Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card Review [2024]: Do the Perks Outweigh the Fee?

Card basics

FinanceBuzz star rating	4.3 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
FinanceBuzz valuation1	Year 1: $1,101 Year 2: $285
Annual fee	$99
Welcome offer	Earn 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open
Reward rate	3X points on Southwest purchases, 2X points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners and on local transit and commuting, including rideshare; plus 1X points on all other purchases
Recommended credit score	Excellent, Good
Foreign transaction fee	None

The Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card offers several generous rewards, including the opportunity to earn 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.

This card also offers 6,000 anniversary points on your cardmember anniversary and you can earn generous rewards for purchases on Southwest Airlines, along with a variety of other travel perks.

The welcome offer points also get you closer to earning the Southwest Companion Pass, which allows you to bring a designated guest with you at almost no cost whenever you fly from the date you earn the pass until the end of the next calendar year.

If I were a frequent Southwest traveler, I would do whatever I could to earn the 135,000 qualifying points to earn the Companion Pass. You only pay the applicable taxes and fees, which start at $5.60 for one way and are nothing compared to the cost of airline tickets, and is the major draw for this card.

But while this card comes with ample perks, those perks are really only valuable if you fly Southwest frequently. You also have to pay a $99 annual fee for the card, which is applied to your first billing statement. So before you apply, determine if this card is among the best credit cards for you.

Who should get the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card?

If you’re a business owner and a regular traveler on Southwest with a companion, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card could be a great option if you spend enough to earn the Companion Pass as it’s the card’s largest perk.

With this card, not only will you earn 3X points on Southwest purchases, but you’ll also get a few other perks as well, such as two EarlyBird Check-Ins® per year.

If you don’t travel with a companion regularly, you can still use your points to purchase airline tickets. If you spend enough, it can be a great way to fly for free (excluding taxes and fees), and since every passenger gets two free checked bags, there’s very little you have to pay for when flying.

Top features

• Generous welcome offer: Earn 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Plus, earn an anniversary bonus of 6,000 points each year on your account anniversary.
• Board earlier: As a cardholder, you can take advantage of two EarlyBird Check-In® opportunities each year, which gets you an earlier boarding position and allows you to select your preferred seat before other customers.
• Free cards for employees: Unlike with some of the best travel credit cards, you don’t have to pay to add authorized users or get employee cards for staff members to use.
• Get on the fast track to the Southwest Companion Pass: To get a Companion Pass, you must take 100 qualifying one-way flights or earn 135,000 points on a Southwest credit card in a calendar year. The 60,000-point bonus after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months on the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Business credit card gets you close to that goal.
• DoorDash benefits: Receive a complimentary 12-month DashPass subscription if you activate by Dec. 31, 2024. DashPass benefits include $0 delivery fees for orders over $12.
• Travel perks and protections: Cardmembers get coverage for lost luggage with reimbursement of up to $3,000 per passenger. You also get up to $100 per day for three days to pay for incidentals if your baggage is delayed for six hours or more.
• Extended warranty protection: Get an additional one year warranty on products purchased with your Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business card. This applies to all products with a three year or less warranty.
• Purchase protection: Get protection on new purchases for up to 120 days against damage or theft on up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.
• No foreign transaction fees: If you travel abroad frequently, avoiding the typical 3% foreign transaction fee can save you quite a bit of money.
• Referral points: You can earn 20,000 points for each person you refer and get approved for a Southwest® Rapid Rewards® credit card, up to 100k per year.
• Unlimited tier qualifying points: For every $5,000 spent you earn 1,500 tier qualifying points towards A-List status. To achieve A-List status you need 35,000 qualifying points and then get priority boarding, a 25% earning bonus, and same-day changes.

Earning & redeeming rewards

Best ways to earn

The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Business Card allows you to earn 3X points on Southwest purchases. Southwest Airlines purchases that qualify include:

• Flights
• In-flight purchases
• Southwest gift cards
• Southwest Vacations packages

You can also earn 2X points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners and on local transit and commuting, including rideshare. Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners and on local transit and commuting, including rideshare earn just 1X points, which is on the lower end of some of the best rewards credit cards.

