Bankrate Reports Second Consecutive Quarterly Profit.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 2002

-- The Company's content is distributed in major media outlets including AOL,
Yahoo!, MSN, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Newsday,
and an additional 100 newspapers and 75 Web sites.

-- Rate data is being gathered in over 170 markets, from more than 4,800
financial institutions, covering over 100 products.

Bankrate, Inc. (OTCBB:RATE), the Internet's leading source of consumer financial news and information, today reported net income of $2,712,000, or $0.19 per share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2002, compared to a net loss of $625,000, or $0.04 per share, in the comparable quarter of 2001. Excluding the non-cash gain on early extinguishment of debt of $2,022,000, or $0.14 per share, in the 2002 quarter, the Company would have reported net income of $690,000, or $0.05 per share, for the quarter.

"This has been a terrific quarter for us," commented President and CEO Elisabeth DeMarse. "Our company, despite the terrible ad environment, has pulled together and worked harder than ever to achieve these results. We are reporting strong revenue growth across the board, and our efforts have yielded our largest operating profit to date. We have always seen a seasonal up-tick in our first quarter and, as planned, we have earned about half of our budgeted profit for 2002. We expect that Bankrate will remain profitable for the remainder of the year, although not at this pace, given our seasonality."

"This is the fourth consecutive quarter that Bankrate has generated cash from operations," continued DeMarse. "`Achieving profitability' were our watchwords for 2001. With focus and determination we met that goal. Now that we have a stable base from which to operate, we are focused on growth and are pushing ahead in a number of promising areas. This year is off to a terrific start, with record-breaking revenue and profits. And, as we reported earlier this quarter, we negotiated the early payoff of our subordinated note, making Bankrate virtually debt-free."

Revenue Continues to Improve Year Over Year and in Sequential Quarters

Total revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2002 of $5,637,000 was $891,000, or 19%, higher than the $4,746,000 reported for the same quarter of 2001, and was $516,000, or 10%, higher than the $5,121,000 reported in the fourth quarter of 2001. Online revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2002 of $4,713,000 was $752,000, or 19%, higher than the $3,961,000 reported for the same quarter of 2001, and was $452,000, or 11%, higher than the $4,261,000 reported in the fourth quarter of 2001. Print publishing and licensing of $924,000 for the first quarter of 2002 was $139,000, or 18%, higher than the $785,000 reported for the same quarter of 2001, and was 7% higher than the $861,000 reported in the fourth quarter of 2001. Online revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2002 and 2001 included barter revenue of $855,000 and $873,000, representing approximately 15% and 18% of total revenue, respectively. Revenue from hyperlinks (rate table listings) for the quarter ended March 31, 2002 increased 85% over the same quarter of 2001 and 19% over the fourth quarter of 2001. Hyperlink revenue accounted for 45% of total online revenue excluding barter revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2002, up from 38% for the year ended December 31, 2001.

Gross Margin Improves Over 2001

Excluding barter revenue of $855,000 and $873,000, respectively, Bankrate's gross margin improved from 62% for the three months ended March 31, 2001 to 68% for the same quarter in 2002.

Operating Expenses Down 14%

Excluding barter expense, operating expenses for the quarter ended March 31, 2002 of $2,504,000 were $398,000, or 14%, lower than the $2,902,000 reported for the three months ended March 31, 2001. Barter expense was $878,000 and $986,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2002 and 2001, respectively.

Bob DeFranco, Chief Financial Officer explained, "In 2001 we were resolute in our focus and determination to remove more than $10 million from our expense base. That financial discipline has continued to serve us well, delivering strong results in this quarter."

Traffic Levels Reach Record Highs

"According to Jupiter Media Metrix, Bankrate set another record in the 2002 first quarter, with measured traffic in March 2002 of over 4.2 million unique users, an increase of 83% since December 2001," explains DeMarse. "Our user metrics have grown substantially across the board, with strong increases in unique visitors, pages viewed, and, most importantly, ads served. Approximately 60% of our page views came to Bankrate directly, while the remainder was contributed by our vast partnership network, which includes AOL, Yahoo!, MSN, Netscape and more than 70 other best-of-breed sites. As the ad spend appears to continue consolidating around category leaders, the Bankrate brand is also consolidating the audience for consumer banking products, as demonstrated by our very impressive quarterly gains in unique visitors."

Business Highlights

-- The Company's content is distributed in major media outlets including AOL,
Yahoo!, MSN, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Newsday,
and an additional 100 newspapers and 75 Web sites.

-- Rate data is being gathered in over 170 markets, from more than 4,800
financial institutions, covering over 100 products.

First Quarter Recap

"This first quarter's record profitability has been a tremendous success for Bankrate," explained DeMarse. "We have been on a very strict financial diet for the past year and this quarter has been the reward. While we are all ecstatic about these results, we still have a rigorous plan to pursue, and a difficult road ahead. The Internet ad market remains depressed, and our growth is constricted by this. In 2002, we plan to continue to diversify revenue across products, including auto, mortgage, home equity and CD's. We have identified key areas for growth for this year: increasing value to our partner base, escalating our distribution avenues, further improving our e-mail programs, fleshing out our product base and further expanding our `obsessive customer service' efforts. As always, our sales efforts are of singular importance, and the goals we have set for this year will be difficult to reach. Nonetheless, I am proud of our accomplishments, and we are eagerly pursuing our future."

About Bankrate, Inc.

