I think 1 and 2 are both good options, especially if you are not in a hurry to burn them. BA hasn't moved to full dynamic pricing (a la DL and now VS) so J/F awards are still relatively affordable with decent availability, but if you are redeeming for multiple people 140k probably isn't enough for long haul. The way I do it is I always book what I want (schedule/non stop etc) and before booking I check for redemptions - shocking, at least a couple times a year I find exactly what I want to be avaliable, saving thousands or sometimes 10k+ a ticket.