Best Airfare Websites
Cheap Tickets to Miami
by Tour Guide Owl
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 Where
can I find cheap airline tickets?.. Who's got the best airfare website?
Both are great questions. Because flying ain't cheap, and we all want
to save money.
Hello
gang! It's me Tour Guide Owl. Hope you're all enjoying the "101
Fun Attractions". I'm back with a review of the best
all around travel websites.
Buying airline tickets online can be a big hassle. It seems everybody
sells tickets and they all offer slightly different services and rates.
What I discovered on my quest for tour guide excellence... is to find
the cheapest fare, you often need to search multiple sites.
Also, each travel site has their own special features like searching
multiple carriers and naming your own fare. Your best bet is to search
around for a site that fits your style and research a few different
options.
So I'm breaking it down with a review of 8 online
travel agencies...
Let's begin the review!
1. Kayak.com
I'm listing Kayak first because what they do is search
over 100 other airfare websites at once and then offer up the cheapest
rates. The site is easy to use and results display quickly, considering
they are searching tons of sites. The interface is no-frills, but
it works well to compare available itinerary/price combinations with
one search. Kayak was created by the co-founders of Orbitz, Travelocity
and Expedia.
ADVANTAGES:
- No booking fees
- A tool that lets you see the best fares for similar routes found
by other Kayak visitors.
- You can get fare alerts and tailor searches for preferred airlines,
airports or dates.
- Kayak.com finds fares from airlines like JetBlue that don’t
sell through online agencies.
- Since they also check the airline websites, you can book directly
with the carrier, avoiding the service fees charged by Orbitz,
Expedia and Travelocity.
DISADVANTAGES:
- While they offer international flights, shoppers have found
other sites offer better international selections.
2. Expedia.com
 Expedia
is currently our favorite way to search for cheap airline tickets
(and hotels and even rental cars). Founded as a division of Microsoft
in October 1996, Expedia also operates Hotels.com, Hotwire.com and
TripAdvisor.com making them one of the largest travel retailers in
the world. In 2006, Expedia was awarded a Webby Award for "Best
In Travel Website", and the top rating in customer satisfaction
across online travel agencies by the American Customer Satisfaction
Index.
ADVANTAGES:
- Because of their size, Expedia can often negotiate the lowest
prices on airfares, hotels, and vacation packages. (Mrs. Owl booked
our honeymoon in Maui with an Expedia vaction package. The hotel
by itself was over $300/night. With the vacation package... including
airfare, the trip was only $260 per day.)
- Florida travelers should note, with Expedia's "Hassle-free
Hurricane Promise", if a hurricane warning is issued for
your destination, Expedia will waive their cancellation fees and
work with their partners on your behalf to waive those cancellation
fees and to rebook you a new trip.
- The "Best Price Guarantee" insures that if you find
a lower price, within 24 hours of your booking, Expedia will refund
the difference. They will also throw in a $50 travel coupon, which
beats many of their competitors' guarantee programs.
- The J.D. Power travel satisfaction survey said Expedia is best
at vacation packages and is easy to use.
DISADVANTAGES:
- Expect to pay a $5 booking fee; additional fees for booking
by phone or requesting paper tickets.
- All original departure cities from Expedia.com must be within
the United States, so travelers from other countries must login
to their local sites (ex. Expedia.ca or Expedia.co.uk) to see
what's available in their regions.
3. Priceline.com
 How
Priceline works is shoppers say where and when they
want to fly. Priceline will check the lowest available fares for that
time. Or, you can "Name your own Price" and place a "bid"
on that ticket. Priceline searches for airlines with seats available
on those days, and tries to buy the seats for that bid amount. If
the bid is rejected as too low, you can increase the bid and try again
in 72 hours. Many times, you will be shown an offer that was accepted
if your original bid was rejected. You can choose to take that option
or bid again in 72 hours. Priceline's official spokesperson is William
Shatner, who agreed to do the spots for free in exchange for stock
in the company.
ADVANTAGES:
- Reviews say a bid of about $100 per night often gets you a great
deal on a 4-star hotel.
- Consumer Reports says that "blind travel" sites turn
up deals that can save you 40 percent or more.
- Visitors can also choose Priceline's bidding engine for bigger
discounts on blind bookings.
DISADVANTAGES:
- The major downside is you do not know which airline you will
be flying, or even the times of your flights until after you agree
to purchase the ticket.
- Sometimes the site will require that you choose a different
airport before it will accept your bid.
- Flights purchased on blind sites tend to be non refundable.
- Travelers don't earn frequent flyer miles for flights booked
on a blind site.
4. Travelocity.com
Owned by Sabre group, Travelocity is an online travel
agency based in Southlake, Texas. Travelocity is the second largest
online travel agency in the United States. Their mascot is known as
the "The Roaming Gnome" and their slogan is "You'll
never roam alone." Travelocity is condifent in the strength of
their partner relationships and the skill and passion of their Team.
Their "Customer Bill of Rights"assures that when you book
with them and encounter any problem with your booking, they will work
with their partners to make it right.
ADVANTAGES:
- Travelocity's "Fare Watcher" tracks the best round
trip fares offered for up to five city pairs of your choice. The
feature will send you an email update when fares to your selected
destinations drop.
- Travelocity is also beta testing a new RSS fare alert service
that sends you messages when pre-selected destinations drop below
20%.
- If you purchase airline tickets and notify them within 24 hours
of your purchase that you've booked the wrong dates, they'll rebook
your tickets without charging a change or cancellation fee.
- If you find a lower ratewithin 24 hours of booking, they will
refund you the difference , plus a $50 off coupon for purchase
of future travel.
