Chase issues two Southwest business credit cards: the Rapid Rewards Premier Business and the Rapid Rewards Performance Business. Both are U.S. small-business cards that earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points on a revolving credit line. Points from either card count toward the 135,000-point Companion Pass threshold. The two products differ in annual fee, earn rates on specific spending categories, and a set of Southwest-specific credits that only the higher-fee card carries.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Premier Business | Performance Business |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $99 | $199 |
| Southwest flight purchases | 3x points | 4x points |
| Rapid Rewards hotel/car partners | 2x points | 3x points |
| Chase-designated business categories | 2x points | 2x points |
| Social media advertising | 1x points | 2x points |
| Internet, cable, and phone services | 1x points | 2x points |
| All other purchases | 1x points | 1x points |
| Anniversary point bonus | 6,000 points | 9,000 points |
| Tier Qualifying Points credit | None | 9,000 TQP per year |
| Inflight WiFi credit | None | $500 annually |
| Upgraded boarding credits | None | 4 per year |
| Global Entry / TSA PreCheck fee credit | None | Up to $100 |
| Employee cards | $0 each | $0 each |
| Foreign transaction fee | None | None |
How each product is structured
The Premier Business is built as a flat-fee entry card. Its $99 annual fee covers standard bonus-category earning and a fixed anniversary point deposit, with no additional Southwest-specific credits layered on top. The card’s structure keeps ongoing costs predictable: one fee, one anniversary bonus, and category multipliers that don’t change based on travel volume.
The Performance Business is structured as a credit-offset card. Its $199 annual fee is paired with recurring credits, an inflight WiFi allowance, boarding upgrades, and a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit, that are designed to be used rather than simply accrued. Both cards sit on the same underlying Rapid Rewards point currency and post transactions the same way; the difference is which categories and perks are attached to the account.
Fees and pricing mechanics
Both cards charge no foreign transaction fee and issue employee cards at no additional cost, so multi-cardholder businesses don’t pay more per user. The annual fee is charged once per cardholder year and is not prorated for partial years on either card.
Earn-rate mechanics differ by category. On Southwest flight purchases, the Performance Business earns 4x points against the Premier’s 3x. On Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners, the Performance earns 3x against 2x. Social media advertising and internet, cable, and phone spending earn 2x on the Performance card and 1x on the Premier; both cards earn 2x on Chase’s other designated business categories and 1x on everything else.
The anniversary bonus is credited automatically each account year: 6,000 points on the Premier, 9,000 on the Performance. The Performance Business additionally credits 9,000 Tier Qualifying Points per year regardless of spending, a mechanism the Premier does not include. TQP count toward Southwest’s A-List status at 35,000 TQP and A-List Preferred at 70,000 TQP.
Limits, eligibility, availability
Both cards are issued only to U.S. small-business applicants and require a business tax ID or the owner’s Social Security number for a sole proprietorship. Approval is subject to Chase’s business credit underwriting, and both cards fall under Chase’s 5/24 application rule that can affect approval odds based on recent card openings.
The Performance Business WiFi credit applies only to Southwest inflight WiFi purchases and resets annually; unused credit does not carry over. The four upgraded boarding credits per year apply only on eligible Southwest flights and are not transferable to other passengers on the account. The Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee credit is limited to one statement credit per application cycle, which spans several years per the program’s own renewal schedule. Neither card’s employee-card benefit extends the primary cardholder’s WiFi, boarding, or TQP credits to additional users.
Tradeoffs and constraints
The $199 Performance Business fee is $100 higher than the Premier’s, and that gap is offset only through mechanisms tied to actual usage. The 4x-versus-3x flight earning differential produces roughly 10,000 additional points per year for a cardholder booking several thousand dollars in Southwest flights annually, worth an estimated $140 to $170 in redemption value at Southwest’s typical 1.4-to-1.7-cent point value. Separately, using the $500 WiFi credit against Southwest inflight WiFi charges can offset the fee difference on its own, and the 9,000 annual TQP credit has value specifically for cardholders tracking toward A-List or A-List Preferred status.
Neither card’s benefits transfer to the other. A cardholder cannot apply the Performance Business’s WiFi credit or TQP boost to a Premier Business account, and the two cards’ anniversary bonuses are earned separately per account rather than combined. Both cards’ points, including welcome bonuses, anniversary bonuses, and everyday spending, count toward the same 135,000-point Companion Pass threshold, so opening both accounts accelerates that count without either card’s individual credits carrying over to the other product.
See also: SW Rapid Rewards Premier Business Card Review, SW Rapid Rewards Performance Business Card Review
