Asia - Whats the best bet for finding a cheap roundrtip flight to Taipei

Whats the best bet for finding a cheap roundrtip flight to Taipei, from Detroit or Chicago?

My girlfriend lives out there, and I am trying to find something around 500. Hotwire had a 650 trip, but their prices change at a speed that I had not predicted. If anyone has some tips, I'd appreciate the heads up.

Thanks

Jason

don't use hotwire for goodness sakes! 500 is a little low to bank on, but i think you should be able to get something in the low 600s if you call a few travel agents. the trick is often to get consolidator (non-published) fares which most ethnic TAs can book without problem. be sure to call more than one place though because there are lots of different types of consolidator fares and some agencies only discount one or two airlines.

Is Hotwire disreputable?

Thanks for the advice. I've never used a travel agent before, I guess now is a good time to start.

Is Hotwire disreputable?
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hotwire is ok in certain situations, but is generally not a good option for international travel because 1) their fares are rarely lower than those on offer at bucket shops and 2) you can't earn ff miles with hotwire; ord-tpe should net you in excess of 15k ff miles per person, which are arguably worth $300 based on the $.02/mile standard. while i don't really buy the whole $.02/mile argument, 60% of a domestic rt is nothing to sneeze at. however, you should keep in mind that miles on ci and br aren't all that useful because the redemption levels are very high. fortunately, in both cases, it's usually possible to credit to a us-based ff program.