Account tier "upgrades": how to check they're really cheaper

[FXS London Scalper]

Brokers sometimes move active clients to a "premium" tier once volume crosses a threshold, with an email about better conditions. Whether it's actually better depends on the mix of spread and commission, and you can work it out before agreeing.

A worked example on EURUSD in London:

• Raw account: 0.12 pips average spread plus $7 round turn per lot, which is 0.7 pips. All-in about 0.82 pips.
• Premium tier: 0.25 pips plus $5 round turn per lot, so 0.5 pips. All-in about 0.75 pips.

That's a small improvement on EURUSD. But if the tier's spread on GBPUSD or XAUUSD widens by more than the 0.2 pip commission saving, those symbols get more expensive, so the overall effect depends on what you trade.

How to check it properly:

Per symbol, not overall. Log spread at entry for each symbol you trade on both accounts for a couple of weeks, or ask for a demo of the new tier and log it side by side.

By hour. A tier may be fed from a different liquidity pool, and that often shows up in Asia or rollover hours first.

Keep logging after any change. The marketing email is not a measurement.

Ask support in writing whether you can switch back before accepting. Has anyone compared tiers like this and found the "upgrade" wasn't one?