Welcome Back Catman! I usually make my air and hotel ressies directly with the air/hotel companies. That way, if there is a screw-up, they are TOTALLY responsable and can't shift the blame off to a travel agent or other 3rd party. I also ticket my air directly from the airline. If they issued the ticket, they can't claim a travel agent used the wrong something or other. I do use a travel agent on Cruises and Package Tours, as I find that they are more knowledgeable and provide a certain amount of "clout" in this arena, if there is a problem.