Is Wordpress Direct The Primary Tool for this Season?

[Bitcom]

I love the idea of WordPress Direct (especially for a beginner) but I still don't get the advantages for a reasonably well-seasoned site designer.

Doing a regular WordPress.org site is pretty easy and once you know the main plugins you need, they are easy to get and install.

So for a pretty experienced webmaster, who is wondering if it's worth a hefty monthly fee, what ARE the advantages of WPD?

Please help?