10 years or (cough maybe more!) I was in the same boat as you, as my career and that of my now wife has progressed we now have more choice of which class we fly in.

During the Y years we still collected points (diamond club worked SO well for us) perhaps you may want to look for a programme that has 3 key features;

1. Credit Card Earning
2. Family membership
3. The ability to pay with 'cash and miles' or upgrade

Whichever way you cut it BAEC still has some sweet spots for you. But I agree you're not the target demographic.

Overall my view would be is seek the best value tickets with an airline you like and see the points as secondary.

What I am REALLY struggling with the BA scheme that the 'good bits' of the scheme can only be used on BA metal (i.e. 241 and UUA).

AS a regular traveller to SE Asia and AKL - if I could UUA or 241 on oneworld airlines I'd be a VERY happy customer