Huh. I thought the bonus was for any exp. Well ill stop mentioning it when answering questions like these. The hall of the novice ring still works right?

As for the level 54 cross classes, 6 of them are kinda meh, the other 2 have uses. The 6 classes that get "Brand of ______" crosses(so all but GSM and CUL) at 37 get "Name of ______" keyed to the same element at level 54. These change the recipe for the next 5 steps so that it counts as if it had the proper elemental affinity, and give a bonus to the associated Brand skill. In practice these can be used to get a few steps of heavy progress toward completion, but after the 5 steps the craft becomes "Nameless" and you cant re-apply the buff, or use a different element if you had a 2nd set crossed for some reason(and the fact that theyd inherently be different on each class makes them less popular with the macro set). GSM gets Makers Mark, a skill usable only on the first step of the recipe. For 20 cp it gives you a stack based on the progress required to complete the recipe(if i remember right its 1 + 1 per 100 progress required). The stack lets you use Flawless Synthesis for free(as in no durability lost, no cp cost to activate) for free until it runs out. This is used in some rotations(especially those based on specialist skills like Whistle While You Work), but you can certainly get by without it. Meanwhile for CUL, level 54 brings Muscle Memory. First step only, 6 cp skill that is basically Piece by Piece(lvl 50 arm) with no miss chance. So 1/3 progress for 6 cp and 10 durability. Obviously useful, though limited since its first step only.