Entry Deadline Extended to July 31

ENTRY DEADLINE FOR 2004 STEVIE AWARDS FOR
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS  IS OFFICIALLY
EXTENDED TO JULY 31

$2,000 Cash Prizes Added for Several Categories;
Applications for Preliminary Judges Also Being Accepted

SPRING HOUSE, PA and NEW YORK, NY – July 1, 2004 – – Due to the number of requests for entry deadline extensions, the organizers have officially extended the entry deadline to Saturday, July 31 for The 2004 Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs, a national awards competition from the producers of the prestigious American Business Awards.  The competition is designed to recognize the accomplishments of women small business owners in the United States.  The awards are exclusively sponsored by Advanta Corp. (NASDAQ:ADVNB; ADVNA).

Nominations are invited in 18 categories, including Best Entrepreneur, Best Overall Company, Fastest Growing Company, Best Company Web Site, and a Lifetime Achievement Award.  All U.S.-based women-owned businesses with up to 100 employees are eligible to participate. 

Advanta has also announced that in addition to winning a Stevie Award trophy, winners in five of the categories will also receive a $2,000 cash prize.  The categories are Best Entrepreneur – Service Businesses, Best Entrepreneur – Non-service Businesses, Best Young Entrepreneur, Best Overall Company – Service Businesses, and Best Overall Company – Non-service Businesses.  Winners will be announced in October in New York.

Visit the Awards Web site at www.stevieawards.com/women to learn how to submit nominations, or contact the Awards office at 11 Penn Plaza, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10001; phone 212-946-4773; email info@stevieawards.com.

Preliminary judging of the awards will begin this month, and professionals nationwide are invited to apply to become preliminary-round judges.  Judging will be conducted over the Internet, and judges will be able to score as many nominations as they’d like, at their convenience, during July-September.  Interested professionals may apply to be a judge at The Stevie Awards for Women in Business Judging Applicaiton.

About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in three programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, and The Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs.  Honoring companies of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.stevieawards.com.  

About Advanta
Advanta focuses on the small business market and related community, providing funding and support to the nation’s small businesses through innovative products and services.  Using its direct marketing and information-based expertise, Advanta identifies potential customers and provides a high level of service tailored to the unique needs of small businesses.  Advanta is one of the nation’s largest issuers (through Advanta Bank Corp.) of MasterCard business credit cards to small businesses.  Since 1951, Advanta has pioneered many of the marketing techniques common in the financial services industry today, including remote lending and direct mail, affinity and relationship marketing.  Learn more about Advanta at www.advanta.com.

CONTACT: Advanta Corp.
             Jennifer Lyons, 215-444-5073
             AdvantaCommunications@advanta.com
                 or
             David Weinstock, 215-444-5335
             dweinstock@advanta.com
                 or
             The Stevie Awards
             Jill Feldman, 212-627-8098
             jill@mkpr.com

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