Recently, Southwest Airlines quietly launched a new business credit card offering — the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card. This card offers similar perks to the newer “Priority” credit card for individuals, but it comes with a huge bonus that’s worth exploring.
For a limited time, you’ll earn 80,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points if you sign up for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card and spend $5,000 on purchases within three months of account opening. You’ll also earn 3 points per $1 spent on Southwest purchases, 2 points per $1 on social media and search engine advertising and internet, cable and phone services, and 1 point per $1 on everything you buy.
Cardholder perks include 9,000 points on your cardmember anniversary, 4 upgraded boarding positions each year, onboard wifi credits, a fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck, and free employee cards. The catch? There’s a $199 annual fee.
Can You Sign Up?
While Southwest credit cards tend to have language that drastically limits who can earn a signup bonus, the language on this offer makes it seem like anyone could earn the bonus on this card. Here’s what it says in the T&Cs:
“This new Cardmember bonus offer is not available to either (i) current Cardmembers of this business credit card, or (ii) previous Cardmembers of this business credit card who received a new Cardmember bonus for this business credit card within the last 24 months.”
In summary, this language says you can only earn the bonus on this card if you haven’t earned the bonus on this specific card within the last 24 months, whereas most Southwest cards offer broader language that limits signup bonuses for people who have had any Southwest credit card in the recent past.
As a result, the bonus on this card should be easier to qualify for provided Chase doesn’t strike down your application for having too many new cards according to their algorithm.
Why You Should Consider It
If you have a small business or a side hustle that earns an income, this card is a pretty good deal — especially for the first year. The signup bonus alone could easily be worth four round-trip domestic flights or three round-trip flights to the Caribbean. During one of Southwest’s really good sales, it’s possible to stretch your rewards even further than that.
Earning 3 points per $1 on Southwest purchases and 2 points per $1 on certain business purchases can also help your cause if you spend a lot in qualifying categories. Getting four upgraded boardings each year is also a nice perk considering Southwest’s disorganized boarding policies and the fact you cannot select a seat ahead of time.
On the flip side, the fact you only earn 1 point per $1 on the rest of your spending is pretty disappointing — especially since this card has a $199 annual fee that is not waived the first year.
Should you sign up? There are plenty of reasons to consider it, but you should weigh and pros and cons and check out alternate business credit cards before you decide.
Are you signing up for this business credit card? Why or why not?
[Image: Southwest]
Source: frugal travel guy