The fees operators
don't lead with.

Most programs designate between 20 and 90 days per year as "peak days" — high-demand dates around major holidays, sporting events, and seasonal travel spikes. On these days, operators add a surcharge of 10–40% on top of your contracted hourly rate, extend minimum lead times, or both.

The range is dramatic: some programs have 20 peak days with a 10% surcharge. Others have 90 blackout days where you simply cannot fly at your contracted rate at all. The gap between these two extremes — on just the dates you're most likely to fly — can cost a buyer $30,000–$80,000 in a single year.

A "fixed hourly rate" does not automatically mean fuel is included. Many programs quote a base rate and add a fuel surcharge on top — often indexed to weekly benchmarks like the ARGUS Jet Fuel Index and reset regularly. With Jet-A currently averaging $6.56/gallon nationally, this surcharge is material.

Fuel surcharges typically run $300–$1,000+ per flight hour depending on aircraft type and fuel price environment. On a 4-hour super-midsize trip, that's an additional $1,200–$4,000 that doesn't appear in the headline rate comparison.

If no aircraft is available at or near your departure airport, your operator may need to reposition one from elsewhere. Some programs absorb this cost entirely. Others pass through a repositioning or "ferry" fee — which can add $2,000–$8,000 to a trip that appeared straightforward on paper.

This fee is most common on thin routes, regional airports, and during peak periods when available aircraft are clustered elsewhere. Operators with large owned fleets (NetJets, Flexjet) are less likely to charge this because repositioning cost is absorbed in their operational model. Broker-network programs pass it through more often.

Most jet card programs impose a minimum billable flight time per trip — regardless of actual wheels-up to wheels-down duration. The industry average minimum has risen to 96 minutes per booking in 2026. On peak days, minimums are often extended further.

For short-sector flyers — New York to Boston, Chicago to Detroit, Los Angeles to Las Vegas — this is the most expensive hidden fee category. A 45-minute actual flight billed at 96 minutes means you're paying for over twice the actual flight time.

Most jet card programs expire unused hours at 12–18 months from purchase date. If your flying needs change — illness, a business deal falling through, a change of plans — hours you've prepaid can simply vanish. Some programs offer partial refunds on unused hours; others do not. A few, most notably Sentient Jet, offer genuinely non-expiring hours.

This is a structural risk that buyers routinely underestimate. The financial cost of a 25-hour card expiring with 8 hours unused at $8,000/hr is $64,000 in lost value.

Most programs have a cancellation window — typically 24–72 hours before departure — inside which a cancellation triggers a penalty. This penalty is usually expressed as a partial or full forfeiture of the hours for that trip. On peak days, cancellation windows are often extended, and penalties are higher.

For business travellers whose plans change frequently, this is a real cost. A cancelled 4-hour super-midsize leg inside the window can mean losing $40,000 in prepaid hours — with no recourse unless your contract explicitly allows force majeure.

International flights — including to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and transatlantic — typically carry add-on fees beyond the hourly rate. These include international handling fees, landing permits, overflight fees, customs and immigration facilitation, and crew visa costs. They are almost never included in the headline hourly rate.

On a transatlantic trip, these fees can add $3,000–$8,000 per leg. On shorter international hops like New York to the Bahamas or Miami to the Cayman Islands, expect $500–$2,500 in international handling fees per trip.

This isn't a surcharge — it's a structural risk most buyers don't think about until it's too late. When you deposit $150,000 or $500,000 into a jet card program, that money typically becomes an unsecured liability of the operator. Most programs co-mingle client deposits with their operating capital.

If the operator faces financial difficulty — as Wheels Up did in 2022–2023 — your prepaid deposit is at risk. You become an unsecured creditor in any insolvency proceeding, often recovering cents on the dollar. A small number of programs — Magellan Jets notably — hold client funds in segregated accounts entirely separate from operations.