Advanta Wins a Stevie for Best Corporate Web Site at First-Ever American Business Awards; Site Use up 223 Percent in First Quarter '03 over Year Earlier.

Business Editors

SPRING HOUSE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2003

Advanta Corporation (NASDAQ: ADVNB; ADVNA), a provider of innovative financial services focused on small business, took home a Stevie(SM) Award for the Best Corporate Web site, www.advanta.com, at the first-ever American Business Awards(SM), held last night in New York City.

Hailed as "the business world's own Oscars" by the New York Post (September 22, 2002), The American Business Awards are the first national, all-encompassing business awards program honoring great performances in the workplace.

"We accept this award on behalf of the 35 million small business owners who employ over 50 percent of America's workforce, account for more than half the Gross Domestic Product, and create two-thirds of all new jobs," said Ami Kassar, Advanta's Vice President of Internet Strategy. "We're proud to have developed a Web site that makes our customers' lives easier."

Since redesigning advanta.com, Advanta has seen triple digit growth in its use. Usage of the site increased 202 percent in 2002 over 2001, and 223 percent in the first quarter of this year versus first quarter 2002. The company logged its millionth user session in December 2002, less than a year after the site's launch.

Advanta.com reflects the company's focus on the small business market. The user-friendly site serves as an online business manager for Advanta's customers, offering a wide menu of services, providing customers easy access to their history of transactional data, and enabling them to monitor and manage their business expenses online.

"In our 52-year history, technology has evolved dramatically, but customer service has remained our number one priority," said Dennis Alter, Chairman and CEO of Advanta. "It's an honor to have Advanta.com recognized as an effective tool for building small business."

Advanta faced stiff competition in the Corporate Web Site category from companies including CIGNA, General Electric Co, Kelly Services, Inc., Oxford Health Plans, Inc., and Weber Shandwick Worldwide. There were 13 finalists in the category. Hewlett Packard also won in this hotly contested category, which was among few that awarded Stevies to two finalists.

Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word "crowned," the awards were presented at a nationally broadcast show at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers in New York City. The ceremony was hosted by Charles Osgood, host of CBS News Sunday Morning and commentator for the CBS Radio Network, and was broadcast nationwide on radio, and worldwide via the Internet, by Business TalkRadio.

Some 500 nominations from companies of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted for consideration in more than 40 categories. Other Stevie winners included: Debra Lee, president and COO of BET, a division of Viacom, and Chris A. Davis, chairman and CEO of McLeodUSA Incorporated for Best Executive; PIBH, a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania non-profit, and R.R. Donnelley, the Chicago-based communications firm for Best Overall Company; Spirit Airlines for Best Marketing Organization; UPS for Most Innovative Company; and Fine Living for Best New Company.

Members of the Awards' Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors and their staffs selected Stevie winners from among the finalists. The Board includes business luminaries such as Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes, Bruce Nelson, chairman & CEO of Office Depot, marketing gurus Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Anthony Robbins, Chairman & CEO of The Anthony Robbins Companies, Drew Schutte, publisher of Wired Magazine, Jeffrey Tarr, chairman & CEO of Hoover's Inc., and Donald Trump, chairman, president and CEO of The Trump Organization. Finalists were selected by business professionals nationwide during February and March.

About Advanta

Headquartered in suburban Philadelphia, Advanta is a highly focused financial services company serving the small business market. Advanta leverages direct marketing and information based expertise to identify potential customers and new target markets and to provide a high level of service tailored to the unique needs of small business. Using these distinctive capabilities, Advanta has become one of the nation's largest issuers of MasterCard business credit cards to small businesses. Since 1951, Advanta has pioneered many of the marketing techniques common in the financial services industry today, including remote lending, direct mail, and affinity and relationship marketing. Learn more about Advanta at www.advanta.com.

About The American Business Awards(SM)

A celebration of great performances in the workplace, The American Business Awards are the first national, all-encompassing business awards program. Honoring companies of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Awards recognize outstanding leadership, innovation, perseverance, creativity, teamwork, and integrity through more than 40 categories. The first American Business Awards - nicknamed The Stevies(TM) from the Greek word for "crowned" - were presented at an awards show in New York City on April 30. The program is overseen by a Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors, which includes leading business executives, authors, and academics. Sponsors of the 2003 American Business Awards included BusinessTalkRadio, DHR International, Empire Media, Forbes, Hoover's Online, Inc. Magazine, Miller Heiman, Selling Power Magazine, and Wired Magazine.