New At priceline.com: Name Your Own Price For Gasoline On The Internet, Then Get Your Price At A Local Gas Station!

     STAMFORD, Conn., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- With the cost of gasoline at a
 10-year high, an estimated 170 million adult drivers in the U.S. are wondering
 -- what can I do about it?  The answer may surprise you.  Now, the most
 powerful force in the history of commerce -- the Internet -- is about to help
 consumers substantially reduce their gasoline costs.
     Starting May 20th, Priceline WebHouse Club, a licensed affiliate of
 priceline.com (Nasdaq:   PCLN), will launch a new service that makes it possible
 for drivers to simply ignore the price at the pump.  Instead, they can go to
 priceline.com on the Internet and name their own price for up to 50 gallons of
 gas a month.  After locking in their price in 60 seconds or less, drivers can
 get their gas at local major-brand gas stations selected by Priceline WebHouse
 Club.  The service will be offered in cities and towns across the U.S.
     With Priceline for Gasoline, drivers can expect to save 10 to 20 cents a
 gallon, and sometimes more.  The secret to the savings?  Priceline WebHouse
 Club gets money from several sources to significantly lower the gas prices its
 customers pay.  For example, participating local gas stations pay WebHouse
 Club a few cents per gallon to get incremental business coming to their
 stations.  In addition, the Priceline for Gasoline service will have paid
 online advertising, with some of those ad dollars used to reduce customers'
 gas prices.  And, at launch, over 100 national sponsors will contribute to
 Priceline WebHouse Club customers' gas purchases in return for customers'
 agreeing to try their products and services.
     Finally, Priceline WebHouse Club expects major oil companies to support
 the system with additional savings in return for getting new customers for
 their gasoline and related products, as well as for the oil companies' own
 proprietary gasoline credit cards.
     "The Internet promises to change people's lives for the better in
 meaningful ways," said Jay S. Walker, founder of the Priceline WebHouse Club
 and priceline.com.  "Until recently, the Internet has been primarily about
 convenience when shopping online for books, software, and music.  WebHouse
 Club takes a different approach -- Priceline WebHouse Club is about saving
 money on the everyday items for tens of millions of consumers, beginning with
 groceries and now, gasoline."
     A recent survey by Opinion Research Corporation International of
 Princeton, NJ, shows that consumers are very aware of rising gas prices and
 are actively looking for alternative ways to reduce the prices they're paying.
 90% of drivers who buy gas for their own vehicles, or 153 million U.S. adults,
 remember the per-gallon price they paid for their last fill-up.  More than
 half of all those drivers now say that price always or frequently dictates
 their selection of gas stations.  Many of the drivers said they would be
 willing to switch stations for a 10- to 20-cents a gallon discount.  More than
 half of those drivers surveyed said they expect even higher gas prices in the
 next six months.
     Walker continued, "This is the perfect time for consumers to do something
 about the high cost of gas.  It's the battle of the titans -- the global
 Internet vs. global gas prices.  OPEC was a force to increase the cost of gas.
 Now, the Internet is the new counter-force to lower it."
 
     It's As Easy As 1-2-3 To Name Your Price for Gas
 
     Naming your own price for gasoline on the Net is as fast and easy as using
 an ATM machine. Consumers simply follow these 3 simple steps:
 
     1. Get a Priceline for Gasoline gas card -- Priceline WebHouse Club will
        express-mail you one free.
 
     To name your own price for gas you'll need to get a Priceline for Gasoline
 gas card, which is yours free from Priceline WebHouse Club.  (The blue gas
 card is different from the green card used by WebHouse grocery shoppers.)
 Cards are available by request 24 hours a day at the priceline.com Web site.
 All four million previous priceline.com customers and all WebHouse Club
 members will automatically receive a Priceline for Gasoline gas card free in
 the mail.  There is no charge of any kind to get a gas card.
     The first time you come to the priceline.com Web site to name your price
 for gas, simply enter the identification number on the back of your priceline
 gas card and provide priceline with a major credit card or debit card account
 number.
     Your Priceline for Gasoline gas card acts like a "magic credit card"
 allowing you to pay no attention to the price at the pump just by using your
 gas card at the gas station chosen for you by WebHouse Club.
 
