Did tonight what you're thinking of doing--although I did count myself as an employee. I have a decent yearly income from sources outside the business that I'm starting. Keep in mind there are plenty of startup businesses every year. Chase and other banking institutions that I have received business cards from aren't shying away from you for just starting up a business. They just want to know that if you open a card, you won't stiff them for $2000.00. Of course, they want a longer-term customer, but a more important concern for them is that you'll always pay off your bill.

From my experience with credit card companies and reading the fora here, I've learned to always be straight about income. The people who get shut down generally have inflated either business or personal income along the way. No financial institution worries about those figures until you stop paying bills or run up expenses that trigger alerts that make them think you might be one of those folks who opened a card just to charge a bunch of money on it that you never intend to repay. Then, when it's time to prove that you can support the business or personal income you've claimed, you will definitely find the banks shutting down your accounts and trying to claw back miles/points if you come up short.

Yeah, you might not get every card you want if you're straight with the banks on income, but if you're seriously overreaching, you're only going to get one or two really fantastic trips in this game. And this game is not about one or two. . .