The delayed flight change policy applies to everyone not just PRO/EXP/CK.
Yup. EXP and CK are stuck with the same nerfed SDFC as the OP at PPRO.
The reason i find SDFC useless during IRROPS is that AA likes to rolling delay and retro delay flights (departure was 4:30, it's now 5 pm and they move the departure to 5 PM), so you can't proactively fix a soon-to-be problem