Wheels Up vs CRAFT: Membership, Jet Card and Availability

Wheels Up and CRAFT both fly people privately who don't want to own an aircraft, and they are built differently. Wheels Up sells memberships on its own fleet and a marketplace of partner aircraft. CRAFT operates five Challenger 300 and 350 aircraft and sells hours on them through the Fleet Jet Card, or trip by trip as charter.

This guide compares how each is priced, what each guarantees, and how to put them side by side fairly. Wheels Up figures are what Wheels Up publishes on its own website, with the date we checked, unless they are labelled approximate.

Wheels Up overview

Wheels Up introduced Signature Membership in September 2025. You fund a prepaid deposit and pay a monthly fee, then pay for each flight on a Fixed plan (one rate for every trip) or a Dynamic plan (priced by season, day of week and destination). Signature centres on Wheels Up's Phenom 300 series (light) and Challenger 300 series (super-midsize) aircraft, with guaranteed access and recovery in the contiguous U.S. plus 225 miles, and global charter through Air Partner.

Wheels Up: what it publishes

Program	Signature Membership (operator + marketplace)
Cabins	Phenom 300 and Challenger 300 series; global charter through Air Partner
Entry price, as published	$200,000 minimum deposit + monthly fee
Minimum	$200,000 minimum prepaid deposit, plus a monthly fee
Callout	Not published
Peak days	Dynamic plan prices by season, day and destination; a fixed-rate plan is also offered
How you pay	$200,000 minimum prepaid deposit

Wheels Up fees

As published on Wheels Up's rate chart, checked September 29, 2026, fixed-plan rates at the minimum $200,000 fund are $9,295 an hour for the Phenom 300 and $13,495 an hour for the Challenger 300. At a $1,000,000 fund they are $8,695 and $12,695. The chart doesn't say whether tax or fuel is included, so ask. Dynamic-plan rates move with demand; Wheels Up's three-month averages after the fund discount were $9,088 (Phenom 300) and $10,576 (Challenger 300).

Earlier versions of this article described older Wheels Up tiers with initiation fees of about $3,000 to $30,000, annual dues of about $2,500 to $14,000 and hourly rates of about $5,000 to $12,000, as publicly reported in early 2026. Those figures are approximate and may no longer apply; confirm current terms with Wheels Up, including which memberships it sells.

The 7.5% federal excise tax applies to U.S. private flights, along with segment fees and any international fees for your itinerary.

Availability and access

Signature members get guaranteed access and recovery on Phenom 300 and Challenger 300 series aircraft within the contiguous U.S. plus 225 miles beyond the coastline. Wheels Up doesn't publish a callout or peak-day schedule on its Signature rate pages. Older reports described about 24 hours' notice, rising to about 120 hours on peak days; treat that as approximate and ask for the current schedule.

Who Wheels Up fits

Wheels Up suits U.S. flyers who want a choice between fixed and dynamic pricing, a light jet for short trips and a super-midsize for longer ones, and Delta Air Lines partnership benefits in one membership. See more in Wheels Up alternatives and our Wheels Up review.

CRAFT overview

CRAFT is a Part 135 operator of five Challenger 300 and 350 aircraft, ARGUS Platinum Rated and listed on the Wyvern registry, with Starlink on every aircraft, flown by CRAFT crews. We sell the Fleet Jet Card, prepaid blocks of 25, 50 or 100 hours at published rates, and charter on the same fleet. If a CRAFT Challenger is unavailable for a confirmed trip, we may arrange a comparable aircraft.

CRAFT is also the exclusive operator for the Glidepath Exchange Fund, whose members fly the CRAFT Challenger fleet. Investors contribute a concentrated stock position to the fund and diversify it without triggering a taxable event. Glidepath is offered by a separate company; CRAFT operates the flights. Read about Glidepath.

Rates, like for like

Wheels Up's Challenger 300 and CRAFT's Challenger 300 and 350 are both super-midsize, so that is the fair comparison. The table puts each on one basis, with fuel and the 7.5% FET:

Jet cards in the super-midsize class, per hour on one basis

• CRAFT Fleet Jet Card(ours)

  As published

  $12,950/hr

  Fuel and FET included

  With fuel and FET

  $12,950/hr

  Published price; fuel and FET included

• Wheels Up Signature Challenger 300

  As published

  $13,495/hr

  Fixed plan; tax and fuel not stated

  With fuel and FET

  $14,507/hrEst.

  Fuel not stated; none added; FET added at 7.5%; program doesn't state tax

Jet cards in the super-midsize class, per hour on one basis

Card	As published	Per hour with fuel and FET
CRAFT Fleet Jet Card(ours)	$12,950/hrFuel and FET included	$12,950/hrPublished price; fuel and FET included
Wheels Up Signature Challenger 300	$13,495/hrFixed plan; tax and fuel not stated	$14,507/hrEst.Fuel not stated; none added; FET added at 7.5%; program doesn't state tax

The Wheels Up figures leave out its monthly fee; the CRAFT card has no membership fee. Wheels Up's Phenom 300 rate is a light jet rate, a different class, so it isn't in this table. To see both on real routes, open CRAFT vs Wheels Up by route, or Wheels Up's provider page.

Which is right for you?

There is rarely one right answer; it depends on how you fly.

Wheels Up tends to fit if you want light and super-midsize aircraft in one membership, dynamic pricing on flexible dates, global charter options or Delta benefits.

The CRAFT Fleet Jet Card tends to fit if you want the same Challenger type on every trip, rates published in advance with fuel and FET included, no membership fee, and you fly mainly on the East Coast, in Florida and to the Bahamas.

For every jet card that publishes its terms, see the best jet cards compared and the jet card providers we track. To price a single trip, try the charter cost calculator.