American Express Completes Acquisition of SierraCities.com Inc.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 30, 2001

American Express Company today announced that it has completed its acquisition of SierraCities.com Inc., a leading equipment financing company.

In February, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. began a tender offer of $5.68 per share, or a total of $107.5 million, for the approximately 18.9 million SierraCities shares outstanding.

Following the tender offer, on March 30, 2001, that wholly-owned subsidiary was merged into SierraCities, making SierraCities a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. SierraCities stockholders who did not tender their shares in the tender offer received the right to receive $5.68 per share, in cash, in the merger.

The acquisition of SierraCities, with more than $1.5 billion in receivables, will significantly expand American Express' existing equipment financing business and further American Express' leadership in small business lending. American Express provides equipment financing through participating equipment vendors in the form of leases, and directly to small businesses through term loans.

SierraCities, based in Houston, Texas, is an innovator of technology solutions for online business-to-business financing. Its state-of-the-art technology platform supports real-time funding of e-commerce transactions by automating a range of processes, including applications, data retrieval and underwriting.

American Express Company (www.americanexpress.com) is a diversified worldwide financial, travel and network services provider founded in 1850. It is a leader in charge and credit cards, Travelers Cheques, travel, financial planning, investment products, insurance, accounting and international banking.

Certain of the statements contained herein, including the effect that the transaction will have on American Express' business, are forward-looking statements of future expectations. Actual events may differ materially from these expectations as a result of several factors, including the future results of SierraCities' business and its integration into American Express.