If you’re running a business and find yourself flying on Southwest Airlines routinely, you should take a serious look at the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card.

In addition to a valuable sign-up bonus and anniversary bonus, the card offers the ability to earn Earn 3 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases. Earn 2 points per $1 spent on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car partners. Earn 2 points per $1 spent on local transit and commuting, including rideshare. Earn 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. Southwest Rapid Rewards points can be redeemed for flights, gift cards, hotel stays, car rentals, merchandise and more.

We break down the pros and cons of the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card, as well as show how it compares to another travel rewards card — the Capital One Spark Miles for Business.

• Sign-up bonus

  Earn 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. That can get you far on Southwest Airlines. For example, we found a round-trip Wanna Get Away fare from New York to San Diego for 16,366 points.

  Know that the amount of points required to purchase a ticket is subject to change at any time until the ticket is booked and may vary based on numerous factors, including destination, time, date of travel, demand and fare class. In addition, you cannot use points to purchase special fares, such as senior, infant, child, military and government fares.

• Rewards rate

  The Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card lets cardholders earn 3 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases. Earn 2 points per $1 spent on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car partners. Earn 2 points per $1 spent on local transit and commuting, including rideshare. Earn 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. This includes Southwest Airlines flights, in-flight purchases, Southwest gift cards and Southwest Vacations® packages, as well as purchases at participating Rapid Rewards® hotel and rental car partners.

• Anniversary bonus

  Receive 6,000 bonus points each year after your account anniversary. “Account anniversary year” refers to the year beginning with your account open date through the anniversary of your account open date — and every 12 months after that.

• Southwest Companion Pass

  The points earned from your Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card count toward the highly coveted Southwest Companion Pass, which allows a designated person to fly with you at no cost (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 125,000 points or take 100 one-way flights in a calendar year.

• Two EarlyBird Check-Ins

  When you use EarlyBird Check-In, you get an automatic check-in before Southwest’s traditional 24-hour check-in. You’ll also get an earlier boarding position. Typically, you have to pay (the cost ranges from $15 to $25 per passenger on one-way flights). But withthe Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card, you get two free EarlyBird Check-Ins per year.

• Annual fee

  The Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card comes with a $99 annual fee. However, you can add employee cards at no additional cost, plus earn rewards on the purchases your employees make using the card.

• Modest rewards on non-travel related purchases

  While the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card offers more points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases, cardholders only earn 1 point per $1 spent in other popular business spending categories, such as dining, office supplies and wireless services.

• No intro APR

  If you want to finance business and travel expenses and pay them off over time, the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card may not be ideal, since it doesn’t offer a 0% intro APR on purchases.

Compare it to the Capital One Spark Miles for Business

 

If you aren’t loyal to Southwest Airlines and want more flexibility on which airlines to use your earned miles on, you may want to look at the Capital One Spark Miles for Business.

Capital One Spark Miles for Business cardholders earn a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles – equal to $500 in travel – once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.

Plus, earn 2 miles per $1 on every purchase, everywhere.

Miles can be redeemed for flights, hotels, vacation packages and more. Or you can transfer miles to 19 travel partners, including Accor Live Limitless, Air France, Emirates Skywards and JetBlue TrueBlue.

While the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card offers a slightly larger sign-up bonus, the Capital One Spark Miles for Business allows you to earn more miles per dollar spent on general purchases. Additionally, because the Capital One Spark Miles for Business comes with an annual fee of $0 intro for first year; $95 after that, you can try out the card for a full year without a financial commitment.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

If you regularly travel for business to one of the cities where Southwest Airlines flies, the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card could be a good fit. In addition to a generous sign-up bonus and annual bonus, the card offers an elevated rewards rate on Southwest purchases — which can help get you that much closer to earning the Southwest Companion Pass.

But if you’d prefer more flexibility in where you can use your travel rewards, the Capital One Spark Miles for Business may be a better choice. Along with redeeming miles for travel, the card lets you transfer miles to 19 hotel and airline partners.

The information related to Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Cardhas been collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.