Sould I pay the extra for Southwest boarding?

[tjmw2727]

I've flown SW many times. We decided to purchase ECBI for this trip & I'm really disappointed with the results. I just printed out our boarding passes for tomorrow & we got A46-48. I've always done better at the 24-hour mark without the $10 per person fee. :-(

Shelli

I don't understand this - if you knew anyone who checked in at T24 I am quite sure they would have gotten much higher numbers than you did at T36. EBCI does not guarantee A boarding passes - you purchased automatic check in at T36 and from what I can tell the earlier you purchase EBCI the earlier your checked in.

A few times this year we have flown on SWA with several families. Each time the folks who used EBCI got A bp's starting around A24 and the folks who checked in at T24 all got Bs. The families I know who where on the computer slightly ahead of T24 got lower B's than those who checked in "around 24 hours" ahead.

All this means is that there are more folks using EBCI and some purchased their tickets before you did.

 

[Lewisc]

All this means is that there are more folks using EBCI and some purchased their tickets before you did.

We don't know how many "A listers" were on that flight. Date you purchased EBCI is only one of the factors in deciding which EBCI gets a lower sequence number. The fare class is another factor.

 

[Jestocost]

FWIW, just checked in exactly at T24 for a 9:00 a.m. STL-MDW flight tomorrow morning and got A58; just three spots shy of the B group.

The times they are a changing…

 

[momto2inKC]

I think it's definitely a covenience if you know you can't be at your computer to check in right at the 24 hour mark. We paid for it for the first time for our upcoming trip. We will be at the lake and have no internet or cell phone signal, so it just made sense to go ahead and pay for it.

 

[Dacky619]

FWIW, just checked in exactly at T24 for a 9:00 a.m. STL-MDW flight tomorrow morning and got A58; just three spots shy of the B group.

The times they are a changing…

Yeah, did 2 Disney Trips last year, all 4 flights SW, checked in at 24 hours at home and on my phone while at WDW, and all of our boarding passes were very late A's or early B's. For our upcoming trip, I decided to spend the bit of extra money to see how EBCI will work for us.

I do. It's a small price to pay to not have to play the Atomic Clock game, and a pleasant little convenience on vacation. Is it a 'good value'? Maybe not. Who cares?

If you are watching every dollar, these are good dollars not to spend. If you aren't, though, I say it is fine to splurge and live a little. It's vacation!

I think this really put it best. We did fine without it in the past, but it is nice to have.

 

[bytheblood]

Honestly, Kelly, it is a total waste of money. I would just be online 24 hours and 5 minutes earlier than your flight time ready to check-in.