It also fits with their charges on other services, $10 just to do an automated varchar change in a database (name change), for example. I believe that ONE of the reasons why the pricing is high is to deter excessive use of the service, effectively limiting the amount of name changing, server/faction hopping, character boosting etc that goes on in order to keep a fraction of stability in server communities.
I think that regardless of the loss of server transfers (except for people who'd rather carry along the gear), the explosion of sales for having such a cheap method of levelling would be the most effective if they were looking to make a last-ditch cash grab like the people here are talking about. A luxury offering doesn't give explosive returns so it is more suited for long term returns, which doesn't fit the idea of a last-ditch cash grab, it implies longetivity.
It also gives the encounter designers more freedom, which will be amazing, I can't wait.