I'll dispense with the hyperbole and just provide the facts. I had booked AUH-TXL-ORD with both segments on AB using Avios. One of the flights now operates only every other day. So due to the cancellation, I was rebooked on the same segments for the next day. As that was unacceptable, I called Exec Club and asked that I be reprotected on some combo of AB/BA/AA for the day originally ticketed. I was told that reprotection was only offered on the airline on which originally ticketed. So they could offer me only the day before or the day after, both of which were unacceptable to me. If I wanted to travel the day I was originally ticketed, I would be looking at a whole new ticket with absurd scamcharges due to the BA/AA segments, and new mileage requirements.

Had I used AA miles for the AB flights and faced the same situation, AA would immediately have reprotected me on any combo of flights which were closest to my original times, and waived all additional fees etc. due to the involuntary reroute.

Needless to say, Avios is about the most inflexible program I have encountered. They won't even reprotect on their own airline (BA) without totally cancelling the previous ticket and starting from scratch on a new ticket with new mileage requirements and exorbitant extra fees. Obviously, I specifically chose AB as they don't attract the fuel scamcharge, but it isn't my fault AB cancelled the flight, and I would have normally expected BA to step up and say no problem, we'll put you on BA flights closest to your original flight times.

Coincidentally, I just had a cancellation on a totally unrelated LH-LH-UA itinerary using UA miles. There was a schedule change resulting in a misconnect, so when I called UA today, the agent simply went to her help desk, cancelled the LH segment and received authorization to reprotect on a UA flight without additional mileage requirements, even though the lower mileage inventory was not available. Generally speaking, in nearly 15 years of experience with booking award travel, UA and AA etc. go out of their way to protect me on themselves, or any other carrier they can, so this sort of inflexibility from BA is a first for me.

I immediately cancelled my Avios booking and called AA where they were able to book flights on other airlines for my originally ticketed day. Every program has their pluses and minuses, but this in my mind is a big minus for Avios, and another reason why they are even less attractive as a mileage currency.