In June, Qatar Airways introduced unusually aggressive restrictions on award ticket redemptions within its Privilege Club program. By default, members were barred from booking award flights for anyone other than the primary account holder—even when traveling together on the same booking.
To unlock the ability to redeem Avios for companions or third parties, accounts had to meet two prerequisites: the account had to be at least 30 days old, and it had to have earned at least 1 Avios from a paid commercial flight. While designed to curb account brokering and mileage fraud, this created significant friction for legitimate members—especially those transferring credit card points (e.g. Amex Membership Rewards or Citi ThankYou) to book a trip for two.
Qatar Airways has now rolled back the most frustrating part of this policy. The requirement to credit a paid flight has been dropped entirely. However, the 30-day account age requirement remains in effect before you can redeem Avios for third parties.
The Nominee List System Remains
While the elimination of the cash-flight hurdle is welcome, booking award flights for family or friends still requires advance planning. Before you can book a ticket for anyone else, they must be registered in your account profile under one of two lists:
- My List: Up to 4 nominees. You can add any traveler here, but each nominee must hold their own Qatar Airways Privilege Club account and accept the invitation request. Once added, a nominee cannot be removed or swapped out for at least 6 months.
- Family & Friends (Family Pooling): Up to 9 members. Points earned by secondary members pool directly to the main member’s balance. This feature is intended for family members without independent accounts, and members also cannot be changed for 6 months once registered.
Despite these lingering procedural hoops, this rollback is a notable improvement. Previously, even accounts with substantial Avios balances transferred from credit cards were blocked from adding nominees without taking a revenue flight first. The Add new member button is now functional again for accounts older than 30 days:
You can manage and register your redemption nominees directly within your Privilege Club account profile.
Source: One Mile at a Time