Thanks for the tremendous responses with great info! Indeed, we are based in the US as far as BA Exec Club goes, and my "kids" are getting nowhere fast with tier points, precisely for the non-liberal rule structure BA has. Yet they will continue to come over here, so we are forced to find another solution. Priority Pass (for the 2 RT per year - and sometimes not together) is kind of an expensive solution, but nice because of the number of lounges available. That lets them have different routing (out of different US cities to London, etc.) and still get lounge access. Diners, on the other hand, has only 1 lounge (LHR) in London, so they must go there. That limits their options in terms of Mid-East destinations (i.e., LHR only flies to DMM, I think, and not to BAH - which is an attractive nearby (25-30 miles) alternative to DMM). Lots to think about. I am especially interested in alternatives to BA for this (and a multitude of other) reasons. Sure appreciate the help, everyone!