Post all SW questions concerns, etc. here...

Just FYI, if you ever just want to wait and see what boarding position you get before paying out money for Early Bird, you can purchase an upgrade to A 1-15 at the gate if you so choose (if available and usually they are). Yes, the purchase is more than Early bird, but you may not need it anyway, or may only need it for one leg of the trip. You can also ask how full the flight is and make a decision off of that. I've done it both ways before, it's kind of just playing the odds. To upgrade costs different amounts at different airports, different flights, so you can search around and try to figure out if that works for you or not... just another option.

The only time I did the upgrade was a completely full flight with a ton of kids, and due to a website malfunction, I had a horrible C number boarding pass. With the upgrade I was the first one on the plane after pre-boards. It was lovely. lol
 
Just FYI, if you ever just want to wait and see what boarding position you get before paying out money for Early Bird, you can purchase an upgrade to A 1-15 at the gate if you so choose (if available and usually they are). Yes, the purchase is more than Early bird, but you may not need it anyway, or may only need it for one leg of the trip. You can also ask how full the flight is and make a decision off of that. I've done it both ways before, it's kind of just playing the odds. To upgrade costs different amounts at different airports, different flights, so you can search around and try to figure out if that works for you or not... just another option.

The only time I did the upgrade was a completely full flight with a ton of kids, and due to a website malfunction, I had a horrible C number boarding pass. With the upgrade I was the first one on the plane after pre-boards. It was lovely. lol

Yes! Totally agree with this. If you want to wait it out and play the waiting game you can upgrade to the business class if available. I have done this before too I think the cost was $40 or $50. If you get stuck even with a B boarding group flying out of MCO and there's an upgrade available I would highly recommend it. Last time we flew out of MCO we had A51 and A52 and I kid you not there were so many with early boarding on that flight by the time we boarded the plane we 2/3 rd's of the rows already had people in them. Lately since I've been getting my tickets the day airfare has been released I've just been purchasing the early bird option for $25 and haven't been stuck with anything worse than A32.
 


I didn't even realize it went that high! I thought it was only sections of 30.

Sorry I haven't flown Southwest in a long time.
Yeah, A 1-60,B 1-60, C 1-60. I see NO DOWNSIDE to purchasing Early Bird Check In. It's totally worth the cost to know you don't have to be available 24 hours prior to flight to check in. It's simply peace of mind.
 
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Downside for those of us who are cheap is the waste of money. DH and I got B21 and 22 for tomorrow, should be fine from our experience. Since he has a SW priority credit card, he can get reimbursed for upgraded boarding at the airport, I think he used it once in the past year.
 
I see NO DOWNSIDE to purchasing Early Boarding.

Just to clarify for anyone reading that's not familiar, it's Early Bird Check-In you pay extra for and it should NOT be confused with early boarding. It doesn't guarantee anyone a specific boarding position. It just guarantees that they will check you in and you'll be checked in earlier than 24 hours. We purchase Early Bird Check-In with every Southwest flight we take. We flew last week and had B10 and B11 (after family boarding), and A51 and A52 on the return home. We were towards the middle/back of the place on the way out, since we had to board after pre-boarders, the A group, and family boarding.
 


Downside for those of us who are cheap is the waste of money. DH and I got B21 and 22 for tomorrow, should be fine from our experience. Since he has a SW priority credit card, he can get reimbursed for upgraded boarding at the airport, I think he used it once in the past year.
Totally get what you're saying. As mentioned, upgrading at the airport, if available, can be the thing to do. I'm guessing that you're NOT one of those people that complain loudly when either their parties are split up or they are seated WAY in the back:)
 
Just to clarify for anyone reading that's not familiar, it's Early Bird Check-In you pay extra for and it should NOT be confused with early boarding. It doesn't guarantee anyone a specific boarding position. It just guarantees that they will check you in and you'll be checked in earlier than 24 hours. We purchase Early Bird Check-In with every Southwest flight we take. We flew last week and had B10 and B11 (after family boarding), and A51 and A52 on the return home. We were towards the middle/back of the place on the way out, since we had to board after pre-boarders, the A group, and family boarding.
Correct! Sorry...I didn't watch closely to what I was typing. I have edited the post to reflect Early Bird Check In!
 
