Three jet card buying mistakes you should avoid

Sentient Jet is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, which coincides with its role as the category inventor. Like fractional ownership, jet cards have done more to expand and, might I say, democratize private aviation than any empty-leg app or jet-sharing program. That’s because jet cards, like fractional ownership, opened up private jet travel to more flyers who wanted easy access to the market and were willing to pay what it costs to fly privately. Jet cards bridge the vast gap between on-demand charter and fractional or whole aircraft ownership.

Jet cards that offer guaranteed availability with capped or fixed hourly rates make flying easy.

You already have fund credits in your account except for a few pay-as-you-go options.

Subscribers tell me that having already sent their money to a jet card provider, they are more likely to take incremental flights.

Unlike the back-and-forth booking charters on an ad hoc basis, booking your guaranteed jet card flights can be done in minutes or seconds.

You already know how much flying in your primary or extended service area costs.

You also know the cancelation terms.

If the original aircraft has a mechanical, most jet card providers will get you a replacement without a requote.

Your daughter got tickets to Taylor Swift next weekend in Minneapolis. No problem!

Your son wants you to come to babysit the grandkids in San Antonio. That’s easy.

So far, so good.

Jet card mistakes

Of course, when I get an email from a subscriber who wants to share a bad experience, it’s always interesting to hear about their issue.

So, what are the three jet card-buying mistakes you should avoid?

Inactivity Clause

I always say—and have written—that if you don’t know where you will fly, don’t buy a jet card.

Where you will fly, how many people are going, and what type of booking window you need are all significant factors in determining which jet cards work best for you.

Last week, a subscriber told me about how he had bought a jet card in 2021 and used it once.

Three years later, when he went to use it again, he found he had far fewer hours left than he should have.

He had run across an inactivity clause.

While some jet card providers expire funds within a specific period, usually 12 to 36 months, others market “funds never expire.”

However, that could be seen as a contradiction to the fine print.

These inactivity clauses aren’t common, but they are out there.

For example, one contract reads, “Unused account balances shall be surrendered to Air Charter Broker after 24 consecutive months without account deductions related to flight requests.”

Another contract notes that if the customer “does not complete any trips within six months after the end date (of the rate lock), the jet card provider) will deduct an inactivity fee equal to 10% of the balance of the account. At the end of each 180-day period of inactivity thereafter, (the jet card provider) will deduct an inactivity fee equal to 25% of the balance of the jet card.”

Read the Contract!

We always say before you sign a contract, please read it, as the fine print matters.

The subscriber had admittedly signed up without reading the contract.

In this case, the subscriber argued that her provider should have sent him a non-usage notification.

We agree, although that may have been a loser if it had gone to litigation.

She also used this provider for ad hoc charters when he didn’t use his jet card.

She believed that should have been taken into consideration.

The provider made concessions that will enable her to get back the usage of her expired hours.

That’s a good move since referrals are essential to the business.

Regarding whether claims that hours never expire in promotional literature legally need to be footnoted, I would argue yes, but that would be for the courts to test.

Don’t buy more than you need

Here’s another jet card mistake.

There are many reasons not to buy more hours than you will need for the next six to 18 months.

First, most programs only provide a 12-month rate lock, although they sometimes extend that to 18 or 24 months.

After the lock expires, you are subject to new rates and often policies, either or both, which could mean the program is no longer optimal for your needs.

I definitely would discourage buying beyond your rate lock.

As JetSuite and Volato’s jet card customers learned, jet card providers are not banks.

At the same time, I saw savvy subscribers who wanted to take advantage of Wheels Up’s previous long-flight discounts last year.

Those discounts often put Wheels Up $25,000 or more lower each way than other large programs.

They funded just what they needed for the next 60 to 90 days and could, in some cases, save six figures in flight costs.

Of course, they took the calculated risk Wheels Up would not make it.

I would also keep the same measured approach to top-up offers when you still have plenty of hours.

READ: What happens to your jet card and private jet membership deposits?