I take it for granted until I fly another airline like NW. First off, NW has been boarding "emergency row" first, then children, then first, then elites, then everyone else, by row sections. Second, it seems that everyone crowds the counter so that even when I try to board with other elites, I'm stuck behind all of the pushy people. Hooray for Continental for coming up with a nice little "perk" that costs almost nothing (only the price of signs and blue carpet).