Cook's Illustrated — Deceptive subscription renewal email

I just received a “Special Thanks For Preferred Subscribers” email from Cooks Illustrated regarding my magazine subscription. (My current subscription began in February (yes, THIS IS February) of this year and expires in December of this year. The offer they emailed me is for an early subscription renewal. It certainly is early, though the email does not disclose just how early.

But it gets better. The offer addresses me as a Loyal Subscriber, and says that, as a Preferred Subscriber, if I renew now (basically a year early) I’ll (as a Preferred Subscriber) receive “this exclusive opportunity to lock in tremendous savings”. The rate they offered me was $28.95 for one year. Wow! If I go to their website I see that the rate for a new subscription is $24.95. So it looks like they’re offering me, as a preferred subscriber, the opportunity to pay $4 more than their website rate! And I’d better hurry, as this offer is only good for 5 days! Great!