Time to start thinking about and planning travel. Here’s how the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card can get you lots of free travel.
Did you know this is the best time to get a Southwest Companion Pass?
Because you can get two years of free flights.
The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card can help you earn a Southwest Companion Pass in less time than it takes to read this blog post.
Keep reading to find out why you need to get the Southwest Premier Business card now vs later.
Southwest® Rapid Rewards ® Premier Business Credit Card
Use your Southwest points to fly to places like Belize
Photo courtesy: Photo Dune
The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card is offering up to 120,000 points: 60,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. And another 60,000 points after spending a total of $15,000 in the first 9 months.
Normally the bonus is 25,000 Southwest points which isn’t bad, but 120,000 points is a lot better.
You should get the Southwest Premier Business card now. Because this bonus won’t be around for much longer.
Southwest Premier Business Card Benefits
With the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card, you can earn 120,000 points: 60,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of having this card. And an additional 60,000 points after spending a total of $15,000 in the first 9 months.
And you’ll also get:
- Free checked bags (maximum 2 per person)
- 2 free EarlyBird Check-ins® each year
- 6,000 Southwest points every year after your Cardmember Anniversary
- 3 points per $1 spent on Southwest Airlines® purchases, vacation packages, gift cards
- 2 points per $1 spent on rideshare, Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- No foreign transaction fees
- Member FDIC
The annual fee for this card is $99.
Pro-tip: Buy Southwest Gift cards from an office supply store like Staples, through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay with your Ink Business Cash® Credit Card. You’ll earn 5 points per $1 up to $25,000 a year plus bonus points (currently 2 points per $1), so 7 points per $1 on your gift card purchases.
What You Can Do With 120,000 Southwest Points
Redeem for Flights
Southwest points used to be a fixed rate of 70 points per dollar or 1.4 cents per point. But they are more fluid now. Based on you guessed it, supply and demand.
If ticket prices are high, then you need more points to redeem for a flight. If ticket prices are low, you can use fewer points.
So you’ll pay more points for a Business Select ticket or Anytime ticket than you would for a Wanna Get Away ticket. Let’s look at an example.
If you wanted to use Southwest points to fly from San Diego to Maui, an Anytime ticket would cost 55,594 points. But you’d only pay 13,442 points if you choose a Wanna Get Away ticket.
You can take more trips with your Southwest points if you’re flexible with your dates.
Pro-tip: Use the Southwest Flexible Dates calendar to compare a month’s worth of ticket prices.
What to know about Flying on Southwest
- There are no blackout dates
- Everyone gets 2 free checked bags
- There are no fees for flight changes or cancellations if you cancel 10 minutes before your flight
Redeem for Other Travel
You can use your Southwest points to buy gift cards and certificates for:
- Car rentals (Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz, and National)
- Cruises (Carnival and Royal Caribbean International)
- Hotels (BedandBreakfast.com, Best Western, Fairmont, iHotel, Universal Orlando Resort)
- Travel gear (adapters, luggage, etc)
This isn’t the best use of your points.
Pro-tip: Save your points and use them for flights.
Use Towards the Southwest Companion Pass
The beauty of using your Southwest points towards the Southwest Companion Pass…you aren’t really redeeming them.
Yep, you don’t have to redeem your points to earn the Southwest Companion Pass.
Unlike flights or other travel purchases that require you to redeem your Southwest points, you only have to earn points to get a Southwest Companion Pass. You don’t have to redeem them.
Once you have 135,000 points in your account, you automatically earn the Southwest Companion Pass.
Pro-tip: Credit card sign-up bonuses are the fastest way to earn points towards the Southwest Companion Pass.
Southwest Companion Pass
Use Your Southwest Companion Pass to fly to places like Las Vegas
Photo courtesy: Photo Dune
With a Southwest Companion Pass, you can bring a companion (partner, child, relative, friend, or whomever) with you when you fly on Southwest for free (taxes not included).
The pass is good for the year you earned it and the following year. So by earning a Southwest Companion Pass now, you’ll get two years of free flights!
You get a Southwest Companion Pass when you’ve earned 135,000 Southwest points in a calendar year.
