Hello,

I have seen Bestfares.com mentioned in past postings. I have a question...
Did I miss something or do you need to sign up for their $59.95 package to book through them? For that matter, can you book through them if you see a really low price- or is it that you need to call the airline and ask for that price? I got a little confused on their web page.
Maybe I'm just tired today...<g>.

To take advantage of some of their listed specials the answer is yes. You must subscribe to what they call a yearly newletter. But read all that is included with your subscription. Its alot and if you travel its well worth the cost. Now, some of their price listings you do not have to be a member. Simply click on the special and there will be an airline code that you must give to the airline to receive that special rate. I always look up this site when I am about to travel. Ive gotten some great deals! Hope this information helps you.

I belonged for a year, but didn't get any more benefit from it than I would of from elsewhere on the net. I think you would really need to travel more than once a month -- or use them to plan a couple of big trips over the course of the year. They didn't help a great deal trying to get car rentals deals you couldn't find elsewhere. The magazines you receive are very good compilations of many options. But I let my subscription expire this year.

To access their "Members Only" fares requires the $60 annual fee. But you can usually find those fares yourself with a good online travel engine like expedia.com. The member fares are generally little-advertised airline sales, so try finding it on your own to bypass the membership fee.

Kittie -

This same questions has been hashed around on the Europe site.

Some like it, some don't. For me, yeah, I could look around myself and sometimes I do but I like the compiling service that Bestfares provides. Their staff gathers all the deals and regularly posts them so all you have to do is check. For members, they also post all the rules and restrictions. Some say you can just go and check the rules yourself. You can. Only problem is you have to go to each individual site. With Bestfares, after you log in and get the list of specials, you just click on which special you like and it gives you all the details right there.

Don't just rely on them however. Another good one is Smarterliving. You can sign up for their email service and learn about more specials that way.

Last year, we learned about a $500 fare to Hong Kong through Bestfares (we don't book with them we just learn about the deals through them.) This year, we learned about a deal to Hong Kong from Smarterliving for $400.

So, you never know where the next deal will come from. If you travel 2-3 times per year or more, I think the Bestfares fee is worth it.

Thank you all for your input. I'll have to mull this one over.
Kittie