WN newbie with 1st flight in 2 months. Wondering if EBCI is worth it at this stage or whether it is likely that there'll be so many EBCI on the flight roster already, it'll be of little benefit vs checkin at 24h-1min?

Flying HOU-STL-PHL on a Thursday evening. One under seat bag and one carry-on case. In an ideal world, a window seat would be nice...

Would appreciate opinions of whether it's beneficial?