I have booked with expedia and orbitz in the past. But after a few trips I was able to find the same bookings on the airline's direct website and booked them that way. I have flown exclusively EVA from the USA to Thailand the last six years. Sometimes the travel agents have a better or certainly easier connecting flight setup so it is easier to use them. But even then, the two times I had to travel from Florida or Salt Lake City to Los Angeles then on to Thailand, I made the travel arrangements separately on each airline's website. The only downside I saw was that since I booked the connecting flight legs separately, if one airline was late and I missed the connecting flight, all the onus would be on me.

Just going to add 'confirm' flights to my phone's reminder function for every to and from flight now.... like the old days. Takes about 5 minutes each way. After some thought, the Expedia convenience factor (or whatever online service one uses) is still miles ahead of the old school system. No need for large amounts of cash OR significant credit card fraud risk, especially if your bank offers an online function where you can suspend debit card use whenever you want. Ability to book travel on a whim from anywhere to anywhere 365 days a year 24-7? It's hard to compete with that.

Expedia is old method. Now airlines have own websites and can be accessed from sites such as Skyscanner and wego

True that, but it's still convenient and provides some peace of mind that one's credit and debit card information is in one place no matter how many different airlines one flies. Frequent flyer numbers are nice and organized too.

Most online booking companies charge $2 extra for insurance.

If your CC doesn't provide it, that's the way to go.

You should have told Expedia to book you a flight themselves.

Expedia are crooks.

They screwed me on a hotel booking. The agent is full of crap.

Thanks for helping to confirm my misgivings about ever using mainland Chinese airlines to North America.

My bets are on the airline for the foul-up, knowing how many Chinese companies are run. The customer is NOT king. You are the Oliver Twist, begging with your empty bowl. Doubt if you'll ever get it filled with $4000.

It's easy to develop a poor customer service attitude with that kind of "endless" customer base.