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Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card review: A decent pick for small-business owners flying Southwest
Snapshot
4.5
Bankrate rating
Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Bottom line
There are a lot of benefits to the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Card, including a generous sign-up bonus, valuable anniversary points and the opportunity to qualify for Elite Status; however, if you want higher-tier rewards or don’t want to limit yourself to Southwest rewards, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Card or a general business travel rewards card may be a better choice.
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Earn 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Earn 60,000 points.
Rewards Rate
Earn 3X pts on Southwest® purchases. Earn 2X pts on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partners. Earn 2X pts on local transit and commuting, including rideshare. Earn 1X pts on all other purchases.
1X - 3X
Annual fee
$99
Regular APR
20.74% - 27.74% Variable
4.5
Bankrate score
Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card Overview
The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card offers business travelers who fly with Southwest Airlines a way to enjoy additional benefits. You can earn 3X points on purchases with the airline, 2X points on transit (including rideshares) and Southwest’s Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partners along with 1X points on all other purchases. You can redeem your points for rewards like Southwest Airlines flights, which have no restrictions, change fees or blackout dates.
What are the pros and cons?
Pros
Carries a solid welcome offer and 6,000 bonus points each year on your account anniversary.
Doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, unlike the base personal Southwest card.
Earn points faster by adding free employee cards and using the Tier Qualifying Points offer to expedite your path to elite status.
Decent travel and purchase protections
Cons
Poses a moderate $99 annual fee, although it can be recouped with the anniversary bonus and two EarlyBird Check-In® boardings each year.
Rapid Rewards points will largely limit you to booking Southwest flights.
The only bonus category outside Southwest and its partners is for commuting expenses like rideshares, which may limit your rewards potential.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
