If you’re not wealthy or don’t have a certain income level, then it’s likely you have never flown on a private jet before. Flying on a private jet gives you a feeling of luxury that is difficult to duplicate. If you get to do it, then you might very well feel like you’re on top of the world. 

However, you can usually only do it if you reach a particular level of financial stability. Once you get there, if you determine that you want to have ready access to a private jet, then you might do so through fractional jet ownership. You may also do it through jet cards. 

Before you try to locate the best fractional jet program, you may also want to take a close look at jet cards to see if this kind of a setup would work better for you. In this article, we’ll look at both of these options to help you figure out which of them is the superior choice for your particular situation.

What Does Fractional Jet Ownership Mean?

Let’s start by briefly talking about fractional jet ownership so that you understand what this term means when we use it. Fractional jet ownership means that you, along with several others, are buying into the ownership of a private jet. It’s very much like owning a timeshare.

You’re a part owner, and because of that, you can access the private jet, but usually not at all times. Instead, you and the rest of the ownership group will share it.

You will often do that by figuring out a schedule during which you can each use the jet. You might do that at the start of every year. 

You may figure out that you can use the jet for a couple of weeks every year. You can then plan some family vacations or trips around those dates.

As a fractional jet owner, you will probably pay a certain fee to become part of that ownership group. However, you will also have to pay a yearly fee that goes toward hiring the jet’s pilot. There will be other charges associated with things like the jet’s maintenance and storage.

What About Jet Cards?

As for jet cards, they represent another way to access a private jet, but the setup is a little different. If you have jet cards, they allow you to access private jets. However, in this case, you have no ownership stake in the jets in question.

Basically, you can look at it in this way. Virtually anyone can hire a private jet if they have enough money. If you have jet cards, though, it’s like you have preferential treatment as a customer.

If you get jet cards, then that enables you to rent one of these jets at a fixed hourly rate. That rate will probably be lower or more reasonable than what you would pay if you were just some random person trying to rent a jet who didn’t have one of these jet cards.

A jet card is a nice option because it gives you a predictable cost for renting the jet. If you don’t have a jet card, then that cost might very well fluctuate. You may pay more in a certain month or to get to a particular destination.

There is also guaranteed availability. That is not something you would have if you randomly decided to rent a private jet one day.

There’s one more thing you can expect to get with a jet card, and that’s access to different kinds of aircraft. A company that issues jet cards will likely have an entire fleet of different jets at its disposal. If you want to take a particular one to get to some destination, then you can probably do that.  

Which is the Better Choice?

If you start to look at both fractional jet ownership and jet cards, you will probably see certain things about either one of these setups that you like. You may also see some drawbacks, though. 

In the case of fractional jet ownership, you might balk at the maintenance fees and the storage fees having to do with the jet. That may be tens of thousands of dollars yearly in some cases.

However, if you opt for a jet card instead, there’s usually a yearly fee you need to pay in order to have one. If you’re trying to choose between getting a jet card and buying into a fractional jet ownership group, and money is a factor, then you might choose to go with the option that’s more reasonable and easier on your finances.  

It’s Usually All About Whether Partial Ownership Appeals

You might choose to look at the situation in a different way, though. When trying to pick between these options, you may elect to decide not on which one costs a little more or less, but on whether you want to tell people that you own a private jet.

Yes, if you want to get technical about it, then you can’t say you own the private jet outright if you have fractional jet ownership. The reality is, though, that you’re a partial owner, and some people seem to like the clout that goes along with that.

It’s nice to say to someone that you have partial ownership of a private jet. If you want to do that, then you need to buy into a fractional jet ownership group. You can’t honestly say the same thing if you have a jet card instead.

Frankly, there’s not a huge difference in between these two ideas, since you’re getting access to a private jet either way. Some people might want a jet card more because it gives you more flexibility in of when you can use the jet. If you have partial ownership of the jet via a fractional ownership group, then you can usually only access it a few times per year. 

Think about what you prioritize most when trying to make this decision.