Unless a reward booking (and I managed to get one on AA to protect another upcoming award flight on BA, so I can cancel either for £35), I see no reason to shell thousands of pounds out now when there's still a big question mark about strike dates.

That's the equivalent of buying a ridiculously priced insurance policy. With talks continuing, there's a fair chance they'll get called off and furthermore being aware of the ongoings,you have a big advantage of being at the front of a queue if a strike is announced, as BA will re-route you, probably on AA.

Doesn't seem to make any sense to essentially just throw away the best part of 6 grand or whatever it's costing you?