Which Southwest Business Credit Card Is Best?

Link: Apply now for the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card or Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

Chase and Southwest Airlines have a suite co-branded credit cards, including two business cards. In this post, I wanted to compare the two business cards. While they have a lot of overlap, they also have some major differences, so which is most lucrative?

Comparing Southwest business credit cards

The $99 annual fee Southwest Premier Business Card and $199 annual fee Southwest Performance Business Card are Southwest’s two business cards.

They both offer lucrative perks, though still have very different value propositions. Let me start upfront that they both accrue Rapid Rewards points, which is Southwest’s revenue based currency that can be redeemed toward a seat on any flight operated by the airline. Furthermore, the welcome bonuses as well as spending on both cards can count toward Companion Pass, one of the best deals in travel.

Let’s go over the basics of both of these cards.

Southwest Premier Business Card basics

Here are the details of the $99 annual fee Southwest Premier Business Card:

• The card has a welcome bonus of up to 120,000 points — earn 60,000 points after spending $3,000 within three months, and an additional 60,000 points after spending a total of $15,000 within nine months
• The card offers 3x points on Southwest purchases, 2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and rental car partner purchases, 2x points on local transit and commuting, and 1x points on all other purchases
• The card offers 6,000 anniversary bonus points every year, with no spending requirement
• The card offers 25% savings on Southwest inflight drink and Wi-Fi purchases
• The card offers two EarlyBird Check-Ins per anniversary year, which can help secure a better boarding position
• The card can help you earn A-List elite status, as you earn 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) toward A-List for every $5,000 spent

Read a full review of the Southwest Premier Business Card.

Southwest Performance Business Card basics

Here are the details of the $199 annual fee Southwest Performance Business Card:

• The card has a welcome bonus of up to 120,000 points — earn 80,000 points after spending $5,000 within three months, and an additional 40,000 points after spending a total of $15,000 within nine months
• The card offers 4x points on Southwest purchases, 3x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and rental car partner purchases, 2x points on social media and search engine advertising, internet, cable, phone services, and local transit and commuting, and 1x points on all other purchases
• The card offers 9,000 anniversary bonus points every year, with no spending requirement
• The card offers an incredible inflight Wi-Fi benefit, whereby you can get a Wi-Fi statement credit up to 365 times per year, each for up to $8 (how much Southwest charges for Wi-Fi per segment)
• The card offers four Upgraded Boardings per anniversary year, which can help get you a secure a spot in boarding position A1-15, subject to availability
• The card can help you earn A-List elite status, as you earn 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) toward A-List for every $5,000 spent
• The card offers a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit once every four years

Read a full review of the Southwest Performance Business Card.

How to decide between Southwest business credit cards

How would I go about deciding between the Southwest Premier Business Card and Southwest Performance Business Card? Well, I should mention that you don’t actually have to decide, as you’re potentially eligible for both cards, so it’s possible to pick them both up, and earn the bonus on both cards. That being said, if you wanted to pick up just one card, let me share my thought process on deciding between them.

I think the more basic $99 annual fee Southwest Premier Business Card could make a lot of sense if you’re a casual Southwest traveler:

• The welcome bonus is a massive incentive to pick up the card, and will provide you with lots of award travel; at least giving the card a try should be a no-brainer
• The card’s annual fee is mostly offset by the 6,000 anniversary bonus points, which will typically get you nearly $80 worth of airfare on Southwest
• The two EarlyBird Check-Ins will make your Southwest travels more pleasant, as will the 25% savings on inflight drink and Wi-Fi purchases, and that should provide outsized value compared to the annual fee

Meanwhile I think the $199 annual fee Southwest Performance Business Card is the much better value if you’re a frequent Southwest traveler, and if you buy Wi-Fi on Southwest with any frequency, it’s an incredible option:

• Much like on the other card, the welcome bonus is a significant incentive to apply
• The card’s annual fee is largely offset by the 9,000 anniversary bonus points, which will typically get you nearly $120 worth of airfare on Southwest
• Having this card can save you $8 every time you buy Wi-Fi on Southwest, so everyone can crunch the numbers as to how much value they’ll get from that
• The four Upgrade Boardings are potentially super valuable, as they get you a prime boarding position, assuming they’re available for sale

So yeah, if you just fly Southwest once or twice a year, maybe the Southwest Premier Business Card is a better option, as it gets you some basic perks. However, if you fly Southwest frequently, and in particular if you often buy Wi-Fi, the Southwest Performance Business Card is a phenomenal value.

Of course we’ll see how the value propositions on these cards change in the coming year or so, as Southwest moves to having assigned seating…

Bottom line

The Southwest Premier Business Card and Southwest Performance Business Card are both lucrative business cards for those who fly Southwest.

I think there’s merit to both cards — the $99 annual fee Premier Business Card is ideal if you just fly Southwest once in a while, while I think the $199 annual fee Performance Business Card makes sense if you fly Southwest more often, especially if you’d otherwise buy Wi-Fi.

Which Southwest business credit card do you prefer?