That's a reasonable approach in the case of illness given the current program guidelines.
However, a broader question: why can many (most?) airlines, Cathay Pacific, SQ, JAL, UA to mention a few, permit a change in the dates of travel and BA not? The real world encroaching for a moment on BA would show that travel plans do change even after the ticket is issued. The marginal cost to the airline of spending a minute or two on the line with a passenger should be balanced against the goodwill value towards the group of passengers who are often the airline's biggest revenue sources. My spouse and I were Lifetime Members of the Marco Polo at CX and are flying as much now we are based in the UK. With so many other choices of airlines (and always cheaper ones at that!!) this policy will make us de-emphasize flying on BA (and to use our CX cards when we do). The awards with no flexibility on the dates won't work for us.
Penny-wise and pound foolish.
[This message has been edited by man in black (edited 24 June 2001).]