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

[Mrs~Incredible]

Honestly it depends on how busy it is when you are flying. We have once before gotten B1/2 but never gotten this bad with early bird. I figure by the time all the people who need extra time board and group A and Families board we will be the last on. 99% of time we are around A 40 with early bird. If you check in at exactly 24 hours you are after all those groups including those who have early bird. There is a small chance someone cancelled their flight after Southwest does the 36 hr checkin for those eligible and you luck into those earlier spots but it is small. So many people have higher statuses that give them earlier boarding before us lowly wanna get away people it is much harder to get a good position. Anyone who did not have early bird is after us. Our flight has been sold out for awhile including all business class so no chance of upgrading. I always purchased early bird especially when I needed to sit by my daughter. She is now 20 so we don’t care but middle seat is very very very hard for me with my spine issues and having to sit so still squished in the middle. But I’m going to Disney and it’s just over 2hr so I will survive. Just wishing I hadn’t wasted my money this time lol. Hindsight is always 20/20

Thanks for all the info. I that you are going with your 20 year old!! I wanna be you when she gets to that age!! She has always loved Disney- maybe even more than me of that possible lol- so I may have a good shot at that!
Have a great trip!

 

[Three cats]

Bought our tickets with early bird as soon as Southwest opened. Sadly wanna get away because I wasn’t thinking at the time. We are B50&51. By far the worst I have ever had. After family boarding we will probably be almost last on the plane. Luckily we don’t need to sit together but I am pretty sure it is going to be middle seats for us

I haven’t flown Southwest in ages. I thought your boarding position was assigned at the 24 hour mark? Has that changed? Or were you at the 24 hour mark when you posted?

 

[MinnieMSue]

I haven’t flown Southwest in ages. I thought your boarding position was assigned at the 24 hour mark? Has that changed? Or were you at the 24 hour mark when you posted?

It was assigned at 36hr by Southwest (early bird or anytime fares etc). At the 24 hour mark they tell you what your position is. I got that sad alert on my phone at 5:28 - minutes after the 24 hr mark. If you don’t have a fare that includes early assignment of boarding position you check in at the 24 hour mark.

 

[han22735]

Bought our tickets with early bird as soon as Southwest opened. Sadly wanna get away because I wasn’t thinking at the time. We are B50&51. By far the worst I have ever had. After family boarding we will probably be almost last on the plane. Luckily we don’t need to sit together but I am pretty sure it is going to be middle seats for us

That's terrible. I'd be sending a chat message asking for my money back.

 

[MinnieMSue]

That's terrible. I'd be sending a chat message asking for my money back.

I thought about that but I don’t think they would since it doesn’t guarantee anything. It is the worst early bird position I have ever heard of. I knew it was going to be a B but never imagined it would be that far back. I bet everyone behind me is going to be family boarding or maybe the need extra time people. Will report back tomorrow on that. My hope is that some couples save middle seats even though they are told it is a full flight and move to sit together. But probably false hope lol. I don’t know what to do with my cpap machine and I have asmall backpack. Definitely won’t be any overhead space for it. My purse will have chargers and medications so I don’t want it checked and I cannot check the cpap machine. I probably will have to somehow fit it all under the seat.

Edit: I sent a chat anyway to make myself feel better. I know it won’t do anything but will update if it does

Edit to add: they replied to me with the usual of what early bird means but surprised me and said I need to preboard. My medical issues more than qualify. I honestly thought it was just wheelchairs and things where people need extra time but she said my issue is definitely legit and I only mentioned why I need aisle seat and that I always tried to take care of my needs to make sure stuff like this doesn’t happen. I purchased anytime for the rest of this years flights for several reasons and mainly so this doesn’t happen. I was worried about boarding position on this trip but prices skyrocketed up so high I couldn’t switch fare classes without adding $600+ to our tickets each way

 

[Keladry84]

I thought about that but I don’t think they would since it doesn’t guarantee anything. It is the worst early bird position I have ever heard of. I knew it was going to be a B but never imagined it would be that far back. I bet everyone behind me is going to be family boarding or maybe the need extra time people. Will report back tomorrow on that. My hope is that some couples save middle seats even though they are told it is a full flight and move to sit together. But probably false hope lol. I don’t know what to do with my cpap machine and I have asmall backpack. Definitely won’t be any overhead space for it. My purse will have chargers and medications so I don’t want it checked and I cannot check the cpap machine. I probably will have to somehow fit it all under the seat.

