I’ve just spent a few hours trying to book a ticket for a trip in March. After entering my travel dates at least two dozen times on various travel sites, I can say that the American Airlines site is the probable best of a pretty sorry lot — anyway, that’s where I ended up spending my money.

Microsoft’s Expedia isn’t bad when taken strictly for its design and usability, but better fares can be found if you hunt directly on each airline’s own site, which kind of obviates its whole existence. The one bright spot I came across, MaxMiles.com, won’t help you book a flight, but it will allow you to manage all of your frequent flyer accounts from a single place — which is a delight to anyone who travels as much as I do.