Correct! Sorry...I didn't watch closely to what I was typing. I have edited the post to reflect Early Bird Check In!
No worries! I knew what you meant ;) That topic gets debated a lot here so just making sure its clear for others who may not know.
 
Just to clarify for anyone reading that's not familiar, it's Early Bird Check-In you pay extra for and it should NOT be confused with early boarding. It doesn't guarantee anyone a specific boarding position. It just guarantees that they will check you in and you'll be checked in earlier than 24 hours. We purchase Early Bird Check-In with every Southwest flight we take. We flew last week and had B10 and B11 (after family boarding), and A51 and A52 on the return home. We were towards the middle/back of the place on the way out, since we had to board after pre-boarders, the A group, and family boarding.

That's one major downfall with the early bird is that it's available for everyone to purchase and there's no limit as to how many are purchased for any particular flight. Of course the earlier you book your flight the better chance you get as getting a better boarding position. It's a total crap shoot and some flights hardly anyone purchases the early bird option and then other flights it's filled with early bird purchasers.
 
That's one major downfall with the early bird is that it's available for everyone to purchase and there's no limit as to how many are purchased for any particular flight. Of course the earlier you book your flight the better chance you get as getting a better boarding position. It's a total crap shoot and some flights hardly anyone purchases the early bird option and then other flights it's filled with early bird purchasers.
Yeah but you gotta keep in mine A-Listers and then people who purchased Anytime Fare with EBCI. Most of us on the Boards are buying WGA fares and usually only opting to purchase Anytime Fares when WGA fares are sold out.

My husband is A-list and he's getting A20s-A40s at the moment depending on the flight for example.

Absolutey though it's a gamble like anything else because each flight has different makeup of passengers. I will say that's the upside to Upgraded Boarding because you can't purchase it until the gate which means you can get a better idea of your flight and make the decision then.
 
We flew last week and had B10 and B11 (after family boarding)

I probably would have upgraded at the gate if I'd gotten those boarding numbers. Yes, then you end up paying twice...so it's not for the faint of heart/pocket book. I've been delaying purchasing my after Easter April plane tickets, hoping for a price drop but it is true that the earlier one purchases tickets (and EBCI), the better your boarding slot will be.
 
That's one major downfall with the early bird is that it's available for everyone to purchase and there's no limit as to how many are purchased for any particular flight. Of course the earlier you book your flight the better chance you get as getting a better boarding position. It's a total crap shoot and some flights hardly anyone purchases the early bird option and then other flights it's filled with early bird purchasers.
I agree, but to be fair, A boarding positions aren't guaranteed with EBCI and they never have been. So while its sometimes a residual perk of being checked in at 36 hours, no one is within their right to complain if they don't get an early or A boarding position with EBCI.

We flew last week and had B10 and B11 (after family boarding)

I probably would have upgraded at the gate if I'd gotten those boarding numbers. Yes, then you end up paying twice...so it's not for the faint of heart/pocket book. I've been delaying purchasing my after Easter April plane tickets, hoping for a price drop but it is true that the earlier one purchases tickets (and EBCI), the better your boarding slot will be.
I'd respectfully disagree, unless maybe if the flight had continuing passengers. This particular flight didn't. To upgrade at the gate would have cost DH and I $50 each, in addition to the $25 each we already paid for EBCI. I knew with B10 and B11 that we'd get aisle or window seats and most likely seats together, which we did. So to us, it wasn't worth the cost to upgrade.
 