Don't despair - it might still turn out all right. I had a C9 boarding going to Orlando last week and had a choice of several aisle seats. Also, albeit barely, got an overhead space with the aisle seat.

And I can't imagine them forcing you to check a CPAP/medicines because of the medical need - the flight attendants would find a way to have it on the plane for you.

 

[disneylover81]

I thought about that but I don’t think they would since it doesn’t guarantee anything. It is the worst early bird position I have ever heard of. I knew it was going to be a B but never imagined it would be that far back. I bet everyone behind me is going to be family boarding or maybe the need extra time people. Will report back tomorrow on that. My hope is that some couples save middle seats even though they are told it is a full flight and move to sit together. But probably false hope lol. I don’t know what to do with my cpap machine and I have asmall backpack. Definitely won’t be any overhead space for it. My purse will have chargers and medications so I don’t want it checked and I cannot check the cpap machine. I probably will have to somehow fit it all under the seat.

This is always my worry with SWA so a couple years ago I started buying Anytime fares so I know I’d get an A boarding group with automatic EBCI. It sucks that I have to spend even more money/points on flights for it though. I guess the peace of mind outweighs the cost for me. My son usually purchases the WGA+ with EBCI and he’s always gotten an A boarding group and I think it’s only about $20 more than the WGA ticket. May be an option for you in the future. I know it doesn’t help right now though.

 

[MinnieMSue]

This is always my worry with SWA so a couple years ago I started buying Anytime fares so I know I’d get an A boarding group with automatic EBCI. It sucks that I have to spend even more money/points on flights for it though. I guess the peace of mind outweighs the cost for me. My son usually purchases the WGA+ with EBCI and he’s always gotten an A boarding group and I think it’s only about $20 more than the WGA ticket. May be an option for you in the future. I know it doesn’t help right now though.

Yeah last flight we did the plus. Being at work and busy I rushed to purchase this trip and did my old wanna get away with early bird before I remembered not to do that. When I realized what I had done, flights went way way up in price. Business class sold out before anytime and wanna get away and plus sold out a long time ago. Anytime sold out about 2 weeks ago. I knew I was screwed but didn’t think this bad. All of my future flights this year are anytime. I did same as you. Now finding out I qualify to preboard when I sent Southwest a message with my fear and concerns was a shock. I may do it tomorrow but I know my daughter will not. She will be too embarrassed to do the preboard because if you look at me I don’t look all broken inside like I am. Also she doesn’t need to preboard with me anyway so that is fine. I firmly believe in taking care of my needs without relying on help like the preboard policy and thought I had done so. Sadly I did not. That being said if there aren’t a bunch of little kids I might just board in my position even if I get a preboard pass.

 

[RedHead0186]

Premier is a level of credit card. Just think of it as a credit card that came before SWA had the Priority version.

https://creditcards.chase.com/southwest/premier-credit-card

You could always get a business card version of Premier but no it's NOT a business card itself. The reason why it matters to mention the benefits that differ between them all is because people have different versions. Whether you can sign up for a new cc isn't the crux here (I think that's where you're getting stuck).

Okay, thanks. If you go here, the Premier is not listed, only Plus and Priority: https://www.southwest.com/html/rapi...-rewards-cards/index.html?clk=GSUBNAV-RR-VISA. That's why I was getting confused. Odd that it's listed differently in different places . . .

