The 8 Best Credit Cards for Booking Private Jet Travel [September 2023]

What To Look For in a Credit Card for Booking Private Jet Travel

In general, this is an industry that operates heavily on wire transfers — credit cards are usually accepted, but a shocking 4%+ credit card fee is added to the whole transaction.

But if you find brokers or operators who can waive these fees while accepting credit cards, you’ll want to make sure your card doesn’t get declined.

Private jet flights can run upwards of $100,000 for international journeys, so you’ll need a card that can pack a big enough punch to cover the whole flight.

Additionally, you’ll want one that rewards you the most for the hefty price tag. And, finally, you’ll want to find a card that can offer other benefits, including hotel perks, statement credits, and more.

Top Picks (Personal Cards)

Card Summary

Card	Welcome Bonus and Annual Fee	Private Jet Benefits
The Platinum Card® from American Express	Earn 80,000 points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first 6 months. Annual fee of $695 (rates & fees)	Earn 5x Membership Rewards points on airfare booked directly with the airline Wheels Up partnership for discounts and flight credits No preset spending limit
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (rates & fees)	Earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $395	Earn 2x miles on every purchase Trip cancellation and interruption
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (rates & fees)	Earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $95	Earn 2x miles on every purchase Travel & emergency assistance services
Chase Freedom Unlimited®	INTRO OFFER: Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back! Annual fee of $0	Earn 1.5% cash-back on every purchase 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 20.49% - 29.24%.

1. Amex Platinum Card (Top Pick)

Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of up to 125k (or 150k) points with the Amex Platinum. The current public offer is 80,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)

Undoubtedly, the best personal card for booking private jet travel is the Amex Platinum card.

First of all, the card features an incredible welcome offer. The card also earns up to 5x Membership Rewards points. Here’s a look at the earning structure:

• Earn 5x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel (up to $500,000 of these purchases per calendar year)
• Earn 5x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked with Amex Travel
• Earn 1x Membership Rewards point per dollar spent on all other purchases

Hot Tip: As we’ll discuss in the last section, some private jet operators, brokers, and mobile apps count as airlines, which would also allow you to earn 5x points here!

The next noteworthy feature of this card is that it has no preset spending limit. Private jet journeys are extremely expensive — this is probably going to be one of the only cards you can get where you can pay for the entire charter on 1 card.

The absence of a preset spending limit allows you to confidently book your private jet flight without worrying about maxing out a traditional credit limit.

This card has amazing travel benefits, including:

• Access to Wheels Up’s Premium Private Jet Program that offers initiation discounts, flight credits, and more
• Access to Fine Hotels & Resorts and The Hotel Collection
• Access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection
• Complimentary hotel elite status with Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status (enrollment required)
• Rental car elite status and/or benefits with Avis, Hertz, and National

It gets even better, though, because you’ll enjoy more than $1,600 worth of additional value through statement credits.

• Up to $200 in Uber Cash for Uber rides or UberEats orders in the U.S.
• Up to $200 in airline fee credits
• Up to $189 in CLEAR credit
• Up to $100 in Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
• Up to $200 in prepaid hotel credits on eligible Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings
• Up to $240 in digital entertainment credits
• Up to $100 in Saks Fifth Avenue credits
• Up to $300 in Equinox credits
• Up to $155 in Walmart+ credits

Note that some benefits listed above require enrollment so be sure to get the most out of your card by enrolling through your American Express account.

Why We Like Earning Amex Membership Rewards Points

Amex Membership Rewards points are the most valuable type of transferrable points available, worth around 2.2 cents apiece.

If you find a private jet company whose purchases code as an airline, you can enjoy a return on spending of a whopping 11%!

That’s a fantastic return when you consider you can get back thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars back on a single private jet charter.

The best way to redeem your Amex Membership Rewards points is to transfer them to airline and/or hotel partners for luxury business and first-class travel.

Bottom Line: The Amex Platinum card is the most well-rounded card to use for private jet travel. Between the possibility of earning 5x points (if your charter company is categorized as an airline), the absence of a preset spending limit, the Wheels Up membership perks, and the other travel-related perks such as the best lounge access and hotel benefits, this card is an absolute no brainer.

2. Capital One Venture X Card

Our runner-up credit card is the Capital One Venture X card, one of the hottest ultra-premium cards to hit the market in years.

To start, it boasts a huge welcome bonus right now. You can also earn up to 10x miles on hotels and rental cars, as well as 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel.

Unfortunately, private jet flights aren’t eligible for these bonus categories — not to worry, though, because you’ll earn 2x miles on all other purchases, which is nothing to sneeze at when you’re talking about private jet purchases that can cost well into the tens of thousands of dollars.

This fabulous credit card comes with a $300 annual travel credit for Capital One Travel bookings, a bonus of 10,000 miles every year (starting on your first cardmember anniversary), unlimited complimentary access for you and two guests to 1,300+ lounges, including Capital One Lounges and participating Priority Pass or Plaza Premium Lounges in the Partner Lounge Network, and a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit!

As far as other perks go, you should maximize the complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status, awesome trip delay reimbursement, baggage delay reimbursement, cell phone protection, ability to add cardholders to your account for no fee, and no foreign transaction fees.

Why We Like Earning Capital One Miles

Capital One Miles is another example of a transferrable rewards currency, just like American Express Membership Rewards.

The major difference is that Capital One has a different list of transfer partners that can be leveraged for luxury business and first class travel.

And when you earn 2x miles on private jet flights, you can expect that to be equivalent to a return on spending of around 3.6%.

If you decide not to use transfer partners, you can also redeem Capital One miles for cash-back, gift cards, merchandise, or travel through Capital One Travel at a lower redemption value.

