Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card review: A decent pick for small-business owners flying Southwest

For the best approval odds, you should apply to the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business with an excellent credit score (a FICO score of 800 or higher, or a VantageScore of 781 or higher).

If you want to gauge your approval odds before applying — without hurting your credit score — Bankrate’s CardMatch™ tool could let you know whether you’re prequalified.

Chase typically tries to weed out credit card applicants who are trying to churn through credit cards for their sign-up bonuses and other incentives by rejecting applications from people who have obtained five or more new cards within the last 24 months. This is known as the Chase 5/24 rule, and it also covers Southwest and other co-branded cards.

When it comes to Chase business cards, the 5/24 rule still partially applies since you’ll still need to have opened fewer than four cards in the past two years to qualify. However, business cards like the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business won’t count toward your total number of cards under the the 5/24 rule if you receive one.

Yes, you can earn the valuable Southwest Companion Pass with the Premier Business card and other Southwest business cards, just like you can with personal Southwest cards. The Premier Business also offers the same 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each year other Southwest cards provide. 

It’s a small start, but it could be easier to earn the Companion Pass with a Southwest business card than a personal card since employee spending and travel count toward the 135,000 qualifying points or 100 qualifying one-way flights you need. In fact, the Companion Pass may be even more valuable for business owners since there are plenty of opportunities to travel with a companion.