All good info coming in here. all the answers are great, even if some are conflicting. I will have to create a summary here soon and then update it again once I go preferred.
http://www.swtor.com/free/features - here it states that you earn less per week, but according to many who have posted here, the cap is the same as a sub. I have no doubt about that, the forum information is never updated to reflect changes.
I spent last evening on gtn searching for some of these unlocks. Bought a couple (account) outfit designer slots for 160k each, an account guild bank access for 3.5 mil, and an account quickslots for 1.5mil.
The main thing I will keeping my eyes open for is the account artifact unlock thing.