Who Can Benefit Most From the Southwest Premier Business Card?

Anyone with a rewards credit card understands the appeal of earning travel through everyday spending. But for business owners, a rewards credit card has extra appeal. It offers a chance to earn travel through not just your own spending, but through your employees’ spending, too. That’s because workers who make purchases on the company’s dime can do so using an authorized user card that earns points for the business owner with every transaction.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card aims to help business owners take full advantage of this opportunity by offering free cards to employees. Combine that with the card’s relatively low $99 annual fee and the ability to set individual spending limits for every authorized user, and it’s clear that small-business owners can stand to benefit most from this card.

» Learn more: 5 things to know about the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card

The welcome bonus

Like all the Southwest-branded credit cards, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card comes with a wide array of benefits that add value for a pennywise small-business owner. The best perk is the welcome bonus: Earn 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. That’s plenty of points for business owners to work in a little leisure travel.

» Learn more: Here's how much your points and miles are worth

Earning power

Additionally, the card issues 6,000 bonus points every cardmember anniversary. That’s on top of the 1 point per $1 the card pays on most purchases and 2 points per $1 on Southwest purchases.

» Learn more: Chase 5/24 rule explained

Benefits of flying Southwest

Any airline-branded credit card provides a strong incentive to fly that airline. But with a Southwest card, that loyalty is especially rewarding because the airline charges no fees for the first two checked bags. Another rare perk? There’s no fee to change a flight — even on the same day. Book a flight for January, postpone it until July and simply pay the fare difference, if any.

That’s a refreshing change from the upwards of $200 that major carriers like American Airlines charge for domestic flight changes. Any company that sends its salespeople to pitch new customers can save a ton in change fees if those prospects tend to be fickle or flaky.

» Learn more: Benefits of Southwest Airlines credit cards

Travel protection

If the cardholder’s luggage gets lost, the card comes with lost luggage reimbursement coverage up to $3,000 per passenger. Even delayed luggage — a nightmare for the business traveler who needs to look her best for that out-of-town meeting — is covered: The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card reimburses qualifying travelers up to $100 a day for up to three days on purchases like toiletries and clothing. Delays must be over six hours long to qualify.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card also charges no foreign transaction fees, which can make a big difference to a jet-setting business owner’s bottom line. Some other cards charge around 3% for purchases made outside the United States, which can add up fast.

It’s just one more reason for a frugal business owner to consider this card.

How to Maximize Your Rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2020, including those best for:

• Airline miles and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

• No annual fee: Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card

• Flat-rate rewards with no annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

• Premium travel rewards: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

• Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

• Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card