You have more than enough jet card hours for the next year or so. You are happy with your jet card provider. Should you buy more?
You’re happy with your jet card company.
You’ve been with them for a while, maybe five or even 10 years.
Having hours that never expire sounds good.
Most rate locks only last 12 to 24 months, but in some cases, you can lock rates until funds expire.
As demand increases, rate locks sound even more appealing.
You are presented with the opportunity to purchase additional jet card hours.
Hourly rates are nearly 50% higher for light jet flyers than those CARES Act FET-free days of 2020 (see below).
That compares to a 33.8% overall increase in jet card hourly rates.
The average hourly rate for guaranteed-rate jet cards in the light jet category is nearly 40% higher than pre-COVID.
That compares to 26.9%.
| HOURLY RATES | Change from Q3 2025 | Change from Q4 2024 | Change from Q4 2020 | Change from Q4 2019 |
| Turboprop | 3.2% | -0.3% | 48.7% | 39.1% |
| Very Light | 3.3% | -1.8% | 49.0% | 34.5% |
| Light | 0.1% | 3.0% | 48.6% | 38.1% |
| Midsize | -1.0% | 0.5% | 37.6% | 27.2% |
| Super Midsize | -1.0% | -0.1% | 34.0% | 22.7% |
| Large | -0.8% | 0.4% | 26.1% | 17.1% |
| Ultra-Long-Haul | -0.1% | 1.4% | 25.4% | 14.1% |
| Overall | -0.1% | 1.7% | 33.8% | 26.9% |
| Without Turboprops | -0.2% | 1.8% | 34.1% | 25.9% |
Source: Private Jet Card Comparisons
Even last year, light jet rates were up year over year by 3.0% compared to 1.7% overall.
Subscribers to Private Jet Card Comparisons prefer the combination of contracted pricing and guaranteed booking at an 8-to-1 clip over dynamically priced flights.
READ: Where does your jet card private jet come from?
Prices tend to go up, as demonstrated above, so there may be a case for adding more hours for flights well into the future.
To be sure, failures are not a regular occurrence either.
However, they do happen.
We saw with Verijet, despite the company’s well-publicized troubles, flyers were buying hours in the months before it was grounded and ultimately filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.
Verijet was a new company.
It was founded in 2020 and quickly climbed the ranks to become one of the largest charter operators in the U.S.
Verijet jet card customers lost over $10 million.
On the other hand, when JetSuite failed in 2020, it had been in business for more than a decade, including making it through the Great Recession.
Suite Key members, who were unsecured creditors, were offered between 3 and 15 cents on the dollar.
Those jet card members had funded over $50 million in future flights at the time of its bankruptcy.
Like Verijet, JetSuite was a privately held company.
It made news, raising investment from both Qatar Airways and JetBlue.
That was less than 24 months before the end.
READ: Private Aviation Deal Book
From time to time, some themes are worth repeating.
Our advice: Try your best to avoid the temptation to buy more hours or funds than you will use in the next six to 18 months, with an emphasis on the shorter term.
We know jet card deals can be tempting.
And in some cases, they may be worth it.
READ: How good are those jet card deals?
The first reason, to use a football analogy, is that buying more than you will use during your rate lock is like a punter who outkicks his coverage.
Rate locks, an integral part of guaranteed-rate jet cards, are typically valid for 12 months.
Providers tend to offer longer rate locks for more significant purchases.
Buy 50 hours and get an 18-month rate lock.
Deposit $500,000 and get a 24-month rate lock.
The rate lock protects you against price increases implemented during the lock.
Some programs, as mentioned, lock rates until funds are used, a somewhat risky move.
However, fuel is rarely part of the lock.
Based on our quarterly analysis of fixed/capped jet card pricing, the value of a rate lock over the trailing 12-month period was 1.7% across the board.
Fixed- and capped-rate, guaranteed-availability jet cards make booking your flights as easy as texting, emailing, or calling.
They often come with generous cancellation terms.
You know a two-hour flight is X dollars.
You know where your jet card will fly you at those contracted prices.
Again, the reason for buying fixed- or capped-rate guaranteed availability jet cards is that they make booking and budgeting flights easier.
Many also reduce the risk of losing money to cancellation penalties.
Quite a few will provide recovery aircraft at no additional cost.
Some include complimentary WiFi and de-icing.
These are all significant benefits over dynamic pricing or booking flights trip by trip.
However, the benefit of buying and banking extra hours or funds should be measured against the risk.
Jet cards are not a bank.
Unless the provider is escrowing funds in an account where you need to sign to transfer funds, you could end up being an unsecured creditor.
Separate accounts do not protect your money.
You can also check out our Jet Card Haircut Calculator.
Of course, all private aviation access solutions have their thorns.
If you want to review the risks and rewards of ad hoc charter flights, fractional, and full ownership, read this.
READ: What happens to your jet card and private jet membership deposits?
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