 

[justafigment27]

Bought our tickets with early bird as soon as Southwest opened. Sadly wanna get away because I wasn’t thinking at the time. We are B50&51. By far the worst I have ever had. After family boarding we will probably be almost last on the plane. Luckily we don’t need to sit together but I am pretty sure it is going to be middle seats for us

Whoa! That’s crazy and seems almost criminal! They should seriously limit the # of EB they sell!

The worst EB I’ve received has been like B6-10 coming back from MCO over spring break. I was sweating bullets watching family boarding because my kids were young enough that I really wanted to sit by them (but too old for family boarding).

I did notice earlier this month that SWA at MCO was announcing that there was only one adult allowed to board per child during family boarding - they specifically said that the entire extended family was not allowed to board with that one child. Of course, I watched one man try to save 9 seats in the first 6 rows one time … so it might not matter.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Okay, thanks. If you go here, the Premier is not listed, only Plus and Priority: https://www.southwest.com/html/rapi...-rewards-cards/index.html?clk=GSUBNAV-RR-VISA. That's why I was getting confused. Odd that it's listed differently in different places . . .

Yeah it's not easy to find on SWA's website

When Priority was released in 2018 by SWA they did not force a conversion of existing card holders to that. However, for a while SWA has been pushing just the Priority and the Plus card levels. Any who kinda into the rabbit hole here

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

The worst EB I’ve received has been like B6-10 coming back from MCO over spring break

I know posters have discussed getting into the B30s even B40s with EBCI since last year. I think when Anytime Fares got the 36 hour check in combined with WGA+ being introduced (which puts it ahead of WGA in terms of Boarding position given with purchasing EBCI) it made it more normal to have higher Bs than in the past. I'm not sure there's been much chatter about actual experience with EBCI being sold out so not sure how that is going. I think most of us thought that might help alleviate the complaints about paying for EBCI but getting poor Boarding positions.

 

[MinnieMSue]

Whoa! That’s crazy and seems almost criminal! They should seriously limit the # of EB they sell!

The worst EB I’ve received has been like B6-10 coming back from MCO over spring break. I was sweating bullets watching family boarding because my kids were young enough that I really wanted to sit by them (but too old for family boarding).

I did notice earlier this month that SWA at MCO was announcing that there was only one adult allowed to board per child during family boarding - they specifically said that the entire extended family was not allowed to board with that one child. Of course, I watched one man try to save 9 seats in the first 6 rows one time … so it might not matter.

Yeah the problem is I haven’t seen them actually follow family boarding policy when I have watched boarding even when it is announced. I still can’t believe the position. I think I will talk to the gate agents about pre boarding but also if it looks like there isn’t a ton of kids there consider waiting for my spot. I just know that we always fly with a lot of families to MCO. Will report back tomorrow.

 

[pens4821]

We had a trip last summer and bought EB. We were at the end of A and went into B (although the two that had B just boarded with us). I said I wouldn’t fly southwest again because I hate not having assigned seats and even paying for it now doesn’t guarantee anything. I’d be highly annoyed also if I got that high of a B number.

Well I booked flights on SW last night. Going to give it another shot. Just did the WGA fare with EB, so will see what happens this time. Labor Day Pit to Hou so shouldn’t be as many family boarding as MCO.

I like the free bags and that they are usually cheaper. But we are a bigger family and having to sit in a middle seat between people we don’t know would be quite horrible. We can fit in the seats but it’s just better to be on an end or having family in the middle.

 

[focusondisney]

That's terrible. I'd be sending a chat message asking for my money back.

Whoa! That’s crazy and seems almost criminal!

EBCI stands for Early Bird Check In. It does not & never has guaranteed an A or early boarding. The only thing they guarantee is to check you in at 36 hours. Which they did. For over a year there have been many more people qualifying with their status & fare category, buying it or getting it with their credit cards. There is no reason to refund money when the company did exactly what they said they would do. And it’s certainly not criminal to offer a service for a fee. Of you’re not happy with the service, don’t buy it.

