Click to Win Your Dream Getaway From the Everyday

FORT WORTH, Texas, Beginning
immediately, through April 5, 2005, airline passengers can enter to win the
"We Know Why You Fly" contest by logging on to the American Airlines We Know
Why You Fly(SM) Web site, accessible through http://www.
The "We Know Why You Fly" branding effort marks American's first such
branding initiative in more than a decade, since "Something Special in the
Air" was featured in the mid-1990s. The
combined network fleet numbers more than 1,000 aircraft.
Granting more than 11,500 wishes each year and 127 ,000 wishes worldwide since
inception, the Make-A-Wish Foundation celebrates "25 years of Making Dreams
Come True" in 2005.
The survey, conducted by email performance company Return Path
using the "Double Opt-In" SurveyDirect panel, aimed to understand
consumer perceptions and reactions to the use of email by retailers
during the holiday season. Solutions include list maintenance,
deliverability , data acquisition, online sampling, marketing
technology and e-mail strategy.

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The brand campaign also focuses on American's historic strengths --
including its global network, which every day flies more than 200,000 people
to 250 cities in more than 40 countries with nearly 3,800 daily flights; the
AAdvantage(R) travel awards program, the world's first such program;
American's luxurious First-Class cabin accommodations, Admirals Club(R)
service and options offered to flyers by AmericanAirlines Vacations(SM). Together, its members serve more than 600 destinations in over
135 countries and territories.
The new Make-A-Wish Foundation and Bank of America Visa cards include:

* A prepaid card for the wish recipient's family to make wish-related
purchases and pay for travel and other expenses associated with the
individual wish.
Reputation and Trust Drives Response: By a factor of 1.

avatars variations

Miles donated by American Airlines and AAdvantage members
enabled the foundation to fulfill thousands of travel wishes last year. Bank of America is the No.

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aa.
"We understand it's not about the journey, it's about the destination --
making it home for a special occasion, sleeping in your own bed or seeing your
kid's baseball game," said Dan Garton, Executive Vice President-Marketing for
American Airlines.aa. American
Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld Alliance, which brings together
some of the best and biggest names in the airline business , enabling them to
offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide
on its own.org .5 over any
other selection, nearly two thirds (59. The survey was written and analyzed by
Return Path Strategic Services and aimed to understand consumer
perceptions and reactions to the use of email by retailers during the
2004 holiday season (defined as the period between Halloween and
Christmas).

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, The Make-A-Wish Foundation(R) and
Bank of America today announced the launch of two new Visa(R) cards to help
the Foundation raise more money, save on administrative costs and grant more
wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.

"We're pleased to be part of such an important endeavor," said Graham
Denton, Bank of America Market President executive . 1 SBA lender to minority-owned
small businesses. Fortune 500 companies and 85 percent
of the Global Fortune 500.

Return Path Holiday Email Consumer Survey Results: Holiday Email Works Well But Over Mailing + Unclear Permission Practices Put Some Retailers at Risk

"Success at the holidays is inextricably linked to the success of
your email program all year long," Miller says.S.

strawberry webrings

"This kind of agreement
helps everyone involved - not only the Make-A-Wish Foundation, but the
thousands of children, their families, referral sources, donors, sponsors and
communities that benefit from their work and generosity. "We always recommend
that marketers develop a content strategy that balances promotional
emails with information of interest to your subscribers, in order to
become a trusted and welcome sender of email.

About Survey Direct

Online sampling pioneer SurveyDirect serves the global market
research community with a highly responsive, diverse and fast-growing
Double Opt-In panel of more than 2.

pattianne webrings

com/whyyoufly .

AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection , AA."

Key Findings:

Readers may download the full Analysis Report at
http://www.net , or call
toll-free 866-362-4577.

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"That's why we're inviting people to share their stories
about why they fly.

Make-A-Wish Foundation and Bank of America Team Up for Children

Born in 1980 when a caring group of individuals helped a
young boy fulfill his wish of becoming a police officer, the Foundation is now
the largest wish-granting charity in the world, with 74 chapters in the U. Almost one tenth (9. Nearly half (49.

