Applies only to Southwest Airlines booked directly with Southwest; Otherwise earn 1X
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card should be the go-to card for Southwest frequent travelers that own a small business. Don’t let the $199 annual fee scare you off. This card comes packed with perks that can easily justify that fee.
Southwest-specific perks include four Upgraded Boardings each year, virtually unlimited inflight WiFi passes, and the ability to spend toward A-List status. Plus cardholders get premium travel perks like a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee statement credit.
Cardholders earn 4x Rapid Rewards points on Southwest Airlines purchases. That’s a higher rewards earning rate on Southwest purchases than you’ll find on any other Southwest credit card. Plus you’ll earn 3x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners.
However, this card doesn’t just reward travel purchases. Cardholders earn 2x Southwest Rapid Rewards points on a wide range of purchases, including social media and search engine advertising; internet, cable, and phone services; transit and commuting, including ride-hailing services. Earn points on all other purchases at a rate of 1 Rapid Rewards point per dollar spent.
Cardholders will earn 1,500 tier qualifying points toward A-List status for every $5,000 spent on purchases annually. While you probably don’t want to put that much spending on the card, you can conceivably spend all the way to A-List Preferred status by spending $470,000 on the card in a calendar year.
The only real downside to this card is the limited redemption options. The best way to redeem Rapid Rewards points is for Southwest flights. And since the Rapid Rewards structure is a fixed-value program, you won’t get more value from some flights than others. The good news is that means there are no blackout dates when you want to redeem points.
You can add employee cards for no additional cost, meaning you can be rewarded for employee spending. The card also offers up to a $500 statement credit for points transfers. That means you can transfer points to employees without additional cost.
Lastly, this card is great for getting more than halfway to a Southwest Companion Pass with the bonus offer. Read our guide on earning a Southwest Companion Pass for up to two years via new account bonuses.
3X bonus points per dollar in combined purchases in the following select business categories: Travel (includes airfare, hotels, and car rentals but excludes local transit), internet, cable, and phone services, search engine/social media and shipping purchases, up to a combined maximum of $150,000 per account anniversary year.
3X bonus points per dollar in combined purchases in the following select business categories: Travel (includes airfare, hotels, and car rentals but excludes local transit), internet, cable, and phone services, search engine/social media and shipping purchases, up to a combined maximum of $150,000 per account anniversary year.
3X bonus points per dollar in combined purchases in the following select business categories: Travel (includes airfare, hotels, and car rentals but excludes local transit), internet, cable, and phone services, search engine/social media and shipping purchases, up to a combined maximum of $150,000 per account anniversary year.
3X bonus points per dollar in combined purchases in the following select business categories: Travel (includes airfare, hotels, and car rentals but excludes local transit), internet, cable, and phone services, search engine/social media and shipping purchases, up to a combined maximum of $150,000 per account anniversary year.
3X bonus points per dollar in combined purchases in the following select business categories: Travel (includes airfare, hotels, and car rentals but excludes local transit), internet, cable, and phone services, search engine/social media and shipping purchases, up to a combined maximum of $150,000 per account anniversary year.
3X bonus points per dollar in combined purchases in the following select business categories: Travel (includes airfare, hotels, and car rentals but excludes local transit), internet, cable, and phone services, search engine/social media and shipping purchases, up to a combined maximum of $150,000 per account anniversary year.
3X bonus points per dollar in combined purchases in the following select business categories: Travel (includes airfare, hotels, and car rentals but excludes local transit), internet, cable, and phone services, search engine/social media and shipping purchases, up to a combined maximum of $150,000 per account anniversary year.
3X bonus points per dollar in combined purchases in the following select business categories: Travel (includes airfare, hotels, and car rentals but excludes local transit), internet, cable, and phone services, search engine/social media and shipping purchases, up to a combined maximum of $150,000 per account anniversary year.
3X bonus points per dollar in combined purchases in the following select business categories: Travel (includes airfare, hotels, and car rentals but excludes local transit), internet, cable, and phone services, search engine/social media and shipping purchases, up to a combined maximum of $150,000 per account anniversary year.
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
The Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card is a staple credit card for any business owner than understands the power of Chase Ultimate Rewards, one of my favorite rewards currencies (See the feature entitled “Earns Transferable Points” above for more on why.)
The Ink Preferred has two distinctions among the Chase Ink business credit card lineup with also includes the Chase Ink Business Unlimited® and Chase Ink Business Cash®.
1) While those cards have no annual fee, they also do not have the power, on their own, to transfer points to Chase’s airline and hotel partners – and that is where you get the most value. The Chase Ink Preferred, with its small annual fee, gives it the distinction of being able to transfer the points to partners like World of Hyatt.
So, for instance, you can earn 5X on office supply stores with the Ink Cash and 1.5X on spend categories that don’t otherwise have a bonus multiplier and then combine them all to your Chase Ink Preferred. In addition to being able to transfer to air and hotel partner programs, you also have the option to simply book travel on the Chase Travel site with each point worth 1.25 cents. Comparatively, the Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited would have points worth just 1 cent there – unless you also had an Ink Preferred to combine the points to.
2) The Ink Business Preferred has the highest bonus offer of any card, with 100,000 bonus points on offer when you meet the minimum spend in the allotted time from account opening. (See current offer above in “Key Facts.”)
But beyond that, the Chase Ink Business Preferred is a super powerful credit card for small business owners that spend a lot on select business categories like travel, internet, cable, and phone services, search engines/social media and shipping purchases, where you will earn 3X Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent – up to a combined maximum of $150,000 per year. (You would earn 1 point per dollar over that limit.)
That’s some amazing earning power! If you max that out in a year, you are earning 600,000 points which we would value (at 1.75 cents a point) as worth over $10,000 in rewards value. Like I said – it’s a powerhouse of a card all on its own!
Even if you had no interest in travel and treated these points as cash back (which I certainly don’t think is the best way to use these points!), you are still earning 3% cash back on this spend.
And then there’s the benefits. This card absolutely rocks the benefits.
My favorite benefit is its included primary rental car insurance when you book for business purposes, put the entire rental cost on your Ink card and decline the rental company’s collision insurance. That means that you can decline the expensive collision insurance that your rental car company offers and, if there is damage or theft, Chase’s insurance will cover you on most rentals without involving your personal insurance. That could save you on future premiums.
Note: The list of credit cards that offer primary rental car insurance is extremely limited, so take advantage of this one.
But that’s far from the only benefit worth mentioning. Other notable card benefits include:
Note: You will only be approved for a Chase business credit card if you have applied for fewer than 5 personal credit cards within the last 24 months from any issuer. (Business credit cards do not count against the total, except for Capital One and Discover, but are subject to the policy).
Lastly, you will only be approved for (at most) one Chase business card every 30 days so please do not apply for two at once.
If you have applied for a Chase credit card and don’t get an instant approval, you may want to phone the Chase reconsideration line.
This card is also mentioned in the article Business Credit Cards That Don’t Report to Personal Credit Bureaus.