Just FYI, if you ever just want to wait and see what boarding position you get before paying out money for Early Bird, you can purchase an upgrade to A 1-15 at the gate if you so choose (if available and usually they are). Yes, the purchase is more than Early bird, but you may not need it anyway, or may only need it for one leg of the trip. You can also ask how full the flight is and make a decision off of that. I've done it both ways before, it's kind of just playing the odds. To upgrade costs different amounts at different airports, different flights, so you can search around and try to figure out if that works for you or not... just another option.

The only time I did the upgrade was a completely full flight with a ton of kids, and due to a website malfunction, I had a horrible C number boarding pass. With the upgrade I was the first one on the plane after pre-boards. It was lovely. lol
So you can get this at the desk near where you normally board the plane? If that is not yet staffed (MAgic express 3 hours early....is there anywhere else you can go in MCO that you can do this?
 
[QUOTE="georgina, post: 61253695, Since he has a SW priority credit card, he can get reimbursed for upgraded boarding at the airport, I think he used it once in the past year.
[/QUOTE]
Do they cap the amount they reimburse? What do you have to do to get it reimbursed once it is on your card?
 
Do they cap the amount they reimburse? What do you have to do to get it reimbursed once it is on your card?
You get reimbursed up to 4 purchases of upgraded boardings per year, to the best of my knowledge it is only available at the gate, if it is not staffed yet you will have to wait until it is. I did this the last time I came home from WDW in 2017, cost me $50 to go from C18 to A1.
 
Do those of you travelling on adult-only trips buy EBCI? My dh doesn't let me. lol It's always nerve-wracking checking in at the 24hr mark, but we've always been able to sit together. We usually get high A's or low B's. Once we got B30 or something like that, and just barely got seats together. We're only a party of 2 though. It's just not worth it to us to spend the extra money. It wouldn't be the end of the world if we can't sit together for a short flight to Florida. I can see it being different with children.
 
Do those of you travelling on adult-only trips buy EBCI? My dh doesn't let me. lol It's always nerve-wracking checking in at the 24hr mark, but we've always been able to sit together. We usually get high A's or low B's. Once we got B30 or something like that, and just barely got seats together. We're only a party of 2 though. It's just not worth it to us to spend the extra money. It wouldn't be the end of the world if we can't sit together for a short flight to Florida. I can see it being different with children.

Depends on where we're going & what we're doing. Sometimes we'll just get it for the flight back if we'll be at a wedding etc at the 24-hour mark and it would be harder to check in. My DH doesn't like the cattle call boarding system, so more often than not, we get it just to know we're probably in the As.
 
So you can get this at the desk near where you normally board the plane? If that is not yet staffed (MAgic express 3 hours early....is there anywhere else you can go in MCO that you can do this?
If they have an outbound flight, there will be an agent at the desk. You can even do it 10 minutes before boarding, I don't think there's a cut off as long as its before they start boarding. Be aware that you can only purchase the upgraded A1-15 boarding position if they are available. There are 15 of them. I've seen the price vary - anywhere from $30-$50 per person in my experience. Not sure if it depends on how many boarding positions are available or perhaps how long the flight is.

Do those of you travelling on adult-only trips buy EBCI? My dh doesn't let me. lol It's always nerve-wracking checking in at the 24hr mark, but we've always been able to sit together. We usually get high A's or low B's. Once we got B30 or something like that, and just barely got seats together. We're only a party of 2 though. It's just not worth it to us to spend the extra money. It wouldn't be the end of the world if we can't sit together for a short flight to Florida. I can see it being different with children.
As I mentioned up-thread, EBCI doesn't guarantee a boarding position. But we do opt to purchase it regardless of our travel party because it automatically checks us in. If we have an early morning flight, I don't have to get up early to check us in. On our last day of vacation, I don't have to set alarms and jump on the app to check us in when I don't know what we'll be doing or where we will be. So that convenience is really what you're paying for. Any other perks of it are unintended extras.
 

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