Do you buy Southwest early boarding?

When flying Southwest do you purchase the early boarding fee? And if so which assignment do you normally get (ie, A-16, A-53, B-2, etc). It would suck if you paid the early boarding fee and got A-49 or B-1 or something of that sort. I fly from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and back and being such a short trip I reject the early boarding. I do sit at my laptop or iPhone exactly 24 hrs before departure and usually get between A-40 or A-60, sometimes I get B-6 or there abouts but never paid the early boarding fee.

never ever do I pay for early bird even in B30 I have gotten my choice of seats

We always purchase early bird. I'm never where I can check us in at the 24 hr. mark. I have found though that if I find a price drop and take advantage of it, it tends to make my boarding number higher. I don't know if it changes your place in the early bird boarding number process or not. It just seems that the number is higher on the ones I change as compared to the ones I don't. That being said, the highest number I've gotten for early bird is A31.

In the age of smartphones it's not necessary. You can set an alarm 5 mins before checkin begins and get a "B" seat which mathematically guarantees a window or aisle. But you need to be Johnny on the spot when that checkin time starts....if you're just a half hour late you might get a "c"

I never purchase the early bird seating offer. I usually get a high B or low C by logging in 24 hours ahead of time. My only concern is to get 2 seats next to one another, and this has never been a problem. IMO, it's not worth paying the extra amount to just be closer to the front. From an airlines point of view, I think it's a no brainer though. It brings in extra revenue for nothing.

no I hate extra fees and usually I am going to Vegas and I want to save all my money to donate to the casinos and possibly win

It is a crap shoot, the value of EB. I do buy it, since 1) we don't have a smart phone (save money there) and 2) two or three of us travel together. It adds peace of mind, particularly to the return trip.

My husband used to be the keeper of the second to log in, but things have changed and for him this is another added stress we doesn't need. Sometimes I get A-18, sometimes A-30. I've tried to deduce whether it mattered if I reserved three months before the trip or three weeks. Or, as xan said, if re-booking for a lower price produced a higher number. But I can't tell.

One day we were in line, maybe A-23, and the girl in front of us (A-22) had booked at the last minute (obviously not using EB), figuring she would be in C, but she was in front of us, and we had booked three months previous. I suspect someone cancelled and she was lucky enough to get that spot.

Now, my gripe is that the flight attendants give differing answers as to whether one can "save" a seat for a traveling companion who is further back in line. Husband and I usually get numbers together, but our friend, who does EB, may be several numbers back just because of the moment she logs in for her reservation versus when I do outs. I've heard both..."yes you can save" and "no you can't save". But that is another subject. I've "contacted" SWA with this question, and got no response.

It all depends.

Short commuter flights, never.

Cross country flights, or anything over three hours yes. It's worth it on those 4 1/2 or 5 hour flights from the west coast to east coast and back. It comes in handy when you have to change planes and have an A pass as I stop for a beverage or race to new second gate of the trip.

The exception is the long-distance direct flights with a stop shortly after takeoff. For example, my flight from Baltimore stopped at Charlotte so after we let off a number of passengers we are able to move in the cabin. So need for an early bird fee.

So it all depends.

Yes

If I'm flying solo it's for business and one less thing I need to worry about.

If I'm not solo, I'm with my wife and we want the seats e want

Never have, doubt I ever will. Even with B-35 or so, head to back of the plane and seats are wide open