Spring. It's started, right? Just in time for summer, I guess. Accordingly, it's important to remember that all the domestic, U.S. fares described here are valid in both directions. If visiting friends and relatives have held off on buying their airfare -- you might want to send along this little summary. That said, fares vary day by day.

Most of the great airfare bargains now available start and end in Anchorage. That's because Alaska's largest city has a handful of airlines that are battling for your dollars. It's a wonderful thing.

Here are the Top 10 domestic airfare deals of the day:

10. Kotzebue-Anchorage for $198 roundtrip. This is an excellent fare -- I put it at the top because it's a "Club 49" deal from Alaska Airlines and must be purchased by May 23. Travel between June 4 and July 2. Other "today only" Club 49 deals include sale fares from Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, Ketchikan and several other Alaska cities to Vancouver, B.C.

9. Anchorage-Austin, Texas for $348 roundtrip. I found this fare on JetBlue, traveling Anchorage-Austin on June 14, returning on June 20. Other fares for the second week in June were available for as low as $405 roundtrip. These are great prices, with specials offered by United, American, Virgin America and JetBlue.

8. Anchorage-Boston, Mass. for $389 roundtrip. This is an exceptional deal on JetBlue for two reasons. First, it's less than $400 to the East Coast. WOW! Second--it's same-plane service. The plane stops in Seattle -- but no change of aircraft is required. Travel from June 9-June 14.

7. Anchorage-New York, N.Y. for $381 roundtrip. Travel southbound on Delta through Minneapolis, returning via Seattle. But be prepared for a long layover. The return ticket is sold by Alaska Airlines, but Delta flies the JFK-Seattle portion. Then, cool your heels for more than four hours at Sea-Tac. Travel June 6-11. I've seen better connections and fares to New York all year -- but this is essentially last-minute. So -- that's what's left. But check back tomorrow. These fares change all the time.

6. Anchorage to the "Show Me" State of Missouri. Fly Anchorage-Kansas City for $458 roundtrip. Fly to St. Louis for $470 roundtrip. The best rates are available on Delta departing in the second week of June (any day between June 6 and June 12) for a six-day stay.

5. Anchorage (or Fairbanks) to Denver for $350 roundtrip. This is a great rate for a nonstop flight on United. Alaskans can count on cheap fares to/from Denver all summer long with three competing nonstop each day from United, Alaska Airlines and Frontier Airlines. So if United doesn't have the fare on the date you want to fly (I picked June 6-12), try one of the other two airlines. For Fairbanks-Denver, both United and Frontier offer nonstop flights. And, actually, the United fare is $351 roundtrip. Every dollar counts!

4. Anchorage-L.A. Basin: Let's take a look at the fares to all major airports. HINT: they're all c-h-e-a-p-!

Anchorage-Long Beach, Calif. for $296 roundtrip on JetBlue Airways. Good Heavens. This is a fabulous rate on a nonstop flight. I picked June 13-18, but you can surf around and find a date that works for you. These rates will be low all summer long. Anchorage-Los Angeles (LAX) for $302 roundtrip on Alaska Airlines. Keep in mind that all "Club 49" members automatically get double miles for all summertime flights. So this deal is that much sweeter. Oh, did I mention it's a nonstop flight? Wow. I picked June 14-July 10 for travel dates. But there are plenty of seats available all summer long, as long as JetBlue keeps flying into neighboring Long Beach Airport, that is. Anchorage-Orange County, Calif. (SNA) for $338 roundtrip on United Airlines. I picked June 6-11. But there are plenty of seats. Alaska Airlines and Delta also are offering cheap seats to Orange County. Scoop 'em up! Anchorage-Ontario, Calif. for $366 roundtrip on Delta. Fly via Salt Lake City to get the best deal to w-a-a-y East L.A. Ontario also is the cheapest way to fly to Palm Springs -- it's just a short drive. I chose June 8-16 for travel dates. Anchorage-Burbank, Calif. for $358 roudntrip on United Airlines. Burbank, like L.A.'s other "suburban" airports, is a lot easier to navigate than the giant metroplex of LAX. And with prices like these, well, you can afford to visit more often. I chose June 18-23, but you can find your own dates. Watch for cheap seats on Delta and Alaska, too.

3. Anchorage-San Francisco for $290 roundtrip on Virgin America. I found this great rate June 8-16. United is right behind, at $298 roundtrip. But Virgin America is the reason rates are low. Oh, both United and Virgin America offer nonstop flights. Ya!

2. Anchorage-Las Vegas for $343 roundtrip on United Airlines. This is an awesome rate, traveling June 11-19. But check throughout the month--you'll find most dates offer flights for less than $400 roundtrip.

1. Anchorage-Seattle for $236 roundtrip on JetBlue. It's the battle for Seattle. Alaska Airlines has 17 flights, triple miles and first-class seating. United and Delta both offer their respective worldwide networks for their dedicated flyers. And JetBlue has one flight at 12:36 a.m. each day. The bottom line is that this means cheap flights all summer long.

International Bonus Round

Unlike the domestic fares listed above, prices to Anchorage vary greatly from the ex-Anchorage fares below:

Fly to Iceland and take $100 off your fare with Icelandair. Go to the Icelandair.com website and get the discount code (ANCHORAGE100) to trim $100 off of your roundtrip flight for travel between now and June 20. With the discount, it comes out to as little as $590 roundtrip. That is a great deal.

Fly to Frankfurt. Nonstop. Right now, Condor flies twice each week. They will bump it up to four flights each week in July, August and September. The cheapest ticket I found departs next week, on May 28, returning June 4. The cost: $936 roundtrip.

Want to fly to the Russian Far East? Yakutia Airlines is offering weekly flights from Anchorage to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky from June 27 to Sept. 26. Now in its second season, Yakutia offers connections to Khabarovsk and other destinations in Russia. I spoke with Mark Dudley, the airline's marketing respresentative in Seattle. His website, www.airrussia.us, offers details on the service. Prices, according to his website, start at $990 roundtrip, plus $58 in taxes. However, a 60-day advance purchase is required.