“Premium member” sounds very pompous. It’s a member who pays for taking language lessons. This is the main asset of Italki, the interminable list of teachers and community tutors ready to give lessons.
The booking system is easy. The paying also. I use PayPal. Never had any monetary issue. So give a try if you can afford it financially.
I like being a premium member. I've tried exchanges before, but it's not easy finding someone it clicks with and who has the same level of dedication you have. Plus you need to find times that work for both. The nice thing about taking lessons is that you can try out a bunch of teachers until you find one (or more) you really like. And then you get to spend the entire lesson working on your language skills, instead of having to divide it in two. With professional teachers you can even ask them to prepare special lessons for you, based on things you're struggling with (some community teachers even help like that too, even though they don't have to).
And as a premium member you also don't get limitations on how many questions you can post and sometimes I like to post a lot! :)
If you enjoy learning languages then my advice to you would be to become a premium member, because when it comes to learning different languages you will continue to discover new aspects of a language, and that will make you a life-long learner.
Thank you for asking for my opinion. I really enjoy assisting others.