LOTRO Store Post-Update 13...Seriously?

So I decided to check out the "New to the Store" link that came with my weekly LOTRO email. Here's my reactions...

The first thing that showed up was inventory slots. We knew this was coming; a revamp of how inventory works and how to expand it beyond 6 basic bags. Definitely something that has been wanted by many for a long time. Good on you Turbine.

Next up: Third Age Treasure Trove. This one caught my attention since I had no idea what it was, so I checked the description box. Apparently you can buy the box, which comes with 3 third age legendary items or weapons, pick one to keep and the others are discarded. I assume that this is for people who can't find 3A items (?). Personally this has never really been a problem for me, but hey, if someone's willing to pay for it...

The fourth item (I'll deal with the third last) is tier 9 relics, no big surprise there and they are certainly useful. We've seen these in store for a long time in almost every tier. No biggie.

It was the third item in particular that caught my attention: "Promotion Points +10".
My first thought - "Doesn't this defeat the point?"
I was under the impression that the way to scale up your promotions was through running the epic battles and excelling at them, but maybe I was wrong and it was to allow Turbine to shill upgrades for TP.

Why Does This Bother Me?
Turbine sells a lot of things through the store, and as a rule I'm OK with it. So why does this rankle me?
Let's take a quick look at the stuff you can buy from the store:
Content: including quest packs, skirmishes, additional character slots, etc. This is all stuff to give you more playing experience, basically more game.
Stuff: housing, steeds, cosmetics, LIs, this is basically stuff you can acquire in game, but with a different currency system. There may be some store exclusives but none of this stuff is going to dramatically alter game play in a way that you could not get in game.
Stuff enhancements: Things that make your stuff better, again typically things you can find or buy in game but without the hassle of trying to find the right one.

So what makes this different?
This is a store purchase that makes your character better. Yes we had stat tomes already but they were a store exclusive. This was a system which would seemingly require a lot of work to master but which now has been cheapened.
A few years ago I started playing another free MMO (I won't say which one right here but it might be a rant topic later). The game was entirely dominated by people who payed to enhance their characters and those who didn't could't begin to compete (which in a game with PVP is a pretty big deal). As a result the experience was spoiled and the game cheapened.

Turbine hasn't gone that far, but it diminishes the work of those who work hard to earn promotions when some kid with daddy's credit card can max his promotion points.

I'm all for Turbine making money, after all it's what keeps the game going, but this one feels like a cheap sell out.

Just saying Turbine.