Southwest Early Bird Check-in - is it worth it?

[Miscoehill]

We just booked SW for July and they are asking if we want to purchase Early Bird Check-in for an additional $10/pp - each way.

Has anyone paid for this service and is it worth it? I'm wondering if I don't do it, I'll get stuck with "C" and not be able to sit with my kids.

Thanks!

 

[Brian Noble]

It's worth it to me just to avoid playing the atomic clock game. YMMV.

 

[Jestocost]

Unless you start your travel at an airport where SWA does lots of connecting--such as Chicago Midway or BWI--there's probably a minimal chance of getting less than an A boarding pass if you check in at the 24-hour mark. Now that RAC apparently is checking in SWA passengers automatically at (or close to) the 24-hour mark, that may change for flights out of MCO, but there haven't been reports of any problems yet.

Like the PP, I've taken to using EBCI for my return flights just to avoid having to play the 24-hour game while I'm trying to enjoy myself at WDW. For flights out of STL to MCO or elsewhere, I typically base my choice on how busy I expect travel to be on the date I'm flying.