Southwest Airlines Adds Digital Barding Upgrade Option
Southwest Airlines has introduced a Digital Self Service Upgraded Boarding system, according to an official company post on FlyerTalk. This comes less than a month after a surprise announcement to remove expiration dates for flights credits.
Digital Self Service Upgraded Boarding allows customers to pay for an upgrade to the airline’s earliest A1-A15 boarding section through the carrier’s app or Southwest.com. Early boarding with Southwest gives you a better chance for a preferred seat and overhead bin space. Passengers until now could only pay for such upgrades at the airport.
Customers can purchase an upgrade 24 hours before their scheduled departure time and will be sold until 30 minutes prior to departure, according to Southwest’s FAQ page. Available upgrades will start at $30 per flight segment and can increase based on demand or flight duration. If you have a Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card or Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card, you get four free Upgraded Boardings per year.
The new upgrade option is available to passengers with Anytime, Wanna Get Away, or Wanna Get Away Plus fare tickets.
You should keep in mind that if you change or cancel your flight after purchasing early boarding access, you don’t have the option of a refund. Also, passengers whose flights are canceled by the airline will lose the upgrade on any rebooked departure but will be able to get a refund after reaching out to the airline, The Points Guy reports.
