Historically, there have been quite a few Southwest Airlines credit cards (offered by Chase), and the welcome offers have typically floated between 40,000 and 60,000 Rapid Rewards points, with occasional offers involving statement credits. Now Chase and Southwest have just announced the new Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Card, and it comes with a whopping 80,000 Rapid Rewards point bonus! Since Rapid Rewards have a (mostly) fixed value of around ~1.33 cents per point, this means that this bonus is easily worth over $1000 in travel on Southwest flights!
Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Card Review
For this Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Card review – here are the full breakdown of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Card details
- Welcome offer of 80,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months of having the card
- 9,000 Rapid Rewards points on your cardmember anniversary
- 3x points on Southwest purchases
- 2x points on social media and search engine advertising, Internet, cable and phone services
- 1x points on all other purchases
- 4 upgraded bookings per year on Southwest (SEE ALSO: Is Southwest Early Bird check in worth it?)
- Inflight wi-fi credits
- Global Entry or TSA Pre credit
- $199 annual fee, not waived the first year
The full terms and conditions state that the welcome 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 (emphasis mine).
Since this is a brand new card, there shouldn’t be any current or previous members, which means that according to my reading of the terms, you would be eligible for this bonus even if you have or have had any of the other Southwest cards recently.
Keep in mind that the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Card is, of course, a business card, so you will need to have an eligible business in order to apply for it. Sole proprietorships and other small businesses DO count for this, and you may have a business even if you don’t think that you do.
Other Southwest Rapid Rewards cards
In addition to the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Card and its 80,000 point offer, there are still several other options for Southwest Rapid Rewards points.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (60,000 point welcome offer after spending $3,000; $99 annual fee)
- Southwest Premier Credit card (40,000 point welcome offer after spending $1,000; $99 annual fee)
- Southwest Plus Credit card (40,000 point welcome offer after spending $1,000; $69 annual fee)
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (40,000 point welcome offer after spending $1,000; $149 annual fee)
As I mentioned earlier, the welcome offers on those cards have historically fluctuated between 40,000 and 60,000 Rapid Rewards points. Right now the 3 personal cards are all at 40,000 points, while the Premier Business card is still at a 60,000 point offer currently.
Remember that all of the Chase Southwest cards are subject to the Chase 5/24 rule, which means that you will not be eligible if you’ve applied for 5 or more cards in the past 24 months. Note that as a business card it will not COUNT towards your 5/24 total though – (SEE ALSO: The 2 types of cards not subject to Chase 5/24)
Is now the time to go for the Southwest Companion Pass?
We’ve written many times before about the Southwest Companion Pass, which you get if you accrue at least 110,000 Rapid Rewards in one calendar year. Typically you would want to get the Southwest Companion Pass toward the BEGINNING of the calendar year, since it’s good for the rest of the calendar year that you earn it AND the next calendar year, meaning that if you get the Companion Pass now, it would be good through December 2020.
But, as we’ve learned before, Southwest can always change the rules whenever they want, so if you’re planning on waiting until January 2020 to get the Companion Pass, you are running a risk. This 80,000 point welcome offer can combine with any of the 40,000 point offers on the personal cards to put you over the 110,000 point threshold.
Which Southwest card should you get?
As always, DON’T SIGN UP FOR A CARD JUST BECAUSE SOME GUY ON THE INTERNET SAID THAT YOU SHOULD! Remember, many links on this site pay me a commission (it’s how this site makes money!), so make sure to do your own research. The new Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Card does come with a heavier annual feee ($199) but if you’re a frequent Southwest traveler or have significant upcoming Southwest travels coming up, the extra 20,000 (or 40,000) Rapid Rewards are worth SIGNIFICANTLY more than the extra $100 annual fee.
If you’re looking to get Southwest Rapid Rewards points but not have such a high spending threshold or annual fee, consider one of the other Southwest cards above.
KEY LINK: Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Card – 80,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months
What are your Southwest credit card / companion pass strategies? Planning on getting this card? Leave a note in the comments?