Originally Posted by pinniped

Well, if that's the case, it sounds like they'd better come up with a different business model.

FWIW, I don't think that's the case. I think the big portals know very well that people use them to query airfares and then leave to get the 1000 miles. It is illogical not to - except in the cases people here have pointed out. I think the big sites know this, but also know that if they provide a good service for airfare queries, you will come back and use their other services, such as the hotel booking engine.

For hotels, the portals do provide a valuable service: they bridge the gap between Priceline and the full points-earning rates. I use Expedia Special Rates frequently when I'm traveling on leisure to a very opaque Priceline zone. Expedia probably clears a tidy profit on that, but it's a premium I'm willing to pay over the Priceline number to hand-pick my hotel.