I don’t think there is much one can add since you know what to expect. Maybe for the first couple of months you might get lucky, and after that you won’t and it might be better to use the money you save by going pe to pay for a paid lounge if that’s something you care about though I suspect your kids certainly won’t. It’s also possible Ba will reinstate some of the school holiday specials that allowed gch members to bring in extra guests but that’s not guaranteed and tends to be fare specific.

There are plenty of “almost there” situations but by definition “almost” is also “not quite”, and if I’m honest, after a few months, there are other “almost there” situations which in my view would likely take precedence over yours.