You will be able to see your boarding pass after the 24 hours-ahead point just like everyone else. This is nerve racking, however, as it leaves you wondering if Southwest definitely DID check you in 36 hours ahead.
They have checked him in so far. To see it, you will go to Southwest Check in on the website or app, type in your confirmation number and name and then click enter or continue. Your boarding pass should populate. You will see the little Early Bird symbol next to your name on your flight reservation on the Southwest app or on Southwest.
It looks like a sunrise :. So it may be best to wait closer to the date of your flight to make sure you will not cancel before purchasing Early Bird.
Southwest Early Bird Check-in does transfer, though, if you change your flight, but only if the change is made 25 hours ahead of the original flight time.
Although we could not find this in writing on Southwest. If you change your flight, your Early Bird funds will transfer to the new flight, but if you exceed the one year period, you will lose the funds. If Southwest makes changes to your flight, you will still have Early Bird on the new flight, regardless of the time frame.
According to Southwest, if you purchase Early Bird with a more expensive fare type, you get first priority. Then it is ordered according to when you purchase Early Bird, so that could be a reason to go ahead and purchase it rather than delay, as mentioned above. With the tiered pricing changes, that may reduce the number of people buying Early Bird and improve your chances of getting a better boarding order. On a recent trip Southwest made changes to our itinerary due to weather.
We had paid for Early Bird but it was not honored. To be fair, they may have issued some boarding passes for the flights we were changed to prior to shifting us to those flights. Good info! Definitely seems like they should honor Early Bird or at least refund your money to use it later. Assignments are based on the timestamp of when you purchased Early Bird check-in compared to other passengers in the same fare class.
There is no limit to the number of passengers that can purchase Early Bird check-in. Based on the rules for assigning boarding passes, if there are enough A-List travelers and people buying Early Bird check-in, you could still end up in Boarding Group C. That situation is highly unlikely, but it is possible. The earlier that you check-in to your flight, the earlier you get to board the plane.
I used to set alarms for 2 to 3 minutes before my check-in time so I could be fully prepared to check in as early as possible.
This trick worked great for many years. And I was consistently one of the first 30 people to board my Southwest flights. When you travel with someone who has a disability, you can board the plane early as their travel companion. Being a travel partner will allow you to help them board the plane and get their bags stowed to help the crew with the boarding process. These passengers usually board first.
The first 15 boarding slots are designated for people who purchase Business Select tickets. You can purchase Business Select tickets with cash or Southwest points and still get priority boarding. Your ticket will be marked from A1 to A The next boarding pass assigned will be A16 whether 15 Business Select tickets are sold or not. Still, I would rather save the money, buy Early Bird check-in and take my chances that I can find the seats I want. Not only do these passengers receive priority check-in and security lane access, they are among the first to board.
A-Listers will start receiving boarding passes with A The gate crew will also call out asking if there are any A-List travelers who would like to board before moving on to the next group.
Here's how. In addition to Early Bird Check-In, there are a few other strategic ways to board your Southwest flight earlier than most passengers. Fly on a Business Select ticket: A Southwest Business Select ticket is more expensive but comes with its own suite of perks besides early boarding, including a complimentary drink and bonus Rapid Rewards points.
The best way to know if Southwest Early Bird Check-In is worth it is to determine what you value more — money or convenience?
However, if you can check in at the hour mark, you'll usually be just fine getting seats together or avoiding a middle seat. Plus, you'll have more money to spend when you arrive at your destination. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of , including those best for:. What is Early Bird Check-In? Nerdy tip: Another benefit of Early Bird Check-In is that you'll be automatically checked in for your flight, so after you buy the ticket, you can just show up at the airport and print out the boarding pass at the terminal.
Why consider paying extra? Who should skip it? The earlier you board, the better selection of seats and overhead bins you will have. The price varies by flight and represents a real monetary investment if you have multiple people traveling. However, note that several Southwest credit cards offer a few EarlyBird Check-Ins on each card anniversary.
While Southwest has flexible policies for changing your flight, the money you spend on EarlyBird Check-In is not refundable. Related: Everything you need to know about the best seats on Southwest Airlines. For some people, this answer will always be no.
Meanwhile, some family travelers may be OK with family boarding. Family boarding takes place between the A and B groups. So, if your family meets the family boarding criteria, you are helped by having an A boarding pass but not hurt by having a B or C boarding pass.
Southwest family boarding occurs after Group A. If you have the budget to consider buying EarlyBird Check-In, it might be worth it in a few cases. First, EarlyBird Check-In might be worth it if the flight you are taking is especially long, making seat selection more valuable, such as on a Southwest flight to Hawaii.
It also may be worth it if you know you will be too busy at the hour mark to check yourself in on time. Last but not least, if having EarlyBird Check-In reduces your stress or anxiety about the flight, then that by itself can be worth the cost. My family occasionally purchases EarlyBird Check-In to make the process of flying Southwest easier, especially on longer segments. Finally, know that you can purchase EarlyBird Check-In just for one direction of your trip or just for a few travelers.
If you only want to purchase EarlyBird Check-In for some travelers, purchase the flights for your entire group and then log in to add EarlyBird Check-In to the existing itinerary for the desired travelers. Related: How to reprice a Southwest flight when the fare decreases.
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