Pixabay / S. Hermann & F. Richter
Everyone has that thing they go to Costco for. My parents swear it’s the best place to buy a new TV (it isn’t always). I personally swear by the quality of their fresh Ahi Tuna, Halibut, and Snow Crab. Their seafood never disappoints. Others go there strictly to buy everything in bulk from beer to socks and everything in between.
Nowhere on the list of items that I’d go to Costco for would you find ‘private jet’ but here we are talking about Costco’s latest offering which is exactly that. For the perfectly reasonable price of $17,499.99, you can become a Wheels Up member for a year and pick up a large credit to use on private jet travel.
You won’t own the jet but Wheels Up is an industry leader in private aviation with over 300 planes and 1,250+ approved partner aircraft in the United States to pick from anytime you want to fly off to Aspen for the weekend. Here’s a full rundown of what you’ll get for the low low low price of $17,499.99 at Costco (find the Costco product listing here):
- Access to one of the world’s largest owned and managed fleets, comprising nearly one of the world’s largest owned and managed fleets of nearly 300 private aircraft as well as a Program Fleet of 1,250+ safety-vetted and verified partner aircraft in four different jet categories, all of which can be seamlessly searched and booked using the Wheels Up App
- Guaranteed nationwide availability up to 365 days a year – and with as little as 24 hours’ notice
- Wheels Up Membership features Shared Flights, empty-leg Hot Flights, Shuttle Flights, and The Community, an online platform of members-only forums to facilitate flight sharing, give members the opportunity to reduce their cost of flying private
- Exclusive cross-platform benefits through a groundbreaking partnership with Delta Airlines
- A comprehensive suite of lifestyle hospitality, and travel benefits
- One (1) $3,500 Costco Shop Card will be sent by Wheels Up after agreements are received and your account is activated
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The 12-month Wheels Up subscription includes a $3,500 Costco Shop Card and a $4,000 flight credit with Wheels Up which sounds awesome until you do a little digging. The 2020 hourly rates for Wheels Up are $4,295 on the King Air option and $7,459 on the Citation Exel/XLS. There are options to pre-purchase hours in increments of $50K, $100K, $200K, and $400K which sounds like a total steal to me and definitely something I’d go to Costco for.
Anyone with enough money to pay for a private jet already knows this, but having a private jet is really the easiest/best/only way for Americans to get into Europe right now because it’s all done under the appearance of ‘business travel’. I’ve been sorely missing my annual trip to Europe which I would be planning and booking right about now but instead I’m arguing with my family about Thanksgiving logistics and everyone’s accusing everyone else of being too lax in life. I could really go for that PJ lifestyle right about now.
If you’re in the market for a Wheels Up membership from Costco you can check out the product listing right here and take it from there.