American Express Corporate Travel Unveils Loyalty Program, Webfare Guarantee to Small and Mid-Sized Market.

NEW YORK -- American Express Corporate Travel

--The Industry's Most Comprehensive Business Travel Offering Delivers Best-In-Class Savings, Combines Membership Rewards(R) Points, Webfare Guarantee and Automatic Refunds With Industry-Leading Airfares and $5 Booking Fees --

Today, American Express Corporate Travel announced the most comprehensive, cost-saving travel management offering targeted specifically towards the $16 billion small- and mid-sized business travel segment. This offering features a Webfare guarantee, which promises that American Express' online and offline offerings will match or beat any airfare available online. It also includes a new travel management loyalty program featuring double Membership Rewards(R) Points* for individual travelers when booking travel with his/her American Express Card. In addition, the offering features automatic ticket refunds. All of these features are combined with American Express' industry-leading airfares and customer service at the same low $5 transaction fee that American Express has offered since October 2001.

The double Membership Rewards(R) Points loyalty program is designed to address the biggest problem facing small- and medium-sized businesses - individual traveler compliance with a travel management program. By creating a personalized incentive that is linked to the corporate travel management program, and coupling it with a Webfare Guarantee**, automatic refunds and Preferred Extras, American Express has created a unique offering that benefits individual travelers and promotes overall company cost savings.

"Double Membership Rewards(R) Points are something we can't get anywhere else. It's another way to maximize the benefits of our relationship with American Express, and to compel our travelers to book within the travel program and increase our company's overall savings," said Tim McNamara of Global Search Associates, a licensee of Boyden Global Executive Search. "With features like access to low fares, low-cost carriers and low transaction fees, I know our company will immediately begin to identify savings opportunities well beyond what we had seen before we began managing our travel spend."

American Express research has shown that the top travel concerns for small- and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) are:

--Ability to book reservations quickly and achieve exclusive savings

--Access to low-cost carriers, and low airfares in general

--Opportunity to earn Membership Rewards(R) Points for booking travel online

In response to the evolving needs of this critical market segment, American Express is providing small- and mid-sized enterprises with a full suite of travel management services and benefits, including:

--Industry-leading total business trip negotiated rates (American Express total trip costs, including air, hotel and rental car rates, are 7-11% lower on average than Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity according to a recent study by Harrell Associates)

--Webfare Guarantee matches airfares or pays the difference of rates found on the Web lower than the airfare American Express provided

--Access to low cost airlines

--Program analysis and identification of new savings opportunities

--Low-cost transaction fees, including $5 for online transactions (American Express has offered a $5 transaction fee since October 2001)

--Online, offline, and executive service booking options

--Preferred Extras, which provide discounted airfares, room rates, and rental car rates -- plus value-added perks and amenities

--Automatic identification and refunding of unused e-tickets that can save significant lost dollars for companies

--American Express Online allows business travelers to manage their American Express business travel accounts by accessing online booking tools and updating personal profiles in real time

--24x7 customer service

Pam Arway, Executive Vice President/General Manager for American Express Corporate Travel, North America, said, "We've given small- and medium-sized businesses the three things they need most to maximize their travel management program. By offering a loyalty program, we're helping to drive travel program compliance through the offer of double Membership Rewards(R) Points. With automatic refunds, travelers can avoid the hassle of refunding their unused tickets. And our Webfare guarantee ensures that our airfares, already the industry's lowest, will never be beaten. Taken together, this new offering is designed to help this market realize all of the cost-savings and efficiencies that come with managing their travel through American Express."

The double Membership Rewards(R) Points are for use with the American Express Corporate Card and apply to airline ticket bookings. The new offering is currently available to all small- and mid-sized enterprises in North America.

About American Express Corporate Services 

American Express operates one of the world's largest travel agencies, recording $16 billion in worldwide travel sales in 2003. Through its Corporate Services group, the company counts nearly 70 percent of the Fortune 500, along with tens of thousands of mid-sized companies, as customers of its Business Travel, Corporate Card, and Corporate Purchasing Solutions services. More information on expense management tools from Corporate Services can be found at http://www.americanexpress.com/corporateservices.

The American Express Company is a diversified worldwide travel, financial and network services company founded in 1850. It is a leader in charge and credit cards, Travelers Cheques, travel, financial planning, investment products, insurance and international banking.

(*) For seven years in a row, Business Traveler Magazine has voted the Membership Rewards program the best Credit Card Rewards program in the U.S. The program allows Cardmembers to earn points for virtually every dollar charged on eligible, enrolled American Express Cards. Program Terms and Conditions apply. Membership Rewards(R) Points can be used for a multitude of items from travel, entertainment and shopping (www.MembershipRewards.com).

To be eligible to earn double points for airline charges, you must be enrolled in the Membership Rewards program at the time of purchase, and you must charge your purchase on an eligible, enrolled American Express(R) Card. This offer represents one additional point when used in conjunction with other bonus point offers. Bonus points will be awarded 10-12 weeks after the charges appear on the monthly billing statement. Bonus ID: 8743

(**) Webfare Guarantee: Client must provide flight information that will confirm that a lower Web airfare was available for the same routing (within plus or minus one hour of the departure times on the American Express itinerary) of the lowest airfare offered by American Express. The Web airfare and the American Express fare must be quoted on the same day. Consolidator, soft dollar tickets and auction Web sites such as Priceline and Hotwire are excluded from the guarantee. Client must purchase the airline ticket through American Express to be eligible for the Webfare Guarantee. American Express reserves the right to cancel, modify, or otherwise change this guarantee at any time, with or without notice.