The essential read
Nine questions to ask any jet card provider.
Including us. Especially us. Print this, take it to every program you are considering, and compare the answers side by side — the differences will be larger than the brochures suggest.
Jet card programs are not hard to compare. They are just rarely compared on the things that matter, because the things that matter live in the agreement rather than the brochure.
These nine questions are the ones that reveal what a program is actually like to be a member of. Each one has a short note on why it matters, what our answer is, and — more usefully — what to watch for in anyone else’s. Ask all nine of everybody. If a provider is evasive on any of them, you have learned something more valuable than the answer.
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Is my money refundable if I stop flying?
Why it matters. This is the single largest financial risk in a jet card, and the one buyers ask about last.
Our answer
Yes — always refundable. Unflown hours come back to you.
What to watch for elsewhere
Language like "non-refundable after 12 months", "credited toward a renewal", or a refund available only "less an administrative fee". Ask for the clause, not the summary.
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How many peak travel dates are there, and what happens on them?
Why it matters. A program with 90 surcharged peak days is more expensive on a quarter of the year, including the days you most want to fly.
Our answer
Velocity designates none and adds no surcharge of its own, and there are no blackout dates. Peak travel dates — every holiday plus the two days either side, the Super Bowl, the Kentucky Derby, Davos — do cost more, because market demand prices them that way wherever you book. They need fourteen days notice to secure an aircraft. That is supply, not policy.
What to watch for elsewhere
The count of designated peak days, whether the program adds its own surcharge on top of market pricing or an outright blackout, and whether callout notice lengthens on them.
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How much notice do you need, honestly — including on a peak travel date?
Why it matters. Guaranteed availability is only as good as the notice period attached to it.
Our answer
Twenty-four hours guarantees your rate and an aircraft. On peak travel dates it is fourteen days — every holiday plus the two days either side, the Super Bowl, the Kentucky Derby, Davos. Shorter than that is routine rather than exceptional: ad hoc requests are regularly filled inside two hours, subject to what the market has that day.
What to watch for elsewhere
A short headline callout that quietly doubles on peak dates. Ask specifically about the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
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Do you own or manage the aircraft I will fly?
Why it matters. This is the question that reveals whose interest is being served, and almost nobody asks it.
Our answer
No. We own no aircraft and manage none. We have no empty seat to fill and no utilization target to hit.
What to watch for elsewhere
A program that owns its fleet has a structural incentive to put you on the aircraft that needs flying, not the aircraft that suits your trip.
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Who exactly answers when I call at 11pm on a Sunday?
Why it matters. Service quality is invisible until something goes wrong, which is always at an inconvenient hour.
Our answer
We are always open. One number, 24/7, answered right away by someone who can actually arrange the trip — not a desk that opens on Monday.
What to watch for elsewhere
Ask for the name of the person, not the name of the desk. Then ask what happens when that person is on holiday.
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What are all the fees that are not in the hourly rate?
Why it matters. The hourly rate is the number that is advertised. It is rarely the number you pay.
Our answer
No Velocity peak-day surcharge, no overnight fee, no ground-hold or wait fee. Federal Excise Tax and any genuine third-party costs are shown at cost, itemized. Peak travel dates carry higher market pricing, which is not a fee and is not ours.
What to watch for elsewhere
Repositioning and ferry charges, overnight fees, de-icing, international handling, catering markups, wi-fi, and a fuel surcharge that moves without notice.
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What is your safety standard, and is it audited by someone other than you?
Why it matters. Every broker says safety is their first priority. Very few will name the auditor.
Our answer
FAA Part 135 certificated carriers only, holding the highest safety ratings in the industry from independent third-party auditors, and re-verified before every single trip rather than annually.
What to watch for elsewhere
Self-declared standards with no external auditor named, or a rating confirmed once at onboarding and never re-checked.
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Can I see the actual contract before I commit anything?
Why it matters. The terms live in the agreement, not in the brochure. A program confident in its terms shows them early.
Our answer
Nothing happens without it. The agreement is sent and read before any money moves, with time for your counsel — that is the process here, not a concession you have to ask for.
What to watch for elsewhere
A contract that arrives only after a deposit, or a "standard agreement" that cannot be shared in advance.
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What happens if the aircraft goes technical two hours before departure?
Why it matters. Recovery is the real test of a program. Everyone is excellent when nothing breaks.
Our answer
We source a replacement from the entire market rather than from one fleet — which is usually faster, because we are not waiting for a specific company’s aircraft to come free.
What to watch for elsewhere
Whether recovery is guaranteed, how it is priced, and whether the program is limited to its own aircraft when its own aircraft is the thing that broke.
One more, if you only ask one
If you get through only a single question, make it the fourth: does the program own or manage the aircraft it is about to put you on?
It is the question almost nobody asks, and it is the one that quietly determines every other answer. A program that owns its fleet carries a utilization target. An empty seat is a cost on its balance sheet. That is not a moral failing — it is arithmetic — but it means there is a permanent, structural reason to place you on the aircraft that needs flying rather than the aircraft that suits your trip.
Velocity owns none and manages none. There is no seat to fill, no fleet to utilize, and therefore no version of this business where the aircraft you fly is chosen for any reason other than that it is right for your trip.
Ask it of everyone. The answer is usually short, and it is usually very informative.
Put these questions to us directly
We would rather be asked all nine than none of them. Ask us anything on this page and you will answer it plainly — including where we are not the right answer for you.
- Answered personally — never a call center
- 24/7, answered right away
- No list, no reseller, no follow-up you did not ask for
Ready to see the terms?
Every program term, in one table, before you have to ask for it.
Every inquiry is answered personally — 24/7, and we come back to you right away.
- Newest aircraft
- Highest safety ratings
- FAA Part 135
- NBAA Member