Jet Cards: How They Work, What They Cost and How to Compare Them
Jet card hub
A jet card is a prepaid or pre-committed private flight program: you buy a block of flight hours or deposit a dollar balance, then fly an aircraft category on terms set in advance, without owning an aircraft. Rates, availability guarantees, fees and refund rules differ by program and are set in each program's agreement.
Data last reviewed: Data version 2026.10 How we compare
Start here
- How jet cards work: from purchase to flight, how cards compare with memberships, fractional shares and charter, and when a card is worth it.
- What a jet card costs: hourly rates, fees, taxes and the real number, with a cost calculator.
- Compare programs: published terms side by side, weighted by what matters to you.
- Best programs by use case: our picks for different kinds of flyers and why.
- All programs: every program at a glance, recent changes, and programs no longer sold.
- How to choose a jet card: what to compare and what to confirm before you buy.
What a jet card costs
The hourly rate is only part of a private jet card bill. The total also moves with the 7.5% federal excise tax where the rate excludes it (Primary source: 26 U.S.C. 4261(a)), fuel surcharges, taxi time, daily minimums, repositioning outside the service area, peak-day surcharges and any membership fees.
Published figures are not like-for-like. Sentient Jet lists its SJ25 light jet card at a "Base 25-Hour Price" of $183,100 and says "Fuel Surcharge and Federal Excise Tax will apply" (Provider-stated, 2026-09-25). flyExclusive says its 2026 Jet Club has "Federal Excise Tax included in all quoted rates" and "no fuel surcharge" (Provider-stated, release dated 2026-04-16).
The jet card cost guide has published rates by category, the fee list and a calculator for effective hourly cost.
Jet card provider pages
Listed alphabetically. Inclusion in this comparison is never paid for.
- Air Partner JetCard (now sold under the Wheels Up brand) — JetCard (Air Partner, now branded Wheels Up; UK/international site)
- Fly Alliance — Fly Alliance Jet Card Membership, The Reserve (Fly Alliance x Thrive Aviation)
- flyExclusive — flyExclusive Jet Club, flyExclusive Jet Club Plus
- Jet Linx — Jet Card Membership
- Jets.com — Access Pass, Access+
- Magellan Jets — Category Jet Card — 25-hour tier, Category Jet Card — 50-hour tier, Category Jet Card — 100-hour tier, Premium Jet Card — 25-hour tier, Premium Jet Card — 50-hour tier, Premium Jet Card — 100-hour tier, Explorer Membership, Explorer 100 Membership
- NetJets — NetJets Card — 275 days of annual access (U.S.), NetJets Card — up to 320 days of annual access (U.S.), NetJets Card (Europe) · Reported limited for new buyers. SherpaReport reported on 2026-08-06 that NetJets 'has paused all new sales of its 25-hour jet cards and its 25-hour per year leases'. NetJets' own card and pricing pages, checked 2026-09-25, do not mention a change. Reported by SherpaReport, August 6, 2026
- Nicholas Air — RISE Card, BLUE Card, STEEL JET Card, LITE Card
- Paramount Business Jets — Paramount Jet Card (Emerald, Gold, Platinum, Black tiers)
- PlaneSense — CobaltPass® Jet Card — Pilatus PC-24 · PC-24 card 'Now Available!'; PC-12 card 'Sold Out' (card page, read 2026-09-25) Provider-stated
- Sentient Jet — SJ25 Jet Card (Light), SJ25+ Jet Card (Mid, Super-Mid, Large Cabin)
- VistaJet — VistaJet Program, VistaJet VJ25
- Wheels Up — Wheels Up Signature Membership - Fixed Access Plan, Wheels Up Signature Membership - Dynamic Access Plan
- XO — XO Membership, XO Reserve, XO Corporate
Guides to the details
Costs and fees
- Jet card cost: rates, fees and the calculator.
- Rate lock and fuel surcharge clauses: what a rate lock covers.
- International repositioning fees: positioning charges on trips abroad.
Availability and booking
- Peak days and holiday travel: notice and fees on high-demand dates.
- Cancellation policies: notice windows, refunds and unused hours.
- Weather delays and mechanical substitutions: what substitution clauses cover.
Aircraft and flexibility
- Aircraft categories: how the category you buy shapes each trip.
- Interchange: converting hours between categories.
Accounts, alternatives and your money
- Family and multi-user accounts: booking authority and spending limits.
- Jet card vs fractional ownership: hours, capital and exit terms.
- Jet card or on-demand charter: choosing by how you fly.
- Financial safeguards: where your money sits before you prepay.
- Private jet charter: how per-trip charter is quoted and booked.
Editorial view
PJReviews’ opinion, written from the labelled facts on this page.
Weigh the exit before the rate. The hourly rate is the easiest number to compare and the least complete: programs differ on whether excise tax and fuel sit inside it, and the terms that decide what happens to your money matter more. We would read an agreement in this order. First, who you are contracting with and who will operate the flights. Second, whether unused hours or funds expire or can be refunded, and what happens to your balance if the program is sold or restructured. Third, the callout, peak-day and cancellation terms for the dates you fly. Only then the rate, modelled on your trip mix. The changes above show that a program can close to new buyers.
Businesses listed in the Jet Card Program category
The PJReviews directory has a separate Jet Card Program category, outside this comparison. PJReviews lists businesses and does not vet them, so confirm terms and who will operate your flights before booking with any of them.
Jet card questions
What is a jet card?
A prepaid or pre-committed way to fly private without owning an aircraft: you buy hours or deposit funds, then fly an aircraft category on terms fixed in advance.
How do jet cards work?
You pay up front, book inside the callout window, and each flight is charged to your balance plus any taxes and surcharges the rate excludes.
Is a jet card worth it?
It can be if you will use what you buy before it expires, fly mostly off peak and inside the service area, and fly legs longer than the daily minimum.
Are jet cards regulated?
The flights are. US rules distinguish the company that sells your flight from the one that operates it. A US company flying you for hire needs an FAA certificate and operations specifications (14 CFR 119.5). A broker must state in its advertising that it is not the operator and, before you contract, name the carrier in operational control (14 CFR 295.23, 295.24). Prices and refund terms come from the card agreement.