For me there is no benefit of holding a BA gold card when the costs of doing so maybe close to £25k a year. In my case likely to be close to £50k as I am a leisure traveller and travel with my wife.

Since 2007 I have never once been upgraded. I have used gold priority reward just twice and both when it was double the base rate and not based on the £1 rate. In disruption since 2007 I have either walked away or rebooked myself and billed BA at a later date. The gold line being unable to answer a call given the extent of the chaos.

I have never been GGL and never reached the dizzy heights that provide jokers or upgrade vouchers so such a benefit is not worth chasing.

As I live 20 miles for LHR giving up on BA is not an option for shorthaul, particularly as they have a strangle hold domestically, so it necessary to have a either OWS or OWE to make flying BA shortfall bearable.