Planning Starts By Taking A Trip On The Web

While daydreaming about going on vacation can ignite fantasies of an escape from day-to-day life, the thought of planning a vacation is another story. Fortunately, Internet resources are making it possible to effortlessly plan a vacation from start to finish-online.

How do you know which travel Web sites are reliable resources? How can you be confident that your travel arrangements are confirmed when you haven't spoken directly to a live person? There are several key elements to consider in order to successfully plan a vacation online. Start by following these tips:

• Always purchase from a reputable site. With the wide variety of travel Web sites ranging from auctioneers to aggregators, make sure you purchase airline tickets from a reputable, brand-name site. Sticking with airline sites is often your best bet. Be sure to compare the fares and schedules of different airlines and purchase your travel from the site that comes closest to your travel needs.

Don't forget to make arrangements for all areas of your trip, including airfare, hotel reservations, rental car reservations, and any other tourist attractions you may want to visit. You can usually save a lot of time standing in line by purchasing attraction tickets online before you leave for your trip.

• Utilize online benefits, including electronic timetables and proactive paging. Make sure you register online for the proactive flight paging service that will automatically inform you of delays, cancellations and gate information via e-mail or any text-enabled cell phone, pager or hand held computer. (Note: not all travel sites offer this capability.)

• Keep your eyes open for special Internet discount fares and travel packages. Sign up at your favorite airline websites to receive their email newsletter. Most sites allow you to specify your favorite destinations and will alert you when travel to and from those locations is on sale.

Whether you are a leisure or business traveler, bonus miles offered for booking on airline sites can quickly add up to a free trip. When booking travel, you may want to look into using an air miles credit card. Money spent on those credit cards is translated into travel dollars that you can redeem when you're ready to fly. Smart travelers use those credit cards to pay for everything they can to rack up travel miles. Some go as far as putting their rent or house payments on their air miles credit card to accumulate miles quickly and easily.

 The Internet also enables you to indulge in spontaneous trips - whether a tropical getaway or nostalgic trip to visit the family. When you subscribe to online discount fare programs, you can receive special ticket offers to select domestic and international locations sent directly to you via e-mail.

• Check refund policies and always print a receipt. After purchasing a ticket online, don't forget to print out an e-ticket receipt for proof of purchase, as well as a personal record of detailed flight information for your convenience.

Keep this in mind. If you purchase a paper ticket from a travel agent and lose it, you will be charged a reissue fee that can be as much as $100 or more. When  you use an e-ticket, most airlines will allow you to travel with or without a printed copy of that ticket, thus eliminating any reissue fees.

The next time you're ready to take a trip, do your homework first. Check the travel sites on the Internet and make sure you're getting the best deal for your money. If you don't have an air miles credit card, at least use one that will pay you back at the end of the year. Make the most of your travel by saving as much money as you can on things like airfare and rental cars so that you have more money to spend on fun things like shopping and souvenirs.

Happy traveling!