Same Day Change Questions - Available Fares; Different Connecting City; Checking-In

[jesuismoi777]

Hello. I just booked a flight with Wanna Get Away Plus specifically in hopes of doing a Same Day Change for the return flight. It was $150 cheaper to choose the god-awful 5am flight time vs. literally any other time. This will be the first time I've attempted SDC, so I've got a few questions that I'm hoping someone can help me with.

1. SW indicates SDC is available "as long as there's an open seat". Does the available type of fare matter? My home airport sells out of WGA and WGA+ fares pretty quickly. As an example, looking at tomorrow's flights, only Anytime and Business Select fares remain available. To me that means there ARE open seats. It's safe to assume it'd be the same the day of my flight. So, would the fact that I have a WGA+ ticket allow me to take up one of those "open" Anytime seats? To be clear, I'm not asking if I'd get upgraded, just asking if the "open seat" availability for SDC applies to ANY seat.

2. My home airport also has connecting flights between the destination through 3 possible cities. However, the flight I have booked is the only daily flight connecting through one of those cities. So a SDC would require connecting through a different city. Will I be able to SDC if the origin and destination airports are the same but the connecting airport is different?

3. Finally, ideally I'd be checking in at 5am the previous day in case I do have to take my originally scheduled flight. So I'd be checked in 19 hours before I'd be able to access the SDC option. Does being checked-in for your original flight cause any issues when attempting an SDC?

Thanks in advance!

[bballflyer · Accepted solution]

Yes it is for any fare as long as there is an open seat.

Yes it is for any flight from same starting and ending destination even if that means a connection 

Yes most definitely check in just in case you aren’t able to change, you want to get the best seat possible

note if you do a same day change you lose the seating position of the flight you are on and get a new one based on what is available when you change so check in to the changed flight as soon as possible too.

[jesuismoi777]

Thank you for such a clear and succinct response! 

[bec102896 · Accepted solution]

So with same day change you can make the change starting at midnight so you could set an alarm and right at midnight make the change. As long as a seat exists you can get it regardless of if it’s anytime only available and as long as your destination doesn’t change and date you can pick any available flight connection city can change (I’ve changed to different connection cities just to grab lunch/dinner before)

Keep in mind should the day come and there are no later flights you will be stuck with the awful flight so be ready just in case 

As mentioned you will lose your boarding position so I wouldn’t buy EB check in as it won’t apply to your new flight however you could still upgrade to the A1-15 if you want after making the same day change if it’s available