Based on my similar experience in late 2024 as a mere Gold, and understanding this is a n=1 analysis, BA's response has certainly plummeted in customer service terms since.

MrsNWI and I had a SFO-JFK-LHR flight, connecting to MAD.

We boarded the plane in SFO on time, only to find a few minutes later from a cockpit announcement that severe thunderstorms in the Midwest were delaying our departure. Essentially we'd have to wait until they'd cleared before we could leave. As I recall, we were on a 55-minute connection at JFK - not uncommon, and usually very doable with a very short lounge visit.

Twenty minutes or so later, it was obvious that it was going to be a few hours before we left, at best, and so we were deboarded whilst AA decided whether the flight would even operate. Our JFK connection was, clearly, completely toast and the uncertainty of the flight status meant we'd be in danger of not even reaching New York that day.

So I rang the Gold line and explained what was happening, asking if they could put us on the direct SFO-LHR flight. They hadn't yet seen the delay, and certainly knew nothing about the possibility of cancellation, but nonetheless took my word that there was no chance of making the connection and agreed to reserve places on either the A380 or 777 service (both of which would have allowed me to make my MAD connection). Working with the AA agent in the lounge, BA agreed that AA would take over the ticket and move me to the 777 service. We sat down with a drink and 15 minutes later the AA agent came to find us to tell us everything was sorted.

Shortly after we were making our way through the airside connector from T1 to International and the BA lounge.

Even the TP retroclaim went smoothly, when I'd expected difficulty given we were now on 001 stock.

BA, what on earth have you stooped to? It now takes a lot of money to be Gold, and an extortionate amount to be GGL. This is just an outrageous way to treat one of your most important individual customers.