Southwest Premier Business Credit Card Review – Companion Pass With One Card?

KEY LINK: Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card – Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. $99 annual fee

Small Business credit cards are a bit of a special animal in the credit card world.  Unlike what we call “personal” cards, some cards like the Southwest Premier Business Credit Card that are tagged as “business” cards do require you to have a business to apply.  You’ll be asked for business identifier (SSN or EIN), business income, years in business and other things about your business on your Southwest Premier Business Card application.  I’m lucky to have a couple of businesses, but you might have a business too, even if you don’t think you do. You can often apply just as a sole proprietorship with your own SSN if you don’t have a separate business EIN.

Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card Welcome Offer

The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card allows you to earn 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening and an additional 60,000 points when you spend $15,000 in 9 months. The Southwest Rapid Rewards points that you earn can easily be worth hundreds of dollars or more. This time, the bonus is tiered

• 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Plus, earn an additional 60,000 points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 9 months

Earning The Southwest Companion Pass

The Southwest Companion Pass is one of the best deals in travel, and allows you to have a companion fly for free (well, just the taxes) on any paid or award flight. The easiest way to get the Companion Pass is to get 135,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points in one calendar year. Then you’ll earn the Companion Pass for the rest of that year AND the entire next calendar year. With this offer, you can get the Companion Pass with just this card, provided that you can meet the higher spending limit. Keep in mind that you’ll have to meet the $15,000 spending limit BEFORE your December statement closes to get those 60,000 bonus points before the end of the year. And the ideal time to go for the Companion Pass is at the beginning of the calendar year, so the timing is not ideal. Still, it might make sense if you want to get the Companion Pass with only one card.

Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card Earning Categories

The Southwest Premier Business card doesn’t offer a ton of bonus points other than on Southwest purchases. So for most purchases, you’ll only earn 1 Southwest point per dollar.

• Earn 3 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases.
• Earn 2 points per $1 spent on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental 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® Premier Business Credit Card Benefits

The Southwest Business Premier Card also comes with a variety of different benefits that range from super useful to mildly interesting, including:

• 6,000 bonus points each year after your Cardmember anniversary.
• 2 EarlyBird Check-In® each year – (SEE ALSO: Is Southwest Early Bird check in worth it?)
• Boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points every year
• Earn 1,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) toward A-List status for every $10,000 spent in purchases annually
• 25% back on inflight purchases

Other Cards To Consider

If you don’t feel that the Southwest Business Premier card is right for you, here are a few other cards to consider

• Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card – another option for a Southwest business card – this lets you earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, with a $199 annual fee and also get unlimited free Southwest wifi.
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card – comes with a welcome offer that lets you earn a $400 statement credit and 40,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 4 months from account opening. This might be an option if you’re looking to pick up Southwest Rapid Rewards points without having a business. $69 annual fee
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card– Earn 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. $95 annual fee. This is a personal card so could be a great option if you don’t want to apply for a business card. The Ultimate Rewards you earn can also transfer 1:1 to Southwest Rapid Rewards points, which is one reason this card is one of the cards I recommend for people starting out

The Bottom Line

KEY LINK: Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card – Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. $99 annual fee

If you are a small business owner and a frequent Southwest traveler, this card could serve your business well!  Although the welcome offer requires a significant amount of spending, it also gives a big boost to your Southwest Rapid Rewards balance and possibly earn you the Southwest Companion Pass as well. While the earnings rates are not great, especially as compared to other cards, some of the benefits can be super useful, especially if you’re a frequent Southwest Airlines traveler

What do you think about the Southwest Business Premier card? Going to go for the Companion Pass? Leave your thoughts in the comments below

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