The best sites for budget air travel rates (including URLS)

If you do a lot of air travel you know that it can be quite expensive. Air fare is constantly on the rise and so are the bargain hunters. Fortunately the rest of the business world has caught on to trying to cure the epidemic of high air travel rates. There are many different companies that offer reduced rates. The best sites for budget air travel will vary from person to person. For example, many sites offer last minute deals, which may or may work for your travel situation. Below are just of few of the different options available when looking for the best sites for budget air travel rates:

Expedia.com
Expedia.com offers many advantages for booking with them. Among the standard hotel, car, airfare packages available, they also offer a wide range of cruise and activity options. Also they have a corporate travel option. In their corporate travel incentive package they have agents, travel management info and special rewards options available. Also, Expedia.com offers a best price guarantee that applies to all of their services. It is that if you find a better deal within 24 hours of booking, Expedia will refund the difference plus give you a $50 travel coupon.

Travelocity.com
The ever popular Travelocity Gnome is cute but can get you pretty much the same thing as the other companies. Travelocity.com has a bit of an edge when it comes to last minute travel and solving booking problems (they boast un-beatable customer service). Travelocity.com did not have any easy-to-find frequent flyer or corporate customer bonuses. Their vacation packages however were quite extensive.

UltimateFares.com
This web site doesn't seem to have as many different travel options available, but will occasionally provide a more competitive flight price. Otherwise there are few differences between this and other budget travel sites.

Priceline.com
With many options in common with other on-line budget air travel companies, Priceline.com also offers what they call "Price breakers." These are greatly reduced last minute (Usually within a week) deals for hotels, air fares and cruises. This is certainly a good option for the last minute traveler, but the deals are really hit and miss.

Orbitz.com
With many of the same deals as other on-line air travel sites, orbitz.com tries to appeal to a more diverse pool of potential customers. They advertise special rates for students traveling for spring break and homosexual couples.

CheapTickets.com
Cheaptickets.com differentiates itself from other on-line travel providers with their "Cheap Ticket's Gold Membership" and their "Cheap of the Week." These are really just the same frequent flier or last minute trip deals that most other sites offer.

CheapoAir.com & Kayak.com
Towards the bottom of the list in popularity (in terms of internet search hits) there are CheapoAir.com & Kayak.com. CheapoAir.com is competitive and does offer a price match guarantee. While Kayak.com boasts flights from 120 websites and has just recently added cruise packages to its website. This site seems much younger and less developed than the others.

You may also want to consider the advantages of using these sites to find a packaged deal for lodging and transportation. In many cases these site can give you a lower overall price if you book your hotel and your car rental when you book your flight.

Also, as a business professional that may travel more frequently, look to see if any of these or other on-line companies offer a corporate rate or a frequent flyer rate. Airlines are happy to accommodate and make special pricing options available for the big spenders. If you are going to be paying out a lot of money for travel you might as well take advantage of a few extra deals.

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