Blue Jackets Will Check Opponents on the Ice; Blue Jackets Fans Get Cool Checks.

Business Editors

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 9, 2000

Bank One becomes preferred financial partner of

NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets 

Beginning June 1, fans of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Columbus' first major league sports franchise, will be able to show their true-blue colors when paying their bills.

BANK ONE, the preferred financial partner of the Columbus Blue Jackets, announced today the introduction of Blue Jackets Banking, a consumer checking account featuring three images associated with the National Hockey League's newest franchise. The offer is available through most Ohio banking centers.

Anyone signing up for the new checking account or converting an existing account between June 1 and Aug. 31 will receive three months of free checking, as well as, membership in Bank One's Blue Jackets Banking Club.

Members of the club receive a commemorative inaugural season hockey puck, a one-year subscription to Blue Jackets Beat magazine, discounts on Blue Jackets merchandise, discounts at Easton Ice Rink in Columbus and the Chiller Ice Rink in Dublin, and other special offers throughout the year.

Also, anyone signing up for Blue Jackets Banking will be eligible to win a replica Blue Jackets jersey. Each participating banking center will give away a jersey. Customers are eligible to win only at the banking center at which they signed up for their account.

Blue Jackets Banking Club members will receive THE ONE Card, the Bank One debit card, emblazoned with the Blue Jackets logo, and an order of checks. The new checkbook cover will feature the Blue Jackets inaugural season logo.

The new checks will include the official Blue Jackets logo in the upper left corner and will feature designs of:

--A hockey puck with the Blue Jackets logo

--A cartoon drawing of "Stinger," the official mascot of the Blue Jackets

--The Blue Jackets crest that appears on the team's game jerseys.

"This is an extension of our commitment to the Blue Jackets," said Nancy Lawler, director of sports marketing for Bank One's Retail Group. "We're hoping for great things from the franchise and this is one more thing we can do to get central Ohio pumped up about the NHL coming to Columbus."

The checks will be available throughout Ohio except Lucas County, which the NHL has identified as the marketing area of the Detroit Red Wings, and several eastern Ohio counties, which are the marketing areas of the Pittsburgh Penguins territory. The checks can be ordered at any banking center, at http://www.bankone.com , or by calling 1-877-BLUEJKT.

Bank One is a championship sponsor of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Blue Jackets credit cards are available through Bank One's subsidiary, First USA. Electronic, reprintable copies of the checks and the ONE Card are available by contacting Elaine Dickerson at 614/213-6163.

BANK ONE CORPORATION (NYSE:ONE), headquartered in Chicago, is the nation's fifth largest bank holding company, with assets of more than $270 billion. BANK ONE offers a full range of financial services to commercial and business customers and consumers. It is the world's largest Visa issuer, the third largest bank lender to small businesses, and a major automotive lender. It operates more than 1,800 banking centers and a nationwide network of ATMs. It is a major commercial bank in the United States and in selected international markets. It can be found on the Internet at http://www.bankone.com .