Hey {{first name | reader}},

Happy Wednesday!

Three updates today: Qatar Airways has reversed one of the strangest loyalty program restrictions I have seen in a while, Edelweiss finally told us exactly when we can fly its new A350 cabins, and yes, IHG points are on sale again.

Here's what's inside today's post:

A few weeks ago I wrote about a new Qatar Airways Privilege Club rule that I really did not like.

Qatar had started restricting who you could use Avios to book tickets for. To add someone to your My List or Friends and Family list, your account first needed qualifying activity: either a credited eligible flight or an eligible transaction from a Qatar Airways co-branded credit card.

That created a pretty ridiculous situation.

Imagine you had hundreds of thousands of transferable points sitting on your account and wanted to transfer them to Qatar Airways to book Qsuites for you and your partner. If you did not meet one of those activity requirements, you could suddenly have a problem booking their ticket.

Well, Qatar has now quietly reversed the rule.

The previous activity requirements are gone. The only remaining restriction is that your Privilege Club account needs to have been open for at least 30 days before you can add someone to the relevant list.

Much, much better.

I understand why airlines try to do this. There is a real market of people selling award tickets commercially, and loyalty programs have legitimate reasons to try to prevent fraud and mileage brokering.

But there is a point where making the rules too complicated starts hurting the airline itself. When you book an award ticket, airlines benefit from it. It is not a gift. So if you make redeeming miles so difficult that legitimate customers stop booking, you may solve one problem while creating a bigger one.

I am very happy Qatar changed its mind on this.

Back in January I showed you Edelweiss' new A350 cabins, and I was really impressed.

The business class cabin will be 1-2-1 with direct aisle access and fully flat beds, plus four special Business Suites with closing doors and huge 32-inch screens. Premium economy will have 28 seats in a 2-3-2 configuration. The aircraft will also have Bluetooth connectivity, 4K screens, wireless charging in the premium cabins, and one of my favorite features: free high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi.

At the time, Edelweiss was targeting the first aircraft for December 2026.

We now have an actual schedule. And unfortunately, we have to wait a little longer.

The first flights with the new cabin will begin in early June 2027.

That said, Edelweiss has already identified the routes where the new cabin will be scheduled first. Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar, Windhoek, and Halifax will be among the first destinations served exclusively with the new product, and those flights are already bookable. The remaining A350s will be converted progressively, with all six scheduled to have the new cabins by early October 2027.

There is something about an airline announcing a completely new business class and then waiting months for the first aircraft to actually start flying that really gets me. And if I am already like this about Edelweiss, imagine how I feel waiting for Qsuite 2.0.

I will not spend too much time on this because we literally just talked about an IHG sale recently.

IHG One Rewards is once again offering up to a 100% bonus on purchased points, bringing the best price down to $5 per 1,000 points. The promotion launched September 15, and the standard offer requires purchasing at least 5,000 points to unlock the 100% bonus.

This is becoming a recurring theme. IHG has now offered a 100% bonus several times already in 2026.

So do not buy simply because the email says "100% BONUS."

But at $5 per 1,000 points, this is the price where I start doing the math if I have an IHG stay coming up. There are situations, particularly at expensive InterContinental, Six Senses, and Regent properties, where buying the points can cost substantially less than paying the cash rate.

As always: check the hotel, check the points price, compare against the cash rate, and then decide. Sometimes that five-minute calculation is the difference between an average redemption and saving several hundred dollars.

That's it for today. Qatar made the right call, Edelweiss is coming in June 2027, and IHG points are at $5 per 1,000 if the math works for a stay you already have in mind.

More deals, news, and trip ideas coming your way on Friday.

Catch you in the clouds,
Tomi from Points Master

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