Economy Plus complimentary access timing on multi-stop trips?
"Premier Silver members continue to enjoy complimentary space-available access to Economy Plus for themselves and one companion upon check-in."
This seems pretty clear that complimentary access is supposed to be available at check-in; yet quite often when I attempt to check-in to a a multi-stop trip, I'm shown that I need to pay for access to Economy Plus seats on a second leg, if the departure time of that leg is more than 24 hours in the future. If I wait to check-in until the second leg departure time is within 24 hours, I'm able to access Economy Plus seats at no charge.
Is this a bug in the system? Is this how it's supposed to work? Is there fine print somewhere I'm missing, that explains this issue?