This is stupid, but that's an awful title. It's not $90 for early access.
Base edition ($50.00USD):
-the expansions
-a level 70 character
-500 "trader's tender"
Epic edition ($90.00 USD):
-the expansions
-a level 70 character
-1000 "trader's tender"
-a flying mount
-a transmorg/cosmetic set
-beta for the war within (does not save progress on the real servers)
-3 days early access to release of War within
-30 days of game time
-an in-game pet
-an in-game toy
-a hearthstone effect.
So it does cost $40 more for the bundle that contains those three days, but it also includes $15.00 worth of subscription-time, and a lot of other micro-transactions. Those microtransactions could be considered either completely worthless, or they could be considered to be worth more than $25.00 USD
Correct. if I'm not mistaken (and i could be) its just an incentive to re-roll your class for the xpac without having to do monotonous work. so for awhile now xpacs come with a character boost. it's also a way to get your friend into it by them being able to play with your main if you didn't want to level a brand new character.