Southwest Performance Business Card’s Welcome Offer History: 2019 to 2026

For small-business owners who frequently fly Southwest, the Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card is the more premium of the airline’s 2 small-business cards. It’s designed for companies that want elevated earning potential, premium-style perks, and a meaningful welcome bonus offer that can help jump-start Rapid Rewards balances.

Chase and Southwest launched the Southwest Performance Business card in 2019 as the airline’s most feature-rich business product.

In this guide, we’ll break down when it makes sense to apply, how the card’s welcome bonus has evolved over time, what changed recently across the Southwest portfolio, and whether this premium small-business card deserves a place in your long-term rewards strategy.

When To Apply for the Southwest Performance Business Card

The Southwest Performance Business card is Southwest’s top-level small-business rewards credit card, and its benefits reflect that positioning. With a $299 annual fee, it costs more than the airline’s Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Premier Business Credit Card but delivers higher-value perks and stronger ongoing earning opportunities.

Business owners like this card because it combines everyday spending bonuses with practical travel benefits. It earns elevated points on Southwest purchases and common business expense categories, offers a complimentary checked bag and seating perks, and provides anniversary bonus points each year. For companies that book Southwest flights regularly, the built-in perks can help offset the annual fee with little effort.

Unlike some other Chase small-business credit cards, this product does not earn flexible points that can be transferred to a variety of airline and hotel programs. Instead, it earns Rapid Rewards points directly, tying your rewards to Southwest’s Rapid Rewards ecosystem. If Southwest is your primary airline, that simplicity is a strength. If you value flexibility across multiple airlines, it’s something to consider.

The card has also been impacted by Southwest’s 2025 credit card changes, which refreshed certain earning structures and promotional strategies across the portfolio. While the core value proposition remains intact, welcome bonus offers have rotated more aggressively in recent years, sometimes featuring significantly higher point totals tied to larger spending requirements.

Current applicants for the Southwest Performance Business card can enjoy this welcome offer:

• Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Here’s how that compares with previous publicly available offers on the card:

* Value based on our latest points and miles valuations, not provided by the card issuer. We value Southwest points at 1.3 cents each.

The Southwest Performance Business card has shown greater stability than some of Southwest’s consumer products in terms of bonus offers. For much of its history, the standard offer has been 80,000 points after $5,000 in spending within 3 months. That baseline has remained consistent from launch through multiple cycles.

Elevated offers have appeared periodically, most notably the 120,000-point offers in 2024 and 2025. These larger bonuses typically required higher total spending thresholds, either through tiered spending over several months or through a single higher spending requirement within a shorter window.

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

Southwest frequent flyers will love the complimentary seat selection and bonus points on each cardmember anniversary.

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Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card

Southwest frequent flyers will love the complimentary seat selection and bonus points on each cardmember anniversary.

Welcome Offer

Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

80,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$1,040

Annual Fee

$299

APR

19.24% - 27.74% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

The Southwest^® Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card is a phenomenal option for business owners who are Southwest frequent flyers. It helps you earn more points on business expenses, offers complimentary seat selection at the time of booking, and helps you reach higher levels of Southwest elite status.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 4x points per $1 spent on Southwest purchases
• 2x points per $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants, with no annual cap
• 2x points per $1 spent on all hotel purchases

Cons

• $299 annual fee
• Doesn’t earn transferable rewards

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Card Highlights

• Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• 9,000 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary.
• Earn 4X pts on Southwest^® purchases.
• Earn 2 points for every $1 you spend at gas stations and restaurants
• Earn 2X points on hotel accommodations booked directly with the hotel
• Earn 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
• First checked bag free for Cardmembers and up to 8 additional passengers in the same reservation.
• Cardmembers and up to 8 passengers in the same reservation will board with Group 5 giving them earlier access to overhead bins.
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.24% - 27.74% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

The strongest publicly available offer in the card’s history was 120,000 points, which delivered an estimated value of $1,560. Those elevated promotions were short-lived compared to the long-standing 80,000-point baseline.

Historically, a typical offer has been 80,000 points after $5,000 in spending. Elevated offers of 100,000 to 120,000 points surface periodically but are not the norm. If you’re seeing the standard 80,000-point bonus, you’re looking at what we consider to be the standard offer on this card. History shows that higher promotions do return from time to time.

Southwest Performance Business Card Benefits

The Southwest Performance Business card is an airline-focused small-business credit card with solid perks aimed at frequent Southwest flyers.

Cardholders can enjoy the following perks:

• 4x points on Southwest purchases
• 2x points at gas stations and restaurants, with no annual cap
• 2x points on all hotel purchases
• 2x points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare services
• 1x points on other purchases
• 9,000 anniversary bonus points each year
• Complimentary Preferred seats at booking
• Unlimited upgrades to Extra Legroom seats within 48 hours of departure, based on availability, for the cardholder and up to 8 companions on the same reservation
• First checked bag free for cardholder and up to 8 companions on the same reservation
• Group 5 boarding for the cardholder and up to 8 companions on the same reservation
• 25% back on inflight purchases
• Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS application fee credit
• Earn 2,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) toward A-List status for every $5,000 in annual purchases.

For businesses that frequently book Southwest travel and incur advertising or telecom expenses, the elevated bonus categories can meaningfully accelerate point earning. Plus, the card offers tangible value that offsets the card’s annual fee through checked bag, boarding, and seat perks.

Final Thoughts

The Southwest Performance Business card continues to serve as Southwest’s most robust small-business product. Its welcome bonus history shows a stable 80,000-point baseline with occasional spikes to 100,000 or 120,000 points tied to higher spending thresholds.

Elevated offers appear periodically on this card, but they are typically limited-time offers.

As always, the welcome bonus should only be one part of your decision. The long-term value lies in the ongoing earning rates, anniversary bonus points, upgraded boarding, and inflight Wi-Fi reimbursements.

If Southwest is your primary airline and your business spending aligns with the card’s bonus categories, the Southwest Performance Business card can deliver consistent value well beyond the first-year bonus.