 

[MinnieMSue]

We had a trip last summer and bought EB. We were at the end of A and went into B (although the two that had B just boarded with us). I said I wouldn’t fly southwest again because I hate not having assigned seats and even paying for it now doesn’t guarantee anything. I’d be highly annoyed also if I got that high of a B number.

Well I booked flights on SW last night. Going to give it another shot. Just did the WGA fare with EB, so will see what happens this time. Labor Day Pit to Hou so shouldn’t be as many family boarding as MCO.

I like the free bags and that they are usually cheaper. But we are a bigger family and having to sit in a middle seat between people we don’t know would be quite horrible. We can fit in the seats but it’s just better to be on an end or having family in the middle.

Good. Luck and hope it works out for your family.

EBCI stands for Early Bird Check In. It does not & never has guaranteed an A or early boarding. The only thing they guarantee is to check you in at 36 hours. Which they did. For over a year there have been many more people qualifying with their status & fare category, buying it or getting it with their credit cards. There is no reason to refund money when the company did exactly what they said they would do. And it’s certainly not criminal to offer a service for a fee. Of you’re not happy with the service, don’t buy it.

Yeah I know what it is and also knew we would be in B based on business class selling out pretty early as well as the whole flight. I was just not thinking when I booked.
I ended up getting pre board for myself and went after the rest of the preboarders. I sat by the couple who was in line in front of me so we could fill the row. My daughter decided to board at her number.(B50) While there were a ton of families boarding she did still get an aisle seat for herself so I would have been ok. Only thing is there was no room for anything overhead in the area she sat. Luckily she only takes a small bag on the plane. They were strict about the one carryon and one personal item. I was able to have my bags with the medical stuff under the seat and above me so I was ok. I am probably going to stick with anytime from now on. With my work not approving vacations until close to the date I like being able to be refunded instead of flight credits. I do feel that purchasing early bird with wanna get away is probably not very useful during peak travel times but there is still some advantage.

 

[disny_luvr]

I finally purchased our flights from SAN->BWI! One more thing I can check off the list. I used a gift card for most of the purchase. Would there be any reason I need to keep the gift card? If I'd cancel the flight (which I'm not planning on doing, but life happens...) wouldn't we just get flight credits, nothing would go back on the gift card, correct? Just want to make sure before I toss it.

Thanks!

 

[ultimatefans]

I finally purchased our flights from SAN->BWI! One more thing I can check off the list. I used a gift card for most of the purchase. Would there be any reason I need to keep the gift card? If I'd cancel the flight (which I'm not planning on doing, but life happens...) wouldn't we just get flight credits, nothing would go back on the gift card, correct? Just want to make sure before I toss it.

Thanks!

Yes, that is correct.

Edited to add: I once purchased flights with a gift card and cancelled within 24 hours of purchase and the funds still went to a flight credit and not back on the gift card.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I know this thread is 713 pages long, but somewhere upthread (not too far up) someone posted about having a bunch of small credits and being able to combine them into one larger, usable credit. I don't recall the details so I don't want to speak out of turn, but I do recall reading it not too long ago, so if you track back a few pages maybe you'll find it?

I’ve done this a few times lately as our flights have dropped by over $110 in the past few months. It takes time but is worth it.

I search for low priced fares (eg LAX - Las Vegas). Once I find them I start using our travel credits. Sometimes I need to put a little bit on our cc but when you cancel you have the option to return that to your cc. (As a Canadian I don’t do that as it would cost me in the exchange).

Once I’ve booked using 2 credits plus a tiny bit on my cc, I cancel the flights.

Repeat.

Over the months we’ve had about 10 credits each but now we each have 1 single credit of almost $150.

 

[disny_luvr]

We have our first ever layover this summer flying from Baltimore to San Francisco. How does that work as far as boarding position for the second flight? Will we have two different boarding positions, one for each flight?