I have not used BA since I and my two travelling companions were bumped out of our exit row seats at the gate last December to make way for three off-duty BA staff. Clearly, a silver card meant nothing.
I would not go as far as using a low cost airline, but I have managed to save a small fortune this year by travelling with other full-service airlines on a "best value" basis rather than out of loyalty to a brand. And I've discovered that - guess what - some of these "other" airlines are actually pretty good (as long as you can get past the dreadful check-in and boarding procedures that some of them have).