Because it's only $9, is easier to use and looks better? I might understand having reservations if it cost $29, but not for $9!

The intent of these ports are what's called sacrificial.

Its so you can use it to the point of damage or accident. And are able to replace the damaged bit.

Phone cases/tempered glass cover. Lens covers for NVGs. Paper cover on a hard cover book. Sacrificial to avoid damage of the good.

It's an incredible design feature they can tote as a modularity function. But the more important feature is that it's replaceable/upgradeable.

My Microsoft surface thunderbolt hub doesn’t plug into the internal port just because the end of the cable boot is slightly too thicc to clear the small ledge on the bottom.

If you damage the card port its as simple as slotting a new one in. If you damage the built in port its a whole different ball game. Also looks nicer.

bulky cables won't fit in the deep slot.

A few reasons:

It'll sit flush with the body making it easier to access.

If the USB port gets damaged you can replace the expansion card instead of having to try and fix it.

It looks better.