But don’t freak out, here’s the easiest way to earn the Southwest Companion Pass: credit card sign-up bonuses.
Combine the bonuses from the Southwest Premier Business card and one of the three Southwest personal credit cards which offer a sign-up bonus of 50,000 Southwest points when you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account:
- Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
- Southwest Rapid Rewards(R) Priority Credit Card
You can earn up to 175,000 Southwest points from two Southwest credit cards: Southwest Premier Credit Card, Southwest Plus Credit Card, or Southwest Priority Credit Card and Southwest Premier Business Credit Card.
Can you apply for both on the same day?
Yep, because one is a personal card and the other is a business card.
You can get a business card as a sole proprietor if you’re self-employed or have a small business. So if you sell essential oils, are a Beach Body coach, sell Plexus, etc. Your small business could qualify you to get a business card.
Pro-tip: Add your Southwest Rapid Rewards frequent flyer number to your application. Or they will issue you a new number.
Pro-tip: Once you’ve approved, call Chase and ask them to expedite sending the card to you. You’ll get it in 48 hours instead of 5 to 7 business days.
Pro-tip: You will not get the bonus if you apply for the same Southwest credit card that you currently have or if you got the bonus in the last 24 months.
Complete Minimum Spending
Remember you have to meet the minimum spending requirements on each card to get the 175,000 points.
Here are some tips on how to meet minimum spending:
- Pay your federal or state income taxes
- Pay several months of utility bills
- Buy gift cards
- 7 unusual ways to complete minimum spending on a new credit card
Why You Need to Get the Southwest Premier Business Card
You pay no foreign transaction fees when you use your Southwest Premier Business card internationally in places like Cuba
Photo courtesy: Southwest Airlines
Get 2 Cards on the Same Day
If all three Southwest credit cards are offering a 50,000 point bonus, why can’t you just get two personal cards? Why do you need to get the Southwest Premier Business card?
You could apply for two personal cards. But Chase won’t approve you for two personal cards on the same day.
And if you’re trying to get two personal cards, you should wait at least 30 days between personal applications.
But if you do that, the 50,000 point bonus might go away.
Chase could deny you if you’ve been approved for 5 credit cards in the past 24 months. Also known as the 5/24 rule.
There is some flexibility with the 5/24 rule if you’re a Chase Private Client. Currently, I have 9 Chase cards, and Jeff has 1 (slacker, I know!).
Or you do things the easy way by applying for a personal card: Southwest Premier,Southwest Plus, or Southwest Priority card and a business card like the SouthwestPremier Business Card on the same day.
It’s Going Away
Chase stopped issuing the Southwest Plus Business card a couple of years ago. It’s only a matter of time before they consider getting rid of the Southwest Premier Business card.
And here’s why:
The link for the Southwest Premier Business card on the Southwest credit card page leads to a page moved/not found.
Before Chase got rid of the Southwest Plus Business card, there was a high sign-up bonus offer.
My Recommendation
I’d apply for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card and the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card.
This would give you up to 175,000 Southwest points you need to earn the Southwest Companion Pass which you’d be able to use for the next two years.
Why the Southwest Plus Card over the Southwest Premier Card
Identical Sign-up Bonus
The sign-up bonus on both the Southwest Plus and Southwest Premier card is the same: 50,000 points.
Lower Annual Fee
The Southwest Plus card has a lower annual fee than the Southwest Premier card. You’ll pay $69 instead of $99.
No Foreign Transaction Fee
Because you’re also applying for the Southwest Premier Business card which has no foreign transaction fee, you can use that card for international travel and keep your Southwest Plus card at home.
Conclusion
Here’s why you should get the Southwest Premier Business card. Southwest is offering a 50,000 point sign-up bonus after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months on all of their personal credit cards: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card.
And there’s an up to 120,000 point offer: 60,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. And another 60,000 points after spending a total of $15,000 in the first 9 months on the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card offer.
You could get two years of free flights by applying for two Southwest credit cards: a personal card and a business card and completing the minimum spending requirement.
Whatever you decide to do, get two cards, or just one, you should get the Southwest Premier Business card now. Because Chase may stop issuing this card soon.
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