Points to Private Jets — How Society Members Fly

Points are a currency with a terrible exchange rate and excellent sweet spots. The discipline is knowing which is which.

Business class to Europe remains the best value in the programme world: transfer partners routinely price a lie-flat seat at a third of cash. Domestic first class almost never justifies the points. Hotel redemptions are worth running the arithmetic on only at the top end, where a suite that costs two thousand in cash can cost the same as a standard room in points.

Charter begins where points stop. Empty legs — repositioning flights sold at a discount — can put four people on a light jet for the price of four flexible business class tickets, provided you are relaxed about timing. Jet cards make sense above roughly twenty-five hours a year; below that, on-demand is cheaper.

The five routes where private genuinely competes: Atlanta to Turks, Miami to Nassau, New York to Nantucket, Nice to Olbia, and London to Ibiza. Short hops, difficult schedules, and a group of four or more.