A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,575
I look at EBCI as a last-resort option if you're out of the country or just so far out of cell phone coverage that there's no possible way to get checked in the day before the flight.
In that extremely rare case, I look at the $10 as keeping you out of C territory. B6 is good enough to keep you out of a middle seat. The sort order within EBCI isn't terribly material, but it makes sense that it goes by fare within that group.
I don't think it's a sham but I do think WN should more completely explain the exact process and algorithm, making it clear where EBCI boards in relation to BS and A-List and how the order is sorted within EBCI. (I've seen EBCI buyers ask a GA why they don't have A1.)