Using business cards to fund a business — and bank the points

To apply for a business card you do NOT need an LLC, an EIN, or a registered company. Sole proprietorship is a legal business structure that exists the moment you earn money outside W-2 employment.

• ✓Legal name = your name. Business name = your name (or a DBA).
• ✓Tax ID = your SSN.
• ✓Years in business = how long you've been earning that income, even informally.
• ✓Annual revenue = whatever you reasonably project for the year.

Selling stuff on Facebook Marketplace counts. Driving Uber counts. Doing freelance design counts.

• ✓Most don't report to your personal credit, so they don't add to Chase 5/24 (Chase, Amex, Citi, US Bank, Barclays).
• ✓Bigger sign-up bonuses than personal cards (Ink Preferred regularly 100k–120k, Biz Plat 150k–250k).
• ✓Higher credit limits and bigger 0% intro APRs (Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited often run 0% for 12 months — that's interest-free runway).
• ✓Employee cards free or cheap, and SUB-spend counts whether you or an employee swipes.

Three no-fee or cheap-fee Chase business cards that all earn Ultimate Rewards. Apply for them ~3 months apart.

• ✓Ink Business Cash ($0 AF) — 5x on office supply stores, internet/cable/phone, up to $25k/yr. Use it for AWS, Adobe, Notion, anything you can buy as a gift card at Staples.
• ✓Ink Business Unlimited ($0 AF) — 1.5x everywhere. Catch-all for non-bonus business spend.
• ✓Ink Business Preferred ($95 AF) — 3x on travel, shipping, ads, telecom up to $150k/yr. This card holds the UR account that the other two transfer into for travel redemptions.

SUBs alone on this trifecta = 200k–300k UR ≈ $3,000–$6,000 in luxury hotel and business class flight value.

• ✓Amex Business Gold — 4x on your top 2 spending categories each month (advertising, software, transit, gas, restaurants, US shipping). Self-optimizes.
• ✓Amex Business Platinum — 1.5x on purchases $5k+, 5x on flights and prepaid hotels through Amex Travel, 35% MR rebate on Pay With Points for flights (effectively 1.54¢/pt redemption floor).

Don't carry balances on rewards cards long-term. But for short-term capital — buying inventory, prepaying a year of SaaS, fronting a marketing push — a Chase Ink or Bank of America Business Advantage with 12 months at 0% is cheaper than a business loan.

Rule: only do this if you have a clear plan to pay it off before the intro period ends. Set a calendar reminder for month 10.

• ✓Open a separate checking account for the business, even as a sole prop. Pay business cards from it.
• ✓Never put personal expenses on a business card. Mixing is the #1 reason auditors disallow deductions.
• ✓Keep receipts for anything over $75 (IRS threshold). Apps like Expensify or Wave auto-categorize.
• ✓If you incorporate later (LLC, S-Corp), keep using the same business cards under the new EIN once you get one.

A realistic year-one for a side-business owner under 5/24:

1. Month 0: Chase Ink Business Preferred — 100k UR SUB.
2. Month 4: Chase Ink Business Unlimited — 75k SUB, $0 AF, 0% APR for 12 months.
3. Month 8: Amex Business Gold — 70k–150k MR SUB, 4x on ads + software (your top categories).
4. Month 12: Amex Business Platinum — 150k MR SUB, lounges, flight credits.

Result: ~400k transferable points + a year of 0% APR runway, all without adding to 5/24 — while building business credit history.