/out of pocket payments for award tickets.

This is exactly what I was afraid of, and it looks like AA/BA may be better for me (the frequent flyer), while UA/LH may be better for family use (which is in some ways more important - because award tickets for family is one of the few perks to try and make up for the absences from home due to travel).

So, the main remaining question is to follow up on Thunderoad's mention of CX and check what the YQ's typically are on CX Y and J fares from the US to India? If these YQ's are substantially lower than BA, then is availability much tighter or is award inventory typically available a few months in advance? Also, do EXP's get any preferential inventory on CX given that AA codeshares with them?

Finally, is there a booking category for premium economy with miles on either CX or BA?

Thanks again to all the AA/BA/OW folks here - hope this thread is also relevant to others contemplating a change.