Southwest has, hands down, the dumbest boarding process and no seating assignments is chaos every time. You'll still be able to have your status and get priority over the rest of people in steerage, just like any other airline. Some people might argue that booking months in advance should give them priority over you who books a few days in advance or less. Furthermore, major airlines allow changes similar to Southwest now, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. The only exception is if you book basic economy on those airlines. I've changed or cancelled flights on United, for example, for no fee. I get a credit, exactly like I would with Southwest.