What Is The Delta Private Jet Card & How Does The Program Work?

For many people, frequent flyer miles are incredibly important. One of the most popular programs is the SkyMiles program from Delta. If they are able to amass enough points, they can reach Medallion Status, which comes with benefits like free upgrades and waived baggage fees. Travelers can earn miles through their credit card, but the most obvious way to do it is through flights on Delta. If you fly often and have deep pockets but don't make quite enough to own your own private jet, you may charter one instead. If you think that precludes you from earning Delta SkyMiles, think again. Delta has a partnership with Wheels Up, a company that specializes in chartered private flights, that lets you beef up those miles so you can enjoy all the luxuries private jets offer that you won't find in commercial airlines. 

Unless you have so much money that you can just fly private all the time, you will probably go back and forth between private and commercial air travel, which could make accumulating Delta points enticing. With Wheels Up, you can either become a card-carrying member to book flights or simply charter private planes without the commitment. Whichever way you choose to fly with Wheels Up, you can connect your Delta SkyMiles account to Wheels Up to earn miles. You can reach the Diamond level of the Medallion program — the highest tier of the program aside from Million Miler Status — rather quickly with this method, but you will need to spend quite a bit of money to get to that upper echelon.

Earning automatic Delta Diamond Medallion Status through Wheels Up is a possibility for both Wheels Up members and those who charter private flights with the company without the membership commitment, but there are different spending thresholds for members and non-members. Let's start with the membership option. Wheels Up has three different tiers of membership: Individual, Small & Medium Enterprise Solutions, and Custom Enterprise Solutions. The first two plans have an annual $8,500 membership fee and require a minimum deposit into your Wheels Up Fund, with $100,000 being the base for the Individual Membership. No matter the membership, you must spend $100,000 to automatically receive Diamond Medallion Status for that year. For every $100,000 you spend after that, you are gifted another Diamond Medallion Status, which you can gift to any SkyMiles member in good standing. You can earn a maximum of four Diamond Medallion designations in a calendar year.

If you choose not to become a Wheels Up member but still want to use the company for chartered flights, the spending threshold climbs to $125,000 to earn automatic Diamond Medallion Status. These non-member flights will generally cost more than the same flight would for members, as discounted flights are one of the perks of a Wheels Up membership. Because non-member flights are more expensive, you may reach the $125,000 threshold faster than a member reaches the $100,000 requirement. However, non-members can only earn one Diamond Medallion Status, compared to the four available to members.