The Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card is a co-branded credit card issued by Chase for U.S. small businesses. It earns Rapid Rewards points on Southwest Airlines purchases and carries a $149 annual fee.
What the product is structurally
The card is a business credit card on a revolving credit line, structured around Southwest Airlines’s Rapid Rewards loyalty program. It is a business account, meaning the credit line, statements, and reporting are tied to the business rather than to an individual’s personal card history.
Points earned on the card deposit into the cardholder’s Rapid Rewards account rather than into a separate business-only points pool. This ties the card’s rewards directly to the same account a person uses for personal Southwest flying.
Purchase categories earn points at different rates. As of October 2026, purchases made directly with Southwest Airlines earn 3 points per dollar, including flights, inflight purchases, Southwest gift cards, and Getaways by Southwest packages. Southwest Cruises, Southwest Charters, and Southwest Cargo are excluded. Gas stations and restaurants earn 2 points per dollar on the first $8,000 in combined purchases each account anniversary year, then 1 point per dollar. Other purchases earn 1 point per dollar, including social media advertising and internet, cable, and phone services.
The primary cardmember and up to eight passengers on the same reservation each receive a first checked bag free. When available, the primary cardmember can select a Standard or Preferred seat within 48 hours of departure. The cardmember and up to eight passengers on the same reservation board no later than group 5. Inflight purchases, including drinks and Wi-Fi, earn 25% back as a statement credit.
The account pays a 6,000-point bonus on each account anniversary, credited automatically without a separate spending requirement tied to that bonus. The same anniversary includes a 15% promo code on Southwest flights, excluding Basic fares. This anniversary bonus repeats every year the account stays open, independent of how the card was used that year.
Employee cards are available at no added annual fee. A business can issue cards to staff and track their spending on the same account without paying a per-card charge.
How it works in practice
Points earned on the card post to the cardholder’s Rapid Rewards account, where they combine with points earned from flying Southwest and from other Rapid Rewards activity. There is no separate business-points ledger to track or redeem.
Points earned on the card count toward Companion Pass after they post to the Rapid Rewards account, and only points posted during the same calendar year count. The card also deposits one boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points each calendar year. Because the card’s earn rates apply across all its purchase categories, everyday business spending contributes to that total alongside flight purchases.
Spending earns 2,000 tier qualifying points toward A-List or A-List Preferred for every $5,000 spent in purchases annually. That annual window runs from the account open date through the first December statement cycle, then from each December statement cycle through the next one. Those tier qualifying points are separate from the Rapid Rewards points the same purchases earn.
Points redeem for flights on Southwest Airlines. The program has no airline alliance or hotel transfer network, so redemption value depends on the specific fare booked rather than a fixed conversion rate.
Fees and pricing mechanics
The annual fee is $149, charged once per account year regardless of how much the account spends. Chase’s pricing and terms schedule lists that $149 annual membership fee.
The card charges no foreign transaction fee, so purchases made outside the United States carry no added currency-conversion charge on top of the purchase price.
Employee cards carry no additional annual fee, though employee spending draws on the same shared credit line and adds to the same points balance. A business does not pay per-card to extend the account to staff.
Chase applies a variable APR to any balance carried past the due date, standard to a revolving business credit line. Carrying a balance offsets the value of points earned, since interest charges accrue independently of the rewards structure.
Limits, eligibility, and availability
The card is available only to applicants operating a business based in the United States. It is not offered to applicants applying from outside the U.S. or operating a business incorporated elsewhere.
Applicants must provide a business tax identification number. A sole proprietor can apply using their own Social Security number in place of a separate business ID, since a sole proprietorship is not always registered as a distinct legal entity.
Chase applies its 5/24 rule to this card. Applicants who have opened five or more personal credit cards across any issuer in the preceding 24 months are typically declined, regardless of business revenue or credit score.
The 5/24 count is a Chase-wide underwriting rule, not specific to Southwest cards, so unrelated personal card activity can affect approval for this business card.
Southwest Rapid Rewards is a domestically weighted program. Southwest Airlines flies primarily within the United States and to a limited set of destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America.
Tradeoffs, risks, or limitations
The Premier Business Card’s published benefit list does not include a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee credit or an upgraded-boarding credit. It does include 2,000 tier qualifying points per $5,000 of purchases and 25% back on Southwest inflight purchases, including Wi-Fi.
Points earned on the card carry no value outside the Southwest Rapid Rewards program. There is no conversion to airline miles on other carriers or to hotel loyalty currencies, so points are only usable through Southwest itself.
Spending outside Southwest purchases and outside the capped gas and restaurant category earns 1 point per dollar. That base rate includes social media advertising and internet, cable, and phone services.
Because employee cards share the same credit line and points pool as the primary account, spending across multiple employee cards is not separated for reward-tracking or credit-limit purposes.
The 5/24 rule can disqualify an otherwise creditworthy applicant based solely on recent personal card activity, independent of the business’s financial standing.
The card’s domestic focus means the earn structure and the Companion Pass benefit both depend on booking Southwest flights specifically, rather than travel booked broadly across airlines.
See also: SW Business Cards Comparison, Chase Southwest Performance Business Card Review, Chase United Business Card Review
