Citibank, Visa and the Grinch Give Back the Holidays! to Lucky Woodland Hills Resident.

Business Editors

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2001

National Visa Holiday Promotion Makes Over $30,000 In

Holiday Purchases Free

When Vic Cook checks in at the Ritz-Carlton in Pasadena today, he'll leave a richer man. That is because the Citibank(R) Visa(R) cardholder today becomes one of 500 Visa cardholders to receive all of their November and December purchases made on their Visa card for free. Cook won over $30,000 in Visa and the Grinch Give Back the Holidays!, Visa's national holiday promotion. Each time consumers used their Visa card during the promotion, they were entered to win the total dollar amount purchased on that one card throughout the holiday season.

"It was like the holidays all over again!" said Vic. "It will be fun to figure out what to do with the prize money, which I plan to donate 10% to my local church and share the rest with my family." Cook, a vibrant, athletic, 69-year-old retired educator, who founded the Meadow Oaks School in 1963, has been enjoying quality family time as well as pursuing his passions, sports and computers, ever since he sold the school last August. He used his Citibank Visa card during the holidays to purchase trips with his wife, gifts for his four children and eight grandchildren, lots of sporting equipment and the latest electronic gadgets for himself.

Mr. Cook will receive his prize money during an official Check Presentation Ceremony at 11:30 am on Thursday, April 19 at the Ritz-Carlton at 1401 S. Oak Knoll in Pasadena. Press note: Photo and interview opportunities will be available.

Visa U.S.A. partnered with Universal Pictures and Universal Studios Consumer Products Group to support the blockbuster live-action remake of the holiday classic, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, starring Jim Carrey as the Grinch. To promote this partnership, Visa designed a promotion that would reward its cardholders during the busy holiday shopping season.

"We are delighted that by using his Citibank Visa card, Vic received all of his holiday purchases free," says Rebecca Shore, VP Communications, Citi Cards. "This Visa promotion allowed Citibank to provide a unique holiday gift to some of our cardholders."

In total, 500 winners had their purchases paid for by Visa in the nine-week national Visa and the Grinch Give Back the Holidays! promotion. Every time a consumer made a purchase with their Visa card from November 1 through December 31, 2000, they were automatically entered to win the total dollar amount purchased on that card throughout November and December. The more purchases made on the card, the more entries the consumer had into the Sweepstakes. A non-purchase method of entry was also available to consumers.

"Our partnership with Universal Studios and The Grinch was designed to uniquely capture cardholder interest during a time of year when hundreds of brands are vying for attention and share-of-voice," said Becky Saeger, executive vice president, Brand Marketing, Visa U.S.A. "Like our other marketing campaigns, this was designed to capture the awareness of cardholders and drive Visa card usage for the benefit of our Member financial institutions and merchants who accept Visa."

Citibank is a registered service mark of Citicorp.

Citibank is part of Citigroup (NYSE:C), the preeminent global financial services company, providing some 120 million consumers, corporations, governments and institutions in more than 100 countries with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, insurance, securities brokerage and asset management. Major brand names under Citigroup's trademark umbrella are Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Salomon Smith Barney, and Travelers. Additional information may be found at: www.citigroup.com.

Visa is the world's leading payment brand and largest payment system, enabling banks to provide their consumer and merchant customers with the best way to pay and be paid. More than 14,000 U.S. financial institutions rely on Visa's processing system, VisaNet, to facilitate over $810 billion in annual transaction volume - including more than half of all Internet payments - with virtually 100 percent reliability. U.S. consumers carry more than 345 million Visa-branded smart, credit, commercial, stored value and check cards, accepted at approximately 21 million locations worldwide. Visa has long led the industry in developing payment security standards, and has been named the most trusted payment brand online. Visa's people, partnerships, brand and payment technology are helping to create universal commerce - the ability to safely conduct transactions anytime, anywhere and by any device. Please visit www.visa.com for additional information.

The number one box office attraction of 2000, Universal Pictures' and Imagine Entertainment's Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! starring Jim Carrey, was directed by Ron Howard (Apollo 13) and produced by Brian Grazer (The Nutty Professor).

Universal Pictures is a unit of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com), a part of CANAL+, and TV and Film division of Vivendi Universal, a new global leader in media and communications.