I was in this situation just a few weeks ago. I had flown with my wife from DUB to MCO on an ex-EU business class sale deal and upgraded using a GUF2 and joker into first class.

My mother was on her last legs with just a few days of our holiday to go and I had to ring the GGL line to ask for an early return. I had hoped for a no cost change, hoping that a combination of my status and the situation would see me through.

The best BA could do was drop one of the change fees but in the end I had to pay £1450 to change my return first class tickets. I took that on the chin and it's going through my travel insurer now.

I appreciated the time and energy the agent expended on finding the best solution for me, but I wasn't that impressed with the financial offer.