Are the USB-C expansion cards actually any different?

This is most likely just a short passthrough cable. The 48V 5A is written on the e-marker chip of the USBC to USBC EPR cable. The USBC expansion card has zero electronics in it. The spec written on the card is likely just for the show. However as Adrian mentioned

Thus, you might want to make sure that the connectors are reinforced if you want to use 48V. You can ask framework stuff members or read the schematics