has anyone used this website for travel and if so what has been the results? I`ve been afraid to trust any web based company for booking..

I've found better prices with expedia or travelocity. I also check the website of the specific airline. Then I call the airline to see if this is the rock bottom price. Sometimes you can only get a cheaper price by booking it on the web. Good luck!

I tried it and have never found the lowest fare on it. As suggested by someone else in another post, use HOTWIRE.com to obtain the lowest discounted price (but don't buy thru them as you won't know the airline or times). Use their price as your benchmark.

I have used Bestfares.com and am a member (for what it's worth I get the monthly magazine which mirrors on-line information and access to some part of their on-line site). I have found very good fares there, but when I call to actually book, I have ALWAYS recieved very discourteous service and end up giving up. This has happened a number of times over the past 3 years, most recently yesterday. The people who work there don't want to be working there and it's obvious. They act irritated and curt when you ask for options about flights and dates. So I give up my 5% extra discount that I would get as a member and book our travel directly with airlines and hotels on line.

Jill, I was just about to post this as a question but maybe I can get help from you directly. They have a $148 RT fare sale advertised for members and I was wondering if it would be worth while for me to join to get this fare. Do you have any idea of what the advance requirement for this fare is. 7 days , 14 days? Sounds like the 5% rebate isn't worth the trouble. Do you have any experiences with these specials fares they offer, do there seem to be enough seats so that it's more than a come on. Thanx for any help.

Let me mention another site that might be of use to people. www.QIXO.com . This is a site that searches multiple travel sites and gives you all their best fares. By the way it does show hotwire.com which is seldom the lowest fare and when you consider that you have no idea of the flight times, looks less appealing.

I was a member for a year and booked a few trips through their cruise desk, as well as air through another "desk", and had no problems nor bad attitudes during booking or travel. In fact, I found them helpful and pretty responsive.

My impression is the "bestfares special desks" they tout are travel agents they contract with (e.g., my guess is you probably *could* locate them on your own). Note they never asked for my membership number. Not sure you can get the desk phone numbers without at least getting the intro membership (which should be cancellable after reviewing the materials--which would give you the phone numbers...).

That said, I did not renew this year. It was a good resource when I was new at web travel arrangements, but I don't need it now. IMHO, they're really a handy clearinghouse for a lot of travel info: you can find most their rates and info elsewhere as mentioned above. Those incredible advertised fares are difficult to get--usually flying mid-week, off-hours, etc.

And, be aware--Jill referred to a 5% discount. Not sure this is the same thing, but they do offer at 5% rebate. Very important: that isn't 5% of your trip cost, but 5% of their commission. I booked a trip for about $1700 through them and received about $30 back.

Bottom line? Don't worry about booking on-line--I confirm everything by phone anyway--but I don't think it's really necessary to pay the annual fee for BF to get the best rates.

I joined Bestfares last year just before booking a trip to Paris. "Browsing" the website for specific deals was slow and tedious. The "deals" on Bestfares were not deals at all once they piled all the "add-ons" to the advertised "specials". Getting through on the phone was almost impossible for three days straight. The "agent" I finally got was terrible (insisted I'd have to change planes in St. Louis, flying from Boston to Paris). The final fare was $50 higher than direct flights, at ideal times, through American directly. When I discovered that your membership is "self-renewing", I immediately called and cancelled. I am happy to report that my membership was cancelled without a problem (even though I was two days over the 30 days) and my account was promptly credited.

Yes Christine - I actually just booked that special 2 days ago. I called BestFares first and found some restrictions on it and the clerk was (sigh)unfriendly, so I checked around to try to figure out what airlines were offering these fares. I found out that both Southwest airlines (southwest.com) and America West (americawest.com) had identical fares. Other airlines may be matching these fares also. They all ended on June 8th, 2001. 2 days ago I booked through American west for $99 each way (nonstop) from Baltimore to Las Vegas. So you don't have to be a member if you can find out who is offering the fares that Bestfares is referring too. Good luck!

Jill , Thanx. Sounds like after they add the taxes and extra charges that the $148 fare becomes the $196 fare that is already out there. Not worth joining for that. Again let me recommend www.QIXO.com as a great fare search engine.