DISADVANTAGES:
- Online registration is required.
- Watch out for cancellation fees. The website and your itinerary
state that the cancellation fee is $25 up to the total cost of
your reservation.
5. Hotwire.com
 Hotwire
is a discount travel site that offers low rates by working with top
travel suppliers to fill unsold rooms. However, unlike the similar
"Name Your Own Price" model used by Priceline.com, Hotwire
shows prices and some other details up front. Booking fees are included
in prices. If you're a flexible traveler, Hotwire is more likely to
get you the lowest possible fare.
ADVANTAGES:
- Hotwire's "Travel Ticker" finds travel deals and special
offers you won't find on other sites. Every week, they find the
best travel deals, and deliver them to your inbox each Wednesday.
- In a survey of 6,800 travelers, Hotwire beats Orbitz, Travelocity
and Expedia in customer satisfaction.
- A J.D. Powers' survey revealed shoppers were most satisfied
with Hotwire's ease of use and low prices.
- Consumer Reports says that "blind travel" sites turn
up deals that can save you 40 percent or more.
- Overall, for both flights and hotels, Hotwire gets higher marks
than Priceline in reviews, particularly for ease of use and site
navigation.
DISADVANTAGES:
- The major downside is that you do not know which airline you
will be flying or even the times of your flights until after you
agree to purchase the ticket.
- Sometimes the site will require that you choose a different
airport before it will accept your bid.
- Flights purchased on blind sites tend to be non refundable.
- Travelers don't earn frequent flyer miles for flights booked
on a blind site.
6. SouthwestVacations.com
 Southwest
Airlines is a low fare airline based in Dallas, Texas. It
is the largest airline in the United States by number of passengers
carried domestically for any one year. As part of its effort to control
costs, Southwest tries to utilize secondary airports which generally
have lower costs. Its reputation for low prices and a laid-back atmosphere
have made it an icon of pop culture. If you have never flown Southwest
Airlines, this airline does not have seat assignments. Most of Southwest
tickets are issued directly by the airline over the phone or online
at the company's website which features Web only fare discounts.
ADVANTAGES:
- The wesbsite often has cheap tickets on FL Travel to Orlando,
Miami, Key West, and Ft. Lauderdale.
- Southwest also has Florida vacation packages to Disney World
Resort and Universal Studios.
- You can check fares for both Southwest and its partner airline
ATA.
- Your flight attendants may entertain you during the flight with
a joke or song.
- Many travelers enjoy the casual atmosphere of Southwest Airlines
along with the low cost.
DISADVANTAGES:
- Passengers who collect their boarding passes earliest are put
into the first boarding group.
- Southwest does not offer Ticketless travel. You must present
your paper tickets when you check in.
- Fares for Southwest and ATA are not shown on Kayak.com and most
other travel websites.
- Since this is the low-cost carrier, passengers do not get to
see a movie.
7. Orbitz.com
 Orbitz
was started in 1999 when Delta, Northwest, Continental, and United
Airlines joined forces to produce a website which would compete against
the online travel agencies by offering discounted rates on airfares
for these major airlines. Orbitz was also the first company to air
television ads with gay and lesbian travelers.
ADVANTAGES:
- Orbitz is easy to use and shows you rates and prices of a flight
from one airline compared to another.
- You can see if the flight is non-stop or if there is a layover
in another location.
- Orbitz will alert you by email, or phone if there has been a
delay or cancellation in your flight plans
- The site allows you to select you own seats, which not all of
the other travel sites allow.
- Travelers can receive "Deal Detector" fare alerts
sent via phone, email, or RSS feed.
- Orbitz also offers customers, who may not have a computer or
internet access, the ability to listen to available fares and
discounted rates by phoning into their call center.
DISADVANTAGES:
- In a survey by J.D. Power and Associates, travelers indicated
being least satisfied overall with Orbitz, which gets lower ratings
for site navigation and ease of use.
8. CheapTickets.com
 A
sister company to Orbitz, CheapTickets started selling
discounted airline tickets back in 1986. It launched its website in
1997, becoming a pioneer in Internet travel sales. CheapTickets is
easy to use and shows you rates and prices of a flight from one airline
compared to a flight from another airline. You can see if the flight
is non-stop or if there is a scheduled layover in another location.
ADVANTAGES:
- All airfares displayed show both the fare and the total price
(including taxes and fees), so there are no surprises at the checkout
counter.
- "Price Alerts" allow you to set a target price for
any flight you choose and you will receive an e-mail alert if
and when there is a fare that matches that price.
- The " Value Travel Cheapometer" predicts when travelers
can expect to save the most on travel costs to specific destinations
based on the travel month they choose, to help with planning your
next big trip.
DISADVANTAGES:
- The response time for search results can be somewhat sluggish.
- The "Travel Deals" that are featured often have several
restrictions, or are only available from select departure points,
so be sure to read all the terms and conditions before you get
your hopes up.
- There is an abundance of information hidden in little pockets
throughout the site, but it is not always evident where to find
what you're looking for... even the Sitemap does not have all
the relevant links, so if you want anything beyond basic pricing
and reservations, you have to do some creative searching.
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Disclosure:
Miami Beach 411 is an airline ticket website
affiliate and when you book a flight (or hotels or
car rentals) through these sites we get a small commission.
That said, this review is based on which travel sites
we like and the ones our visitors find the most helpful.
Let us plan your trip.
We provide travel, tours and transportation in Miami,
Florida. Some of the other cities we offer service
include Fort Lauderdale, Key West, and Orlando.
Call us today (305)
754-2206.
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Have fun!
And enjoy your trip!
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