Is amex more hassle than it's worth?

high spenders and semi-frequent flyers who are incredibly loyal to BA.

I love rewards schemes but I honestly can’t see how the real world savings (i.e. saved expense on things which you would actually pay for - especially if you consider the possibility of not flying on BA or a partner airline) stack up with airmiles of any flavour. The best and only real way of actually saving money with Avios is to turn 'em in to Nectar points as far as I can see.