EXHIBIT 99.1

         NEWS RELEASE            NEWS RELEASE          NEWS RELEASE

[LOGO OF AMERICAN EXPRESS]                        American Express
                                                  American Express Tower
                                                  World Financial Center
                                                  New York, N.Y. 10285-4809

                                         Contact: Richard D'Ambrosio
                                                  American Express
                                                  212-640-4868
                                                  richard.d'ambrosio@aexp.com

                                                  Thomas J. Depping
                                                  SierraCities.com
                                                  713-221-8822
                                                  thomasdepping@sierracities.com


            AMERICAN EXPRESS TO PURCHASE SIERRACITIES.COM, A LEADER
                     IN SMALL BUSINESS EQUIPMENT FINANCING

         NEW YORK and HOUSTON, February 14, 2001 - American Express Company
and SierraCities.com Inc. today announced the signing of a definitive
agreement for American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. to
acquire SierraCities, a leading equipment finance company, for $5.68 a share,
or a total of $107.5 million for the approximately 18.9 million shares
outstanding.

         American Express will offer to purchase all outstanding shares of
SierraCities pursuant to a tender offer expected to commence within the next
two weeks. This transaction is subject to the tender of at least two-thirds of
the SierraCities shares, as well as other customary conditions, and is
expected to be completed by the end of March.

         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.

                                    (more)

AMTRS CORP./SIERRACITIES.COM INC.
Page 2

         "SierraCities' capabilities complement our portfolio of lending
products and services," said Kerry D. Hatch, Executive Vice President and
General Manager, American Express Small Business Services. "This transaction
will significantly increase our scale in small business lending and enhance
American Express' ability to provide convenient and competitive products and
services to small companies."

         "We are delighted to have reached this agreement with American
Express," said SierraCities CEO, Tom Depping. "The power of the American
Express brand combined with its commitment to the small business market will
benefit our customers, shareholders and employees."

         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, 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 Small Business Services (SBS) has been providing
small business equipment financing since 1997. SBS, a unit solely dedicated to
supporting firms with fewer than 100 employees, serves more than 2.5 million
small business owners with a range of lending and payment services, including
charge and credit cards, unsecured lines of credit, term loans and equipment
financing.

         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.

                                    (more)



AMTRS CORP./SIERRACITIES.COM INC.
Page 3

This announcement is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an
offer to sell shares of SierraCities.com Inc. At the time the offer is
commenced, American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc., a
subsidiary of American Express Company, and a subsidiary of such company, will
file a tender offer statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
and SierraCities.com Inc. will file a solicitation/recommendation statement
with respect to the offer. The tender offer statement (including an offer to
purchase, a related letter of transmittal and other offer documents) and the
solicitation/recommendation statement will contain important information which
should be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the
offer. The offer to purchase, the related letter of transmittal and certain
other offer documents, as well as the solicitation/recommendation statement,
will be made available to all shareholders of SierraCities.com Inc. at no
expense to them. The tender offer statement (including the offer to purchase,
the related letter of transmittal and all other offer documents filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission) and the solicitation/recommendation
statement will also be available for free at the Securities and Exchange
Commission's web site at www.sec.gov.

Certain of the statements contained herein, including the time period in which
the transaction may be completed, are forward-looking statements of future
expectations. Actual events may differ materially from these expectations, due
to, among other things, the receipt of required regulatory approvals and the
number and timing of shares actually tendered in the offer.


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