3. Capital One Venture Card

The Capital One Venture card is the little sibling of the Capital One Venture X card. Known essentially as the mid-market premium credit card offering in the Venture family, this card offers outsized rewards and a lower annual fee.

You can still earn unlimited 2x miles on all purchases. According to our math, you can expect to get a return on spending of 3.6% for all purchases, which includes your private jet flights.

Additionally, you’ll get 5x points on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

It also comes with no additional fees for authorized users, no foreign transaction fees, travel and emergency assistance services, warranty manager service, roadside dispatch, lost luggage reimbursement, and purchase security.

4. Freedom Unlimited Card

The last personal credit card we’ll be discussing is the Freedom Unlimited card. Although it earns up to 5% cash-back on certain purchases, those bonus categories will likely not apply when booking private jet travel.

To be specific, the Freedom Unlimited card currently boasts the following earning categories:

• 5% cash-back on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 3% cash-back on dining
• 3% cash-back on drugstore purchases
• 1.5% cash-back on all other purchases

There’s usually a sizable welcome bonus available on the card, as well as a 0% introductory APR promotion on purchases and balances.

And although the rewards from this credit card are marketed as “cash-back,” you can convert that cash-back to Ultimate Rewards points if you have the right credit card — options include the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve card, or Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card.

Your rewards will convert at a ratio of 1% to 1x, meaning 1.5% cash-back can be converted to 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points, making your return on spending hover around 3%.

You’ll also enjoy extra perks such as secondary rental car coverage, purchase protection, extended warranty, fraud protection, zero liability for unauthorized purchases, and free authorized users.

Top Picks (Business Cards)

Card Summary

Card	Welcome Bonus and Annual Fee	Private Jet Benefits
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express	OUR BEST OFFER: Earn 120,000 points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $695 (rates & fees)	1.5x Membership Rewards points on purchases of $5,000 or more (terms apply) No preset spending limit
Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card	Earn a one-time cash bonus of $1,200 once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $150	2% cash-back on all business purchases with no caps or limits No preset spending limit
Capital One Spark Miles for Business	Earn 50,000 miles once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months. Annual fee of $0 intro for the first year, $95 after that	2x Capital One miles on all business purchases with no caps or limits
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card	NEW OFFER: Earn $900 cash-back after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $0	1.5% cash-back on all purchases 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months; variable 18.49% - 24.49% thereafter

1. Amex Business Platinum Card

Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a huge welcome bonus offer of up to 170,000 points with the Amex Business Platinum. The current public offer is 120,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)

The best business card for private jet bookings, in our eyes, is the Amex Business Platinum card, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

Here’s a look at this card’s earning structure:

• 5x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on flights and prepaid hotels at Amex Travel
• 1.5x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on eligible purchases in key business categories, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else (up to $2 million in purchases per calendar year)
• 1x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on all other purchases

When you book a private jet flight and spend more than $5,000 in a single transaction, you can earn 1.5x points, which is equal to a return on spending of 3.3%.

In addition, if you’re a business owner who spends a lot on the following categories, you can earn 1.5x points per dollar:

• Construction material and hardware suppliers
• Electronic goods retailers and software and cloud system providers
• Shipping providers

When you max out the $2 million cap in purchases that earn 1.5x points, you’ll end up with 3 million Amex points per year!

The travel benefits you’ll get are extensive:

• Access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection (which includes Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs when flying Delta the same day, Priority Pass lounges upon enrollment, Plaza Premium Lounges, and more)
• Complimentary hotel and car rental elite status (enrollment required)
• Access to Fine Hotels & Resorts and The Hotel Collection
• Access to a 35% rebate when using Pay with Points (up to 1 million points back per calendar year)

Beyond that, you’ll enjoy these business-oriented statement credits:

• Up to $400 with Dell Technologies
• Up to $360 with Indeed
• Up to $150 with Adobe
• Up to $120 on wireless telephone purchases
• Up to $200 in airline fee credits
• $189 in CLEAR credit

2. Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus card is one of our favorite credit cards for high-spending business owners. And if you’re booking private jet travel with any frequency, you’re probably a high-spending business owner.

In addition, you will earn an unlimited 2% cash-back on every purchase you make, as well as the ability to get your $150 annual fee refunded every year you spend at least $150,000.

Even better, you can add unlimited employee cards for no additional fee, and there are no foreign transaction fees.

3. Capital One Spark Miles Card

The Capital One Spark Miles card is a fantastic business credit card to have — it offers a great welcome bonus and earns 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and an unlimited 2x Capital One miles per dollar spent on all other business purchases.

This credit card has the ability to transfer at a 1:1 ratio to almost all of Capital One’s travel loyalty program partners. It comes with a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit, too.

Other perks include warranty manager/extended protection, complimentary concierge service, auto rental insurance, and roadside assistance.

4. Ink Business Unlimited Card [Low Intro APR]

The last credit card we’ll discuss is the Ink Business Unlimited card, which is issued by Chase.

This credit card has a sizable welcome bonus and the ability to earn an unlimited 1.5% cash-back on all business purchases without bonus categories or limits.

Although the Ink Business Unlimited card is a credit card, we’ve seen credit limits greater than $100,000, which could be more than enough to book private jet flights.

This card also comes with the ability to convert your 1.5% cash-back to 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points if you also have an Ultimate Rewards card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. That’ll double your return on spending from 1.5% to 3%!

Be sure to also make use of the other benefits, like the introductory 0% APR benefit, travel insurance (including primary car rental coverage), extended warranty coverage, purchase protection, zero liability fraud protection, and free employee cards.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

For the Hertz benefit for select Capital One products – enrollment required through Capital One website or mobile app. Upon enrollment, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through December 31, 2024.  Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier.  Additional terms apply.

The information regarding the Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

Information regarding the Capital One Spark Miles for Business was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card^® from American Express, click here.