Bankrate Inc. (OTCBB:RATE) owns and operates Bankrate.com, the Internet's leading consumer banking marketplace. Averaging 4 million unique visitors per month, Jupiter Media Metrix ranked Bankrate.com first in unique visitors in the "Financial Information and Advice" category in February, 2002. Bankrate.com reviews more than 4,800 financial institutions in 173 markets in 50 states. Bankrate.com is a destination site of personal finance channels, including banking, investing, taxes and small business finance. It is the leading aggregator of over 100 financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and used auto loans, money market accounts and CDs, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees.

Bankrate.com provides financial applications and information to a network of more than 100 partners, including MSN (Nasdaq:MSFT), Yahoo! (Nasdaq:YHOO), America Online (NYSE:AOL), CNN and Smart Money. Bankrate.com's information is also distributed through more than 100 national and state publications.

Certain matters discussed in this press release are or may be considered to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and members of our management team. Such forward-looking statements include without limitation statements made with respect to future revenue, revenue growth, market acceptance of our products, and profitability. Investors and prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the following: we have a history of losses and could run out of cash; we use barter transactions that do not generate cash; our success depends on Internet advertising revenue, interest rate volatility, establishing and maintaining distribution arrangements, and increasing brand awareness of our Web site; our markets are highly competitive; our Web site may encounter technical problems and service interruptions; we rely on the protection of our intellectual property; we may face liability for information on our Web site; future government regulation of the Internet is uncertain and subject to change; our ownership is heavily concentrated; our success may depend on management and key employees; we may encounter difficulties with future acquisitions; our results of operation may fluctuate significantly; and our stock price may be volatile in the future. These and additional important factors to be considered are set forth under "Item 1. Business - Risk Factors," "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and in the other sections of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001, and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results or expectations.

                            Bankrate, Inc.
                       Condensed Balance Sheets
                              (Unaudited)

                                              March 31,   December 31,
                                                2002          2001
                                            ------------  ------------
           Assets
Cash and cash equivalents                    $ 6,509,840  $  9,755,032
Accounts receivable, net of allowance
 for doubtful accounts of $140,000
 at March 31, 2002 and December 31, 2001       1,638,295     1,259,256
Other current assets                             248,008       231,134
                                            ------------  ------------
     Total current assets                      8,396,143    11,245,422

Furniture, fixtures and equipment, net         1,013,960     1,076,508
Intangible assets, net                            62,812        69,622
Other assets                                     345,143       134,460
                                            ------------  ------------
     Total assets                            $ 9,818,058  $ 12,526,012
                                            ============  ============

     Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity

Liabilities:
  Accounts payable                           $   746,425  $    699,054
  Other accrued expenses                       1,799,443     1,871,492
  Accrued interest                                     -       217,500
  Deferred revenue                               344,386       347,869
  Current portion of obligations under
   capital leases                                 15,048        36,406
  Other current liabilities                      217,645       207,952
                                             ------------ ------------
     Total current liabilities                 3,122,947     3,380,273

10% convertible subordinated note payable              -     4,350,000
Accrued interest                                       -       810,363
Other liabilities                                  1,276         3,264
                                             ------------ ------------
     Total liabilities                         3,124,223     8,543,900
                                             ------------ ------------


Stockholders' equity:
  Preferred stock, 10,000,000 shares
   authorized and undesignated                         -             -
  Common stock, par value $.01 per share
   -- 100,000,000 shares authorized;
   13,996,950 shares issued and
   outstanding                                   139,969       139,969
  Additional paid in capital                  63,931,555    63,931,555
  Accumulated deficit                        (57,377,689)  (60,089,412)
                                             ------------ ------------


  Total stockholders' equity                   6,693,835     3,982,112
                                             ------------ ------------



  Total liabilities and stockholders'
   equity                                    $ 9,818,058  $ 12,526,012
                                            ============  ============

                            Bankrate, Inc.
                  Condensed Statements of Operations
                              (Unaudited)

                                               Three Months Ended
                                                   March 31,
Revenue:                                     2002             2001
                                         ------------     ------------
  Online publishing                       $ 4,712,969      $ 3,960,916
  Print publishing and licensing              923,949          784,759
                                         ------------     ------------
     Total revenue                          5,636,918        4,745,675
                                         ------------     ------------
Cost of revenue:
  Online publishing                           882,097          948,361
  Print publishing and licensing              671,763          525,488
                                         ------------     ------------
     Total cost of revenue                  1,553,860        1,473,849
                                         ------------     ------------
Gross margin                                4,083,058        3,271,826
                                         ------------     ------------

Operating expenses:
  Sales                                       850,884          858,533
  Marketing                                   923,595        1,081,391
  Product development                         329,880          366,107
  General and administrative expenses       1,134,227        1,387,623
  Depreciation and amortization               143,707          194,465
                                         ------------     ------------
                                            3,382,293        3,888,119
                                         ------------     ------------
     Income (loss) from operations            700,765         (616,293)
                                         ------------     ------------

Other income (expense), net                   (10,834)          (8,375)
Gain on early extinguishment of debt        2,021,792                -
                                         ------------     ------------
     Income (loss) before income taxes      2,711,723         (624,668)

     Income taxes                                   -                -
                                         ------------     ------------

       Net income (loss)                  $ 2,711,723      $  (624,668)
                                         ============     ============

Basic and diluted net income (loss)
 per share                                $      0.19      $     (0.04)
                                         ============     ============
Weighted average common shares
 outstanding:
     Basic                                 13,996,950       13,996,950
     Diluted                               14,066,486       13,996,950