Return Path is an e-mail performance management company dedicated
to improving the reach, delivery performance and overall success of
permission-based e-mail programs .

kelley wishes

For every contest entry and every vote submitted, American Airlines will
donate 100 AAdvantage (R) miles to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, up to one
million miles total.aa. American's award-
winning Web site, AA.

* A corporate travel card for the Make-A-Wish national headquarters and
each of its 74 chapters to reduce expenses and orchestrate wishes
nationally.S.6 percent ) consumer surveyed felt they received an
increase in email volume this holiday season, with nearly one third
(31.4 percent hit their ISP "this is spam" button.
Mixed Reviews on Additional Holiday Emails: 18.9 percent of
respondents reported they welcomed the extra mail and were glad to
have heard about all the holiday special deals. SurveyDirect is a division of email performance company
Return Path, Inc.com

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American Airlines, Inc.wish. 1 overall Small Business Administration
(SBA) lender in the United States and the No.

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Yet, almost a third (29."

Survey Methodology

The Holiday Email Survey was conducted on December 28, 2004 using
the SurveyDirect consumer panel .

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As an incentive, we're rewarding those judged to tell the
best stories with travel to any of American 's exciting destinations."

Web Users Will Select Prize Winners
In mid-April, a panel of marketing experts and American Airlines employees
will choose nine finalists from the stories submitted during the five-week
contest period. New Prepaid and Corporate Travel Cards help make more dreams come true

CHARLOTTE, N.C. "Especially around the holidays with all the
additional clutter, some retailers may be better served by sending
fewer emails, but making each more targeted and relevant.surveydirect.

wonderland webrings

Finalists will be selected based on a variety of criteria,
including the emotional appeal of the story, the entrant's "We Know Why You
Fly" theme interpretation, the format used to tell the story and the relevance
to American's brand image. Central to
the brand program is American's workforce of more than 80,000 professionals
worldwide.

About American Airlines
American Airlines is the world's largest airline.com, provides users with easy access to check and book
fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers.

wonderland avatars

AA 'We Know Why You Fly' Contest Offers Round Trips for Two Entries Earn Miles for Make-A-Wish Foundation

and American Eagle are
subsidiaries of AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR). releases can be accessed on the Internet.

and its territories, and 28 international affiliates on five continents. Bank of America Corporation stock
(NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.1 percent) feeling the increase was just more spam and not emails
they were interested in.1
percent) of consumers said they were indifferent to the excess email,
claiming no impact on their email habits (they just deleted more
email).

So even permission-based
marketers with an opt-in list can appear spammy if they do not send
relevant and enticing messages.

muffin poem

Prizes will be
awarded for each format (story, video and photo).
http://www. However, more than half reported taking some
action - 27.2 percent ) of respondents said
the reason they opened and read particular messages this holiday
season was because it came from a company they know and trust.
"The great news is that consumers still love email and really want
to hear from retailers and other companies they do business with,"
Miller says. Return Path Delivery Assurance
Solutions are the industry's original and premier e-mail
deliverability tools and services, and remain the only full-circle
solution for solving e-mail deliverability issues . For more information,
please visit info@returnpath.

tis merry

For more information and official rules , visit
http://www.
The address is http://www.com

About Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions,
serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large
corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and
other financial and risk-management products and services. The company serves clients in 150 countries and has
relationships with 98 percent of the U.6
percent). More than 1,500 companies use Return
Path's services to generate superior results from their e-mail
programs, taking advantage of Return Path's pioneering innovation in
deliverability , ECOA, list hygiene, double-opt-in list acquisition and
best practices strategy.

nativity wishes

"When American launched the 'We Know Why You Fly' campaign last year, we
heard from thousands of our customers willing to share their stories, and we
expect to hear from even more during this contest, and that will benefit our
friends at Make-A-Wish," said Garton.

Contest Supports New AA Brand Initiative
The launch of the contest is a continuation of American's "We Know Why You
Fly" marketing initiative , which was launched in September 2004 and is based
on the premise that nobody understands air travelers better than the world's
largest airline.com, AAdvantage
and Net SAAvers + Special Offers are marks of American Airlines, Inc.
"Together, we will raise the awareness of more people across the country about
the tremendous work that we do to help make dreams come true.com

SOURCE Bank of America

Web site: http://www.

