Is status worth pursuing strictly for its own sake? Probably not, unless you have a very liberal travel budget. Is status worth pursuing if you are flying a lot anyway? Absolutely.

I think the benefits of concentrating as much of your flying as possible on one carrier far outweigh any marginal cost differentials (within reason, of course) and occasional scheduling inconveniences. I think the key is to assess your travel needs/plans early on, and then choose the carrier which most suits your travel patterns -- keeping in mind that one of the benefits of having status is being able to take advantage of it. It makes no sense to achieve status with a particular airline one year, and then switch carriers the next year.