Try landing at ORD from the foreign city of your choice. Wait for your luggage to appear. Run the gamut of Customs and Immigration, then go to the next room where you have to re-check your bags for your connecting flight home (from another terminal, of course, although ORD's tram is pretty good). Where are the kiosks? There are none, and that's where I've really appreciated the Elite line. There were a couple of times last year that I might have missed my connection (even with a 2-hour layover) without them. That's my main concern.

And Fliar, I already have PriorityPass so lounge access is usually available. I happily renewed my membership a few weeks ago!