Business Editors/Marketing Writers

DENVER----Despite email inbox
overflow this past holiday season, nearly 75 percent of respondents to
a late December survey reported that email influenced their purchase
decisions.biz

Consumers Take Action Against Too Much Mail

Extra Holiday Email Gets Varied Reviews

Consumers Report Value in Most Messages Received

Brand and Prior Relationship are Key Drivers of Holiday Time
Response

Sending Volumes Generally As Expected

Select Findings Detail and Analysis:

Email Increased Over Holidays: According to the survey results,
nearly every (98.

muffin twas

com/whyyoufly .com/whyyoufly on
April 22 where Web users will be invited to vote for their favorite stories
and ultimately select the winners in each prize category.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-
threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope,
strength and joy.S.returnpath."
Most consumers (60.

About Return Path, Inc.

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bankofamerica. The company's
investors include Sutter Hill Ventures, Mobius Venture Capital,
Flatiron Partners, and JP Morgan Partners.

This category lists pages that are designed primarily to share holiday wishes with friends and family.

minibites midis

From parents flying to meet their prospective son-in-law, to the single "big
city " lawyer making her way home for an overdue visit, to the homesick college
kid looking for a home -cooked meal, flyers are invited to share inspiring
stories, videos or photos illustrating the reasons they fly.aa. The company
provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving 33 million
consumer relationships with more than 5,800 retail banking offices, more than
16,700 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 13 million active
users. By employing
intelligent segmentation, you may end up sending more messages
overall, but targeting each to smaller lists.

1 percent) and prior relationship with the sender (33.

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* Three Second Prizes: AA will award each winner one roundtrip Coach air
transportation for two to anywhere in the world served by American
Airlines, American Eagle or the AmericanConnection(R) carriers.

AmericanAirlines(R) We Know Why You Fly(SM)
Current AMR Corp. The travel card also will rebate part of every purchase
into funds for the foundation."

About the Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-
threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope,
strength and joy.1 percent) said they just deleted the
additional emails unread.
"In fact, 10 percent of respondents said that the fact that they
don't get too much mail from a company encourages them to open the
message," Miller said. "But the bottom line is that consumers define as 'spam'
anything that they don't find interesting .

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Contest finalists will be posted at http://www. The campaign is built around American's
nearly eight decades of flying passengers around the world, and the deep
understanding that can only be gained from those years of service.
"However, email overload is a real burden for many consumers , and may
significantly dilute response.
"Deliverability and response are closely tied to frequency , with
the majority of respondents reporting they simply ignored the extra
emails," says Stephanie Miller, Vice President of Strategic Services
for Return Path.9 percent) said that receiving excess
holiday emails makes them wary of signing up for permission programs.

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Winners will be announced
on June 7. American, American
Eagle and the AmericanConnection(R) regional airlines serve more than
250 cities in over 40 countries with more than 3,800 daily flights. For more foundation information about the Make-A-Wish
Foundation, visit http://www."
Retailers who increase the frequency of emails without increasing
the value to the subscriber were not likely to see increases in open
or click -through rates this season, Miller says.5 million consumers and business
professionals. To become a member of the SurveyDirect Panel and be
invited to future online surveys, visit www.

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Prizes include:

* Three Grand Prizes: AA will award each winner 12 trips each for two to
anywhere in the world American Airlines, American Eagle or the
AmericanConnection(R) carriers fly .

* Three First Prizes: AA will award each winner one roundtrip Coach air
transportation for four to anywhere in the world served by American
Airlines, American Eagle or the AmericanConnection (R) carriers.
"Since email works so well as a sales-driving tool, it's tempting
to believe that more email will automatically drive more sales during
the holiday season," says Return Path Chairman and CEO Matt Blumberg.8 percent) reported the
excess as "overwhelming.1 percent unsubscribed to emails that came too often and
23. The
next highest contributing factors were attention-grabbing subject
lines (41. The survey includes responses from
723 U. consumers, ages 18-54.

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"
"We are honored to be partnering with Bank of America," said David
Williams, president and CEO of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America.wish.org

Retailers who benefited most were those recognized and
trusted by consumers, suggesting a need to build a solid email
reputation and relationship well before the holiday season begins.