What's cool about this post is that you can tell how important the OP is based on his use of bold text and capital letters.
I was US based for 30 years and am now based in Abu Dhabi. For 30 years, what mattered most to me was upgrades, as most of my travel was domestic on purchased Y fares. (When traveling internationally, I always purchased or used miles for J or F travel.) That I achieved lifetime PLT and have been EXP for about 15 years has meant that I very rarely had to sit in coach for the last 30 years. I've also made good use out of VIP upgrades, frequently upgrading from J to F.
Now that I am based in Abu Dhabi, almost all of my travel is on purchased J fares. In 2018 I was AA EXP and BA Gold, and will be in 2019 as well (with DL Platinum or Diamond on top of that). Now I see the benefit of achieving BA lifetime Gold, especially since I travel on BA a lot now and they on occasion will op-up me to F as a Gold member.
It sounds like, as with me, the OP's circumstances have changed. Like me, if the OP knew then what he knows now, he might have tried harder to get lifetime Gold on BA. But I didn't know then what I know now, and am fine living with the decisions I made.