Many times I've seen offers of free domain registration if you purchase a hosting package. I've always woundered if that was a good idea or not. So far I've kept my purchase of domain registrations separate from my hosting company. What are your thoughts?
It really depends on the host. For example, BlueHost allows you to "switch" your main domain at any time without a fee. This means if you get "1.com" free for signing up, you can always switch it with the domain "2.org" (which must be in your account iirc) later if you want to see "1.com". For the most part though, I like to keep them as addons and not transfer them to my host.
If it's free then I don't see why not use it. I was in the same predicament when I was looking to switch host. I came across some that offer lifetime domain name. Unfortunately, the hosting that I finally chose did not offer any free domain name. But if it did I would take advantage of it.
It's an interesting point. I tend to keep new registrations with my hosting company, just to keep them together, but equally, it is good to keep all new registrations with a separate company.
If you have a need for it, I'd take it but I wouldn't use it as a required domain. Hosts go down all the time and if they still control the domain if they go down, you would be SOL.
In my opinion you should always register and control your domain. If you use a webdeveloper disappears/goes out of business, you may well loose your domain. Besides the possibility of the host going out of business, the host may not allow you to transfer the domain should you choose to host elsewhere.