Where to book airfare online

People are catching on in increasing numbers that the best place to book (book not shop for) an airline ticket is direct at the airline's website. For starters, most airline sites today offer the *low fare guarantee.

The additional value in booking direct is very clear. No booking fees (value: $5 to $7) and ability to earn bonus miles (Value: ~$25). Where does that $25 value for miles come from? If you take the price of buying miles, say from MyPoints.com, 1,000 miles costs $25. This value varies by carrier.

Also, airlines have great online features, some of which are not available at OTAs, like web check-in, seat selection, changes, upgrades, pre-trip email, etc. For customer service inquiries, online travel agencies often times pass you off to the airline anyway for changes and upgrades.

To sum it up, it is a better value and you are in better hands dealing direct with airline sites for purchasing airfare.

*Expedia and Orbitz offer a guarantee too. However the restrictions exclude booking fees.