In November, reader Amit wrote the following on my Contact Frequent Miler page:
Have you seen Dynamics Inc’s ePlate reward program for JetLimo? http://dynamicsinc.com/JetLimo
Seems too good to be true… the program is so confusing that it warrants some investigation. The rewards could be HUGE though.
I spent some time looking at this. The crazy ePlate card lets you select your rewards earnings by pressing a button on the card. Most rewards seem lackluster, at best, but the JetLimo rewards seem way too good to be true.
According to the documentation, you can earn a $1,500 flight on a private jet after you spend just $1,250. That’s less than one trip to CVS for me! Anyway, I’m 100% sure there’s a big catch to this, but I couldn’t find it in the online documentation. It may be simply that the reward seats are rarely available and can only be used on chartered flights that are not full? Maybe once on board you’ll be subjected to the equivalent of a timeshare presentation? Maybe you have to fly the plane and clean the bathroom? I have no idea.
The terms & conditions say (bolding is mine):
- a. If you have a base ePlate™ card, which does not carry the annual Rewards Upgrade Fee, you will earn 1 JetLimo JetSeat credit for every cumulative $50.00 in “Qualifying Purchases” you make.
- b. If you have an upgraded ePlate™ card, which does carry the annual Rewards Upgrade Fee, you will earn 1 JetLimo JetSeat credit for every cumulative $25.00 in “Qualifying Purchases” you make.
- c. Once fifty (50) JetLimo JetSeat credits are earned, those credits may be exchanged for a travel voucher for one (1) passenger seat on a private JetLimo business jet. Redemption for passenger seats will not be available until July 1, 2013
So, you need 50 credits to get a seat on the jet. You can get those by spending just $1250 with the annual fee card or $2500 with the no-annual fee card. Or, you can essentially purchase enough credits for less than $125:
- JetLimo JetSeat credits may also be purchased by authorizing an automatic $2.50 purchase to be made after every “Qualifying Purchase” that you make with your Card utilizing the Application. You will earn one (1) JetLimo JetSeat credit through this automatic purchase in addition to the number that you may earn from the underlying “Qualifying Purchase.”
OK, I think I know what the catch is. You probably get this guy’s seat:
Is anyone brave enough to try this?