Keep in mind that cardmembers not only earn points for their own spending but can also earn points when authorized users make purchases on the card — so consider getting employees their own cards to use. Employee cards are free, unlike some competitor cards.

Since this is a very Southwest-focused card, if you aren’t loyal to flying Southwest, I would suggest considering other credit cards that offer higher rewards on basic purchases, such as the Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card.

Maximizing your redemptions

To get the most out of your Southwest Rapid Rewards points, you should redeem them for airline tickets, but not just any tickets. On average, try to get 1.3 to 1.5 cents per point when redeeming your points.

To determine the value, divide the airline ticket cash cost by the number of points required. For example, if a flight costs $300 or 18,000 points, each point would be worth:

$300/18,000 = 0.016 or 1.6 cents

But if the flight was $200 or $18,000 points, each point would be worth:

$200/18,000 = 0.011 or 1.1 cents

The latter situation would not be worth it since the value is so low. You can also redeem your points for Rapid Rewards hotel and car partners using the same method.

Although you have other redemption options, such as gift cards, merchandise, and cardmember experiences, you’ll get the best bang for your buck redeeming them for Southwest airline tickets or purchases Rapid Rewards partners.

FAQs

Other cards to consider

For all you frequent flyers with Southwest out there, there’s no doubt the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Card can provide you with plenty of value and is one of the best airline credit cards in its class. But what if you’re not so loyal to Southwest?

United℠ Explorer Card

The United℠ Explorer Card is a similar card in that much of the value relies on how often you’ll travel with United, benefiting those loyal to the airline the most. New cardmembers can earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open (limited-time offer). The United Explorer Card comes with a $95 (waived first year) annual fee, but the included travel perks — free first checked bag, priority boarding, and up to $120 as a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee credit — should easily offset this cost.

The United Explorer card earns 2x miles on United® purchases, dining, and hotel stays. However, the card earns 1x mile for all other purchases, just like the Rapid Rewards® Premier Business card.

Note that this is a consumer card, not a business card.

Learn more about the United Explorer card review.

Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card

If you prefer not to be stuck with a specific airline but still appreciate travel benefits, the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card is a great alternative. Right off the bat, you can earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Additionally, cardmembers can earn 3X points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year; and 1X points per $1 on all other purchases. There is an annual fee of $95, so you should make sure the value of this card outweighs the added cost.

The downside to this card is that you earn 1x mile points on all other purchases. However, because you aren’t tied to a specific airline, you get just as much value redeeming points for a statement credit, or you can get 25% more for your points if you redeem them through the Chase Travel℠ portal to book your travel accommodations.

Big Rewards For Southwest Travelers

Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card

4.3

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card

4.3

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Apply Now

Why We Like It

Earn 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open

Apply Now

See how these cards compare:

United℠ Explorer Card

• Earn 2x miles on United® purchases, dining, and hotel stays and 1x mile on all other purchases that you can spend on award flights or upgrades.
• Up to $120 as a Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck® fee credit so travel is a little less painful.
• Priority boarding on eligible United flights so you can get settled in sooner rather than later.

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

• Generous welcome offer
• High rewards rate on common business expenses
• Flexible Ultimate Rewards points
• No foreign transaction fees
• Cell phone, purchase, and travel protections

Big Rewards For Southwest Travelers

Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card

4.3

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card

Apply Now

Current Offer

Earn 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open

Annual Fee

$99

Rewards Rate

3X points on Southwest purchases, 2X points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners and on local transit and commuting, including rideshare; plus 1X points on all other purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• Pays 6,000 bonus points on each anniversary to get closer to a Companion Pass
• Enjoy two EarlyBird Check-Ins® per year
• No foreign transaction fees which is great if your business takes you abroad

Drawbacks

• Doesn’t offer the option to redeem points as statement credits
• No benefit for cardholders who don’t frequently fly Southwest

Card Details

• Earn 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
• 6,000 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary.
• Earn 3X points on Southwest Airlines® purchases.
• Earn 2X points on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partners.
• Earn 2X points on rideshare.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 2 EarlyBird Check-In® each year.
• Member FDIC