Thanks for the response. Yes its a BA flight number but operated by Aer Lingus. I might chance my arm anyways. Have 4-5 hours of a layover in LHR on both legs so nothing ventured, nothing gained etc. Especially pre/post a 12 hour flight to/from Japan.
Frustrating having to wait so long for EI cards/tags. I was DL platinum for a couple of years, they would have new tags out to you within a week or 2 of gaining status.