I think it's natural for people to feel that their own flying pattern is the most deserving. But the benefots of status really come at the airport rather than in the plane. The priority check-in saves queuing and the use of a lounge makes the experience very much more pleasant. Plus, the priority boarding also saves queuing. Sitting in the plane is similar whether you are gold or blue; checking in early enough means that even blues can usually avoid middle seats.

Now, for my money, regular short haul flyers spend far more time in airports than those who do a few TATL flights. Plus, amenities in domestic terminals are generally worse than in international terminals, although I do concede that at LHR T5, domestic and international use the same terminal. If you've ever felt like you need a lounge, it's when you're spending your fourth evening in a week sitting in an airport general concourse.

Obviously you can tell from my post that the only frequent flying I have done has been domestic shorthaul.