Is Southwest EarlyBird Check-In worth it?

27.02.2024 - 22:55 / thepointsguy.com

Southwest Airlines doesn't have fancy onboard offerings. However, it does have a unique boarding process where you get assigned a specific boarding number that determines when you can board the plane. The order you get on the plane is important since Southwest uses first-come, first-served seating. The earlier you board, the better seat options you'll have. All of its planes offer a 3-3 seating configuration.

Your Southwest boarding assignment will fall into groups A, B or C, and you will be assigned a number ranging from one to 60 within that group. It feels a bit like you are lining up like cattle to board the plane, but once you get the hang of it, it isn't that terrible — at least if you have a good boarding group number.

You'll want to check in for your flight exactly 24 hours before departure because Southwest assigns boarding groups in the order you check in. This means you'll ideally want to set your alarm to remind yourself. However, as with almost everything in the airline industry, it isn't quite that simple.

The coveted first A1-15 spots go to those who purchase pricier Business Select fares. You can also sometimes upgrade (for a fee) to an A1-15 boarding spot 30 minutes to 24 hours before the flight's scheduled departure time. This option is only available if Business Select customers don't fill the A1-15 slots, and it costs between $30 and $80 (per segment, per customer).

While this can be an incredibly pricey add-on, those with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card receive four upgraded boardings per year. This perk alone is why these two are some of our favorite Southwest cards for families.

Next in the boarding process come those with Southwest A-List or A-List Preferred elite status; these travelers are automatically assigned a boarding number before the 24-hour mark. Checking in precisely 24 hours before your flight won't get you ahead of those travelers, either.

Finally, there is also the issue of passengers who booked a direct but not a nonstop flight. Unless you are on the first flight of the day, there is a reasonable chance some seats on the plane will go to those passengers even before the first person in Group A gets a chance to board. After all, Southwest regularly sells tickets that require stops without plane changes.

Related: How to get seats together as a family on Southwest Airlines

Now, let's talk about Southwest EarlyBird Check-In itself. The airline's EarlyBird Check-In service allows you to automatically reserve your boarding spot starting 36 hours before your flight.

EarlyBird Check-In serves two obvious purposes. First, it eliminates the human element of forgetting to check in exactly 24