     2. Tell Priceline WebHouse Club the price-per-gallon you want to pay.
 
     At the priceline.com Web site, you choose the grade of gas you want the
 per-gallon price you want to pay, and tell us how many gallons you want (up to
 50 gallons per household per month).  You then pre-approve three or more local
 gas stations you are willing to get your gas at. In 60 seconds or less, you'll
 receive a yes-or-no answer on your per-gallon price. If your price is
 accepted, that price is immediately locked in for up to 50 gallons of gas.
 Once your price is locked in, your credit or debit card on file is charged for
 the purchase and we'll give you the name and address of the designated local
 station where you can get your gas.  Of course, if your price isn't accepted,
 there's no cost and you can try again the following day.
 
     3. Go get your gas (and pay no attention to the price at the pump)!
 
     Drive to the gas station selected by priceline from your pre-approved list
 and get your gas.  Ignore the big price signs; forget about the price at the
 pump.  You've already pre-paid for your gas, at your price.  After each
 fill-up, Priceline WebHouse Club will automatically e-mail you your receipt
 and tell you how much gas you have left at your price.  You can also come to
 the Web site at any time and quickly review your account and remaining
 gallons.
 
     The Priceline for Gas triple guarantee means you can't lose
 
     1. You can't overpay.
 
     If the price at the pump is ever lower than the price you named online, no
 matter what the reason, you pay the lower price.  Priceline WebHouse Club will
 refund your credit card for any difference.
 
     2. Un-pumped gas is automatically refunded to your credit/debit card.
 
     With Priceline for Gasoline, you don't need to keep track of your gas
 purchases.  Priceline WebHouse Club will send you a receipt after each
 purchase with a reminder of how many gallons you have left.  If for any reason
 you haven't pumped all of your pre-paid gas, the unused amount is
 automatically carried over to the following week.  Any pre-paid, un-pumped gas
 at the end of 30 days is fully refunded.
 
     3. You can always get a few extra gallons at your price.
 
     If you need more gasoline than you've pre-paid for at priceline, you can
 pump up to two extra gallons per fill-up at your priceline price.  If you need
 more gas at that time, just pump it and you'll be charged the pump price for
 the extra gallons.
     Priceline WebHouse Club's gasoline service on the Internet is as fast and
 easy as using the ATM at your local bank.  "Give us just 3 minutes online and
 you can get your gasoline for up to an entire month at your price," said T.
 Scott Case, president of the WebHouse Club gasoline group.  "And you can name
 your price anywhere there's an Internet connection -- at home, at work, at a
 local school or library.  As always, with priceline your privacy is assured.
 We never give out, sell or rent your name or personal data to anyone without
 your express permission."
 
     About WebHouse Club
     The WebHouse Club, a licensed affiliate of priceline.com that allows
 consumers to name their prices online and get their products at a major local
 retailer.  The company launched its first service for groceries in the NY
 metropolitan area on November 1, 1999.  In its first 13 weeks of operation,
 WebHouse Club has enrolled over 200,000 active members (equal to over 3% of
 all households in the NY metro area) with over 85% of sales already coming
 from repeat members.
     The WebHouse Club has been the fastest growing priceline service ever,
 with over 7.5 million grocery items sold to date.  In the NY and Philadelphia
 areas, members are on track to purchase over 50 million grocery items in 2000.
     To put the WebHouse sales in context, on an average day priceline sells
 approximately 1,000 airline tickets to NY-area consumers (about 3% of all
 leisure tickets sold).  During the same period, in the same market, the
 priceline WebHouse Club is currently selling over 125,000 grocery items daily.
 Most members use the service once or more each week to get savings of 20-30%
 in 175 grocery categories.  By teaming up with local grocery stores the
 WebHouse Club delivers savings, not groceries.  With no warehouses or
 inventory, priceline for groceries has quickly become the largest online
 grocery service in the US and the Internet's #1 e-commerce sales leader in
 terms of items.
     WebHouse Club is now available in metro New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore,
 Washington, DC, and Detroit.  The service has announced its planned expansion
 to Boston and central Michigan markets within the next 30 days and a full
 national rollout of its grocery service by year end.
     Priceline WebHouse Club is an affiliated licensee of priceline.com.  In
 return for licensing priceline's business model, intellectual property and
 brand, priceline.com receives royalties from WebHouse Club and has also
 received warrants allowing priceline.com to take a majority equity interest in
 WebHouse Club under certain contingent conditions.  Priceline.com has provided
 no capital to WebHouse Club, which has raised capital from private sources.
 Financial results from WebHouse Club will not be included in priceline.com's
 financial results until those warrants are executed.
 
     Contact: Robert Padgett of Priceline WebHouse Club, 203-905-7650
 
 

SOURCE  Priceline WebHouse Club