- There is no universal bonus-to-lot ratio: the formula belongs to a specific promotion, legal entity, country, account type, and effective date
- Calculate required volume only from the current official terms and save a dated copy before activation
- Check whether withdrawals reduce or cancel credit and whether profits remain withdrawable
- Confirm expiry, eligible instruments, minimum holding time, and excluded hedged or abusive trades
- If the broker cannot provide official promotion terms for your entity, do not activate or fund the offer
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- Verify the legal entity before funding
Verification update — 31 July 2026: Bonus conditions can differ by legal entity, country, account type, and campaign date. This guide therefore does not assign fixed XM, HFM, FBS, or JustMarkets lot requirements without a current official promotion document. Treat old articles, screenshots, and support messages as secondary evidence only.
TL;DR — The Promotion Variables That Matter#
| Term | What It Means | What to Verify |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entity and campaign | The company and promotion whose contract applies | Entity name, country, account type, campaign code, effective date |
| Volume formula | How qualifying turnover or conversion is calculated | Opening lots or round-turn lots, eligible instruments, weighting, minimum holding time |
| Withdrawal rule | What a withdrawal does to credit and profits | Proportional reduction, full cancellation, profit restrictions, sequence of withdrawals |
| Expiry and exclusions | When credit ends and which trades do not count | Activation deadline, completion deadline, hedging and abuse clauses |
Verify all four before activating. The headline amount is not enough to value an offer.
Why Volume Requirements Exist#
A broker that credits a $100 promotion incurs a customer-acquisition cost. Trading conditions are usually designed so qualifying activity can generate spreads or commissions before some or all of the credit becomes withdrawable.
| Hypothetical all-in trading cost | Illustrative volume equalling $100 in costs |
|---|---|
| $5 per standard lot | 20 lots |
| $7 per standard lot | About 14.29 lots |
| $10 per standard lot | 10 lots |
These figures explain the economics; they are not the terms of any named promotion. Your actual cost varies with instrument, spread, commission, execution, and position size, while the official campaign may use a different measurement entirely.
A documented turnover condition is not automatically a scam, but neither is it automatically good value. Judge the offer from its enforceable terms and the trading cost required to satisfy them.
Volume Requirement Math — A Live-Terms Method#
Step 1: Identify the contracting entity and exact promotion#
Copy the legal entity from the account-opening agreement or footer of the client portal. Record the promotion name or code, country, account type, currency, and activation date. A similarly named offer from another entity is not a valid source.
Step 2: Obtain the current official terms#
Use the promotion page or client portal to download the terms. Save the URL, PDF, version or effective date, and a local screenshot. If support supplies the document, ask it to confirm in writing that the terms apply to your account number and legal entity.
Step 3: Extract the formula and units#
Record each input exactly:
- Credited bonus amount
- Required qualifying lots, points, or turnover
- Whether one lot means opened volume or a round turn
- Contract-size and instrument weightings
- Minimum holding time
- Excluded strategies or transactions
- Deadline and withdrawal consequences
Step 4: Calculate from those inputs#
Use the formula stated in the terms. For example, if a hypothetical promotion says:
Required volume = bonus amount ÷ conversion rate
and the official inputs are a $120 credit and $4 converted per eligible round-turn lot, the calculation is $120 ÷ $4 = 30 eligible round-turn lots.
That is a teaching example, not an XM, HFM, FBS, or JustMarkets requirement.
If the terms instead say 0.08 eligible lots per $1 of credit, a hypothetical $120 credit would require 9.6 eligible lots. Do not combine one campaign's formula with another campaign's definitions.
Step 5: Test the interpretation before funding#
Ask support a concrete question: “If this account receives a $120 credit, trades 0.10 lots of EUR/USD ten times, closes every trade after the minimum holding period, and then withdraws $50, what qualifying volume and remaining credit will the portal show?” Save the answer with the official terms.
For related context, see Is XM bonus withdrawable?, but use the live XM entity terms—not that article—as the contractual source.
Withdrawal Rules — The Most Important Term to Understand#
What happens when you try to withdraw your principal before completing the volume requirement?
| Clause to locate | Question it must answer |
|---|---|
| Credit reduction | Is credit reduced proportionally or cancelled in full? |
| Profit treatment | Which profits are withdrawable before and after completion? |
| Withdrawal order | Does the system remove deposit, profit, converted credit, or promotional credit first? |
| Open positions | Can a withdrawal reduce margin and trigger liquidation? |
Do not infer these answers from the broker's brand. The same broker can operate several legal entities and campaigns with different clauses.
Worