I currently have three domain name purchased through hostmonster.com. When I run a whois on the domain name the registar shows Fastdomain INC. Does this mean Hostmonster gets their domain name from Fastdomain?
Is Fastdomain like godaddy which manages domain names? If I was to switch hosting companies and go with another shared hosting service should I domain transfer it over or just redirect my domain names over at hostmonster.com to point to the new servers?

I currently have three domain name purchased through hostmonster.com. When I run a whois on the domain name the registar shows Fastdomain INC. Does this mean Hostmonster gets their domain name from Fastdomain?
Is Fastdomain like godaddy which manages domain names? If I was to switch hosting companies and go with another shared hosting service should I domain transfer it over or just redirect my domain names over at hostmonster.com to point to the new servers?
Fastdomain INC. is owned by BlueHost (HostMonster). Your domain is still registered with the same company, it's just under a different brand. I don't think you can have a domain with them unless you also have hosting (unless they've changed the policy). If you were to switch web hosts you would have to transfer your domain to some like GoDaddy. Here you'll be able to control the nameservers and all that good stuff.

I see, so it's best to just have godaddy to manage my domain names right?
If i was to switch hosting companies often this would be best? And just change the server from Godaddy to my new hosting company?

I see, so it's best to just have godaddy to manage my domain names right?
If i was to switch hosting companies often this would be best? And just change the server from Godaddy to my new hosting company?
IMO, yes. Since you'll have more control with than at HostMonster. As I said before, Hostmonster does not allow you to use their domain services unless you have an account with them. Correct, when you switch over to your new host just point your domain to their nameservers.

Its always good to keep domain & hosting in separate companies :)

Most likely when you decide to switch to another hosting company they will sell you these domains, create a Fastdomain account, push all their domains to it and provide you with its access details as a result! For the future I would recommend you to have domains separately with reliable domain registrars only and avoid all the problems like these ones!

Most likely when you decide to switch to another hosting company they will sell you these domains, create a Fastdomain account, push all their domains to it and provide you with its access details as a result! For the future I would recommend you to have domains separately with reliable domain registrars only and avoid all the problems like these ones!
As I said before. Any other brand of BlueHost (HostMonster and FastDomains) do not allow you to just have a domain with them. They require you to purchase their hosting services. I think their current pricing for domains is $10 per year depending on the TLD.

When I run a whois on the domain name the registar shows Fastdomain INC. Does this mean Hostmonster gets their domain name from Fastdomain?
Anyway, they must allow this customer to transfer a domain out of them!

Its always good to keep domain & hosting in separate companies :)
I know what you mean, but to say that it is always better is not true. Some hosting companies give you a domain practically for free with their hosting packages, or charge you for letting another domain (not registered by them) point to your hosting package. In those cases, it is better to have your domain at the same company. It also saves you administration, because it will all be invoiced by the same company as well.
We have lots of resellers selling hosting and domain names like that to their customers, that's why I thought I'd respond to this.

I know what you mean, but to say that it is always better is not true. Some hosting companies give you a domain practically for free with their hosting packages, or charge you for letting another domain (not registered by them) point to your hosting package. In those cases, it is better to have your domain at the same company. It also saves you administration, because it will all be invoiced by the same company as well.
We have lots of resellers selling hosting and domain names like that to their customers, that's why I thought I'd respond to this.
No, no, no. If your hosting company is also your registrar, you are asking for trouble. Most hosting companies these days offer a free domain with their package, it's not worth it in the long run. All I use the free domain for is purely administration purposes (non public). Imagine if you have problems with your hosting account and want to move on. Sure you can easily set up other hosting accounts but if you're still in dispute with the hosting company, they will not transfer the domain to another registrar. For the sake of $10 for a domain, it's not worth the potential trouble.

That is not true. A hosting company cannot hold a domain. If you want to move, they MUST give you the AUTH CODE (if you are the registered owner of the domain). This is ICANN policy.
Please, do not make all hosters look bad, because you have had a bad experience.

When you're getting a free domain with a hosting package with the same company then make sure that your domain's admin has your name and email.

That is not true. A hosting company cannot hold a domain. If you want to move, they MUST give you the AUTH CODE (if you are the registered owner of the domain). This is ICANN policy.
Please, do not make all hosters look bad, because you have had a bad experience.
Firstly I apologise if I left the impression that all hosting companies would behave in such a manner. That is a generalisation and clearly not the case.
What registrars are supposed to do (rules and regulations) and what actually happens are two different things. If a registrar, for whatever reason, decides to drag their feet with releasing the authority code then it doesn't matter how many rules and regulations are in place, you are inconvenienced. Granted, in the end, you will still have your domain but not as promptly as should be.
You made an assumption that I've had a bad experience with a host regarding this issue. That is not the case, I'm merely pointing out potential problems that could arise, and advising to protect oneself at the earliest and separate the registration from the hosting.
Just to re-iterate, I am not suggesting all hosts would behave in this way.

So what's the suggestion for keeping separate if not godaddy-- namecheap? (for individual use not reselling)

I think it's good to keep domain in separate companies