This may have been addressed before, so you can direct me, yell at me, or you can just answer:

What's your favorite milerun/segrun booking venue?

 

FlyerTalk!

I prefer directly on AA.com... but then again I am partial.

 

I guess all these mileage runs people talk about just magically book themselves!

 

They sure do! I just command "book SNA to YVR via MIA and JFK" and a ticket lands on my desk in the morning! Really! It works everytime; don't you wish you were me?!

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I book flights on AA.com, UA.com, DL.com, CO.com, NWA.com, Usair.com, Expedia.com, travelocity.com, Orbitz.com, Cheaptickets.com, Southwest.com, Kayak.com, Jetblue.com, Airtran.com, and others.

Steps:
1) Identify desired booking using a combination of ITA software and comparison booking sites such as Kayak.com
2) Go the desired airline's website and attempt to book desired fare/routing there.
3) If the desired airline's website will not book the desired routing/fare, go on to Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, Cheaptickets, Priceline etc to find a site that will. Of the major comparison booking sites, I prefer Orbitz because it has the lowest price a higher percentage of the time and allows me to build the itineraries I want more than the others do.

 

easysabre. oh wait, doesn't exist anymore.
united connection. wait, that died as well.

 

i use orbitz.com if aa.com, dl.com, .bomb, etc don't work

 

first with the airline directly online, and if that doesn't work, then Orbitz/Travelocity/Expedia/whatever works, and if that doesn't work, and the fare is a legit one (ie, not a mistake fare), I call the reservations desk and have them do it manually. If that doesn't work, I go back to the drawing board.

 

I think I remember that some discount ticket brokers sold tickets that did not qualify for any mileage awards. Is this still true?

 

Within the US - with the exception of Priceline and Hotwire type tickets where you cannot see what you are getting until you have it - most every ticket earns full miles and EQM. For CO, EQM depends on the fare class. There are a few - very few - agencies that issue non mileage earning tickets on some airlines. Many of these agencies say miles will not be earned on their tickets when in truth miles will be earned on the majority of their tickets but they do not want to deal with the exceptions. The vast majority of tickets sold by travel agencies in the US (for legacy airline domestic flights) are published fares - the same fares you could buy anywhere if you know how to find them. They earn miles.

Internationally - non mileage earning tickets from discount travel agencies/bucket shops are very common, especially on international carriers but also on US carriers from certain consolidators. Most agencies that sell non-mileage earning tickets can also sell you mileage earning tickets for a higher price. SOME Site59.com tickets do not earn miles on US airlines...but MANY do even though site59.com says no miles. In most cases, a ticket will earn miles if booked into a miles earning booking code. One can and should do their research to know what fare buckets earn miles on your airlines. Still, the majority of tickets sold by travel agencies are mileage earning. If you a purchasing an non-published - than is an exclusive - fare, you should check with the agency to find out if it is mileage earning. How many miles will depend on the booking inventory - the fare bucket - for some airlines.

 

.bomb because I like a challenge, and it often gives me a chance to find-out what the weather's like in Bangalore.

 

There are so many horrible stories from people that used EXPEDIA or other "reputable" travels ites (including mine).
I try to book directly with the airline. I use online travel sites only to check for prices and then go to the airline. It is also cheaper.

 

I book on aa.com, but I search first on orbitz. If orbitz has a lower fare for the same itinerary, I book on AA anyway. Print out the orbitz ininterary/fare and fare rules, and AA will refund the difference + $50 promo code under their Low Fare Guarantee. Careful though, the guarantee is only valid on AA metal, not codeshares.

 

Assuming we're paying $$ for the fare, I almost always book directly with the airline's website if it's just a flight. I've never found Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. to be cheaper for a flight I've looked for. The only time when I have found Orbitz., etc. to be cheaper is bundling with a hotel can sometimes be a pretty good deal. Otherwise book with the airline and save the $5 booking fee!