Private Jet Cards were first created in 1997 directly in response to fractional ownership which garnered popularity around that time. Fractional ownership allowed those who bought in to own a share of the aircraft and gain an allotment of hours they are allowed to fly. The purpose of such a system was in order to simplify flying privately; instead of having to solely own and maintain an aircraft, the cost would be split between the members. This also created consistency in pricing with fixed rates, furthering the attractiveness of buying into the system.

Private Jet Card memberships in multiple ways. Those who buy into a jet card do not have any ownership of the aircrafts they used. Alternatively, they are pre-purchasing an allowance that can be used on their flights. Different companies use this model in various ways, from having customers buy a certain amount of hours they can fly to buying based on mileage to placing a deposit on an account and picking between options based on market pricing.

In terms of practicality, customers who take numerous short flights or fly less than a total of 50 hours get the most benefit from this model. Also, those who exclusively take one way flights do not have to pay for their empty legs (repositioning flights that do not have passengers). In general, jet cards are best for infrequent flyers or shorter flights.