Yesterday, the DOT issued the six worst online travel agents.  The results are as follows:

5.  (tie) Priceline & Cheapair.com

4. Cheaptickets

3. Expedia

2. Travelocity

1. Orbitz

It’s no surprise to me as these sites all have hidden change fees, penalties and fine print that most consumers don’t read closely at the time of booking, thus, leading to complaints in the end.  I’ve used most of these sites at least once but overall, my preference is to avoid the headaches and go right to the airline for booking.  While airlines charge for change fees to modify travel plans, these sites charge an additional fee for processing.  That’s where the complaints come in.  In addition to hidden change fees, complaints also came from refunds ticketing and boarding issues.  My suggestion, be your own travel agent – you can save the headaches, the hidden fees and in some cases find better bargains yourself while going right to the airline or hotel.