Qatar Airways Privilege Club adopted Avios as its loyalty currency in 2022, aligning with British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, and Aer Lingus AerClub under the broader Avios ecosystem. One of the more useful features introduced alongside the currency switch was My List, a tool that allowed members to reserve award space temporarily or pool Avios for future bookings. In 2026, Qatar Airways has tightened the rules governing how My List can be used, and the changes introduce pitfalls that beginners in the Avios ecosystem should understand before they attempt to leverage the feature for award bookings.
My List originally served two purposes. First, it allowed Privilege Club members to place an award on hold for up to 72 hours without deducting Avios, giving travelers time to check with travel companions, confirm dates, or transfer points from a partner program before finalizing the booking. Second, it functioned as a repository where members could stage Avios from multiple sources, including transfers from British Airways or Iberia via the Combine My Avios feature, making it easier to assemble the required balance for a specific redemption.
The 72-hour hold was particularly valuable for travelers who needed to transfer points from Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, or Citi ThankYou to British Airways Executive Club and then combine the Avios into a Qatar Airways Privilege Club account. Transfer times from credit card programs to British Airways vary from instantaneous to several days, and a 72-hour hold bought the necessary breathing room.
Qatar Airways has revised My List to reduce the hold period from 72 hours to 24 hours on most award types, and in some cases the hold feature has been removed entirely for partner airline awards. The shorter hold window compresses the timeline for completing point transfers, and if the transfer does not post before the hold expires, the award space is released back into inventory with no guarantee it will be available again.
The updated terms also limit the number of Avios that can be staged in My List at any given time and restrict how frequently members can place holds on the same route and date combination. These anti-speculation measures are designed to prevent members from blocking award inventory they do not intend to book, but they also penalize legitimate users who are genuinely assembling points for a booking and need the hold time to complete transfers.
The most common beginner mistake in 2026 is initiating a points transfer from a credit card program to British Airways without first confirming that the Qatar Airways award space is still available and that the My List hold, if used, will survive the transfer timeline. Transferring 100,000 Amex points to British Airways only to find the Qatar Airways award space gone is an expensive and irreversible error.
A safer workflow is to confirm availability, initiate the transfer, and contact Qatar Airways Privilege Club by phone or chat to explain the transfer is in progress and request an extension on the hold. While Qatar Airways is not obligated to extend holds beyond the published policy, agents sometimes accommodate legitimate bookings when the transfer is traceable and in progress.
Another beginner pitfall is assuming that Combine My Avios works identically across all four Avios programs. Transferring Avios between British Airways and Qatar Airways is generally free and instant, but the number of transfers per year may be limited, and transfers between Iberia and Qatar Airways may require additional account age or activity requirements. Reading the current Combine My Avios terms on each program’s website before initiating a transfer prevents surprises.
This article is based on publicly available information from Qatar Airways Privilege Club terms and conditions, British Airways Executive Club Combine My Avios terms, and Amex, Capital One, and Citi transfer partner documentation as of mid-2026. Program rules and hold policies are subject to change without notice.
Q: Can I still place an award on hold with Qatar Airways? A: Yes, but the hold period has been reduced to 24 hours for most award types, and holds may not be available for partner airline awards. Always check the current hold policy for your specific route and award type before initiating a points transfer.
Q: Does combining Avios from British Airways to Qatar Airways reset the expiration clock? A: Avios transferred between programs generally retain their original expiration date. The transfer does not reset the 36-month expiration clock. Activity that extends Avios validity, such as earning or redeeming Avios in either program, applies to the entire balance in that program at the time of the activity.