Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card Review: Best for Frequent Flyers

The Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card is worth it for business owners who frequently travel with Southwest because of its several Southwest-specific and travel benefits.

It offers a generous sign-up bonus with points that can help you earn the Southwest Companion Pass. It also offers accelerated rewards earnings in popular business spending categories, such as hotels, gas stations and restaurants.

Plus, you can get more value with a Global Entry/TSA Precheck/NEXUS fee credit, 9,000 anniversary points each year and more. If you’re a frequent business traveler on Southwest, the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card could be worth the $299 annual fee.

• Generous sign-up bonus

  The Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card currently offers a very generous sign-up bonus: Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

  That’s the highest sign-up bonus among co-branded Southwest credit cards. If you have a business trip coming up and you’ll use the card’s other benefits — the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card could be valuable. Note that these points count toward earning the Southwest Companion Pass (more on that below).

• Valuable rewards rate

  Along with the sign-up bonus, the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card offers rewards on everything you buy: Earn 4 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases. Earn 2 points per $1 spent on gas station and restaurant purchases. Earn 2 points per $1 spent on hotel accommodations booked directly with the hotel. Earn 2 points per $1 spent on local transit and commuting, including rideshare. Earn 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

  This is the highest rewards rate you can get among Southwest cards. This card can potentially pay off the most if you use it for Southwest flights, given it’s outstanding earning rate on that category.

• Large anniversary bonus

  Cardholders receive 9,000 bonus points each year on their cardmember anniversary. The card a tier below the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card, the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card, only offers 6,000 bonus anniversary points.

  This bonus is worth around $126 in airfare by our estimates, so can cover a large part of the annual fee each year.

• Global Entry/TSA PreCheck/Nexus credit

  You’ll receive a statement credit of up to $120 every four years for either Global Entry/TSA Precheck. This is a great perk that can cover up much of the card’s $299 annual fee if you’re already paying for this benefit.

• Elite status boost

  You can earn 1,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) toward A-List status for every $10,000 spent in purchases annually — with no limit on the amount of TQPs you can earn. A-List status comes with perks including:

  • Priority boarding
  • 25% earning bonus
  • Same-day change with no change in base fare depending on availability
  • Priority and express lanes at Southwest check-in counters and airport security checkpoints

• Earn the Southwest companion pass

  The points earned from your Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card count toward the coveted Southwest Companion Pass, which allows a designated person to fly with you for free (except taxes and fees) each time you purchase or redeem points for a Southwest flight for up to two years. To qualify for the Companion Pass, you must earn 135,000 points or take 100 one-way flights in a calendar year.

  Your sign-up bonus also contributes to the points requirement for the Companion Pass. Plus, if you combine your points with a sign-up bonus from a Southwest consumer card, you can earn all the points you need in a year.

• Annual fee

  At $299, the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card’s annual fee is on the high side — especially when compared with the annual fees of the other consumer Southwest Rapid Rewards cards. However, when compared to the annual fees of some premium business credit cards — which can be as high as $595 — this card’s fee appears much more reasonable.

  If you use the perks like the Global Entry/TSA PreCheck/Nexus fee credit, you can more than make up for the annual fee.

• Spend threshold required to earn bonus

  The Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card’s generous sign-up bonus comes at a high price. Cardholders will have to spend an average of $1,667 in charges each month for three months to meet the required spend for the bulk of the bonus.

  If that’s a normal amount that your business spends, then you won’t have to worry about the spending threshold. But if you would have to spend more than normal to meet the requirement, then you may want to settle on another Southwest credit card.

• Limited flight locations

  Because Southwest Airlines flies to a limited number of destinations, it may not be the most convenient airline for your travel needs. But keep in mind that Southwest adds new flight destinations from time to time. For example, it added select destinations to Hawaii in March 2019. To see where Southwest Airlines flies, visit their route search tool here.

• Rewards aren't very flexible

  The most valuable way to use your Southwest points is on Southwest flights. Unlike general business travel cards, the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card doesn’t have a wide variety of hotel and airline transfer partners. Outside of Southwest flights, you can redeem points for some merchandise, international flights operated by other airlines, hotel stays, gift cards and rental cars.

Compare to the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card

Southwest’s business card portfolio also includes the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card. Both cards offer bonus points on Southwest Airlines purchases. However, the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card has a lower annual fee ($149), anniversary bonus (6,000 miles) and initial sign-up bonus. You can earn 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.

Keep in mind, though, that you will be required to spend much less in the first three months to earn the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card‘s sign-up bonus.

For ongoing rewards, the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card offers the following: Receive 6,000 anniversary points each year. Enjoy benefits including 3X points on Southwest Airlines® purchases, First checked bag free, 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year, and more.

If your business travels only occasionally with Southwest, this might be a better fit than the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card. It has fewer benefits but can still provide value for a lower annual fee.

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Compare to the Delta SkyMiles^® Gold Business American Express Card

The Delta SkyMiles^® Gold Business American Express Card is a valuable rewards card for business owners who frequently fly with Delta. It has a great welcome offer, a variety of Delta benefits and a solid rewards rate on restaurants. It also comes with a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150.

You can earn 2 miles per dollar spent on purchases at U.S. Shipping providers and at U.S. providers for Advertising in select media on up to $50,000 of eligible purchases per category, per year. Earn 2 Miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta and on every eligible dollar spent at restaurants. Earn 1 Mile on every eligible dollar spent on other purchases.

With this card, you also have the option of redeeming award flights with Delta partners, which include mostly international airlines. So if you fly mostly with Delta or you’re looking for a bit more flight flexibility, then the Delta SkyMiles^® Gold Business American Express Card could be a better choice.

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Compare to the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card

The Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card is a business travel credit card that isn’t tied to any specific hotel or airline brand. You can transfer your points to any of Chase’s transfer partners — including Southwest — and often boost the value of your points.

One of the best features of this card is its sign-up bonus: Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $900 cash back or $1,125 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel℠.

That alone could more than make up for the $95 annual fee, depending on how you redeem it. If you’re a Southwest loyalist, the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card could make more sense for you. But the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card is better if you’re looking for a bigger sign-up bonus and more points flexibility.

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If you’re a Southwest loyalist who wants to earn the most amount of points in a short period of time, the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card is the best choice. If your business is able to meet the required minimum spending to earn the sign-up bonus, you’ll earn a large number of points that can help you earn the Southwest Companion Pass.

But if your goal is to get a Southwest business card but spend less money upfront, the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card could be a better fit.