As you say, all things related to applications and probably AP-related things are in flux and probably very different from how they were viewed in the past, so take this with a grain of salt.
Our views were exactly as your last line reads- the point for my kids was that these classes were where the challenge lay, as far as what was easily available in their high school environment/schedules. As far as the designations, personally we ignored them (and didn’t even realize they were a thing, though DD was a National AP scholar, and perhaps DS as well, I don’t really know). She didn’t mention it in apps, her school ignored it, etc- it was a non-thing here.
The classes did enable both kids to place into higher level classes, or in some cases place out of required courses. And in some courses they learned things that have proven useful going forward- DD studied a lot of environmental science in middle school (mainly for science olympiad, but she also took that AP exam) and up has found that as a result she has a very good understanding of some geochemical stuff, beyond what many of her peers in related coursework now seem to know, for example. So totally unplanned, but ultimately quite useful.
On the other hand, DS was able to earn a 5 on physics C without taking the course or preparing at all (complicated story, high school class was not desirable for several reasons) so I doubt he has a commanding grasp of the material (I may be wrong on that) but he will be able to place out of the first physics course in college, and potentially earn credit for it if he does well in an intermediate class.
I fully realize this year’s AP exams were ridiculously limited in scope, which makes me put even less stock in them as a means to evaluate a year of supposedly advanced learning. But I think my point is that the exams themselves don’t necessarily mean much. But a year of a challenging class is potentially very valuable. Whether that is the view of college admissions is debatable and probably varies considerably.
