My preference is for a thermal relief. What a designer can allow is
determined by the the desing and componenets slected. It should be a rare
product requirement that one not be allowed.

Via's and plated through holes without components.
SMT assemblies without through hole componets only have solder in a hole if
it is required for some specifc purpose. The same condition is found in wave
soldered assemblies run on selective solder pallets and selective soldered
assemblies.

Leads can be soldered in holes attached to power and ground planes without
thermal reliefs at the exspense of having a reduced list of soldering
process options. The cost of making a solder joint goes up either in the use
of more expensive equipment, increased process development time or increased
cycle time, change in materials or all the above.

The ability to rework or replace a component goes down as well. What the
product is used for and its cost determines how eleborate the process is. No
thermal relief translates into more heat required to perform the operation.
This may resulting in scraping what would otherwise be reworkable and
useable.

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