Southwest Business Credit Card Review

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card Overview

The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business credit card is a business travel card issued by Chase with a rewards program designed to incentivize traveling with Southwest Airlines.

On signing up for this Southwest business credit card, you’ll get 60,000 bonus points if you spend at least $3,000 on purchases in your first three months of card use. As far as points-earning goes, the card’s main draw is this: you’ll earn two points for every $1 you spend on Southwest Airlines purchases while earning one point for every $1 spent on all other purchases. There are no limits on the amount of points you can accrue.

Another prominent bonus: you’ll receive 6,000 bonus points each account anniversary year. There’s a lot to like about Chase’s Southwest travel card, though the card does carry a $99 annual fee, and it isn’t waived for the first year; it comes due on your first billing statement.

Read our Southwest business credit card review to see whether the travel benefits you’ll accrue make this card a good choice for your business.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business At A Glance

Eligibility

Business applicants must have excellent credit to be approved for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business card.

Rewards & Fees

• Earn 2 points for every $1 spent on purchases made directly with Southwest Airlines, including:
  • Flights
  • In-flight purchases
  • Southwest gift cards
  • Southwest Vacations package purchases
• Earn 2 points for every $1 spent on all purchases at participating Rapid Rewards hotel and rental car partners
• Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases
• Your points never expire, provided your Rapid Rewards account remains open
• $99 annual fee
• No foreign transaction fee
• Balance transfers carry a fee of either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
• Cash advances carry a fee of either $15 or 5% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater
• The late payment fee starts at $15 and rises to $39 depending on the amount owed
• The welcome offer of 60,000 is worth $600, assuming a point value of one cent

Some business cards waive their annual fee for the first year. Not so with the Southwest Premier card. Your $99 annual fee will come due on your first billing statement, so if you end up earning 60,000 bonus points by spending $3,000 within the first 3 months (not an unreasonable amount of spending for most businesses), the $99 fee will take some of the punch out of the welcome offer. In addition, there is no introductory 0% APR period, so if you want to rack up interest-free charges in the first months of using your card, you’ll need to sign up for another business card.

Now, on to the more positive aspects of this Southwest travel card. While the two points per $1 you’ll earn when making Southwest purchases is nice, you’ll also earn double points on purchases at the following Rapid Rewards hotel and rental car partners:

• Best Western
• Radisson
• Choice Hotels
• Hyatt
• La Quinta
• Marriott
• MGM
• Rocketmiles
• SPG
• Alamo
• Avis
• Budget
• Dollar
• Hertz
• National Car Rental
• Payless Car Rental
• Thrifty

What’s more, you’ll earn 1,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) for every $10,000 in eligible net purchases on the card (you can earn up to 15,000 tier qualifying points per year). TQPs are points that are used toward qualification for Rapid Rewards A-List or A-List Preferred status, which will get you such perks as priority boarding, priority check-in, a 25% points earning bonus, and free same-day standby.

Here’s a reward for the truly heavy spenders: If you fly 100 qualifying one-way flights or earn 110,000 TQPs in a calendar year, you’ll earn Companion Pass status, which enables you to bring along a companion traveler on any Southwest flight at no additional fare charge (taxes and security fees must be paid). There’s no limit to how often you can use this benefit. It’s a great perk if you’re making frequent business trips with your colleague or mistress or whoever.

Redeeming Rewards

Using your Southwest business credit card will earn you Rapid Rewards points. These points can be redeemed for Southwest Airlines flights, and there are no blackout dates nor seat restrictions. Rapid Rewards points can also be redeemed for gift cards, rental cars, concert tickets, non-Southwest airfare, and more through Southwest’s More Rewards program. However, Rapid Rewards points used on these items will be worth less than if they were redeemed for Southwest Airlines airfare.

Here’s Southwest’s FAQ for reward redemption.

Benefits

Chase lists the following as benefits attached to the Southwest business credit card:

• Unlimited reward seats and no blackout dates
• Up to two free checked bags per flight
• No change fee
• No foreign transaction fee
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Baggage delay insurance
• Extended warranty protection
• Purchase protection
• Get employee cards at no additional cost

Upon opening your account, Chase will send you a full guide to using your benefits.

Final Verdict

There’s a lot to like about the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business credit card. The welcome offer of 60,000 bonus points is a great value, particularly if you redeem them for Southwest Airlines airfare, in which case it can be worth over $1,000 (depending on a host of factors). The Companion Pass is a great perk (though reserved for the most frequent business travelers) for those who travel with a companion. The two free checked bags, lack of change fees, and the 0% foreign transaction fee all go toward enhancing the travel experience.

However, these advantages have to be weighed against the card’s disadvantages. The annual fee of $99 hits you immediately, taking a bit of the shine off your welcome offer. The card has no introductory 0% APR period. And unlike some other business travel cards which provide luxury perks like airport lounge admission for no additional cost, Southwest conditions such perks on you spending enough to achieve A-list membership in their rewards program. What’s more, the number of points required to book a Southwest flight can vary from week to week and are based on myriad factors, so it can be difficult to budget reward points for your travels.

Overall, if you don’t mind a modest level of bonus travel perks and you fly a lot with Southwest Airlines, this is a business travel card worth looking into.

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