The time savings associated with a nonstop from ORD would outweigh the negatives of the NZ seat, IMO. It's not a bad seat, per se, but it's not among the best. Assuming you would have a narrowbody F seat between ORD-SFO/LAX connecting to a UAL flight, which adds a few hours to the journey. All things being equal, I think the Polaris seat is a few notches better.