I think for a while there the internet sites were the better way to go and it drove a lot of full service travel agencies out of business. Over time though the sites had their profit margins diminished by competition and the only way they could make money was to cut services. It is nearly impossible to get in touch with anyone that works for an online source of these sorts of things while your agent, that you are paying very little money to albeit more than Expedia, is going to answer every time. In my mind it is definitely worth the tiny bit of extra that you pay if for nothing else, peace of mind.