Originally Posted by Often1

Passing the moral lectures and sticking to the purely pragmatic.

OP is not entitled to anything as he didn't fly the segment. Period.

If by some glitch in the system he is awarded credit, then he lucky.

If he makes a claim for credit, it is more than likely that the audit to determine whether he flew will result in a determination that his claim is fraudulent. This will result in a denial of his claim and may also result in closure of his account. No more Gold.

OP's suggestion that BA did anything wrong or untoward here is simply wrong. OP booked a dirt cheap fare to save money. That is fine. But, the conditions which he chose did not permit changes. So, when he chose to change his plans he was unable to change his ticket and had to purchase a new one.

We all make choices. OP could have got his taxes back, but chose not to. He may now compound the situation by putting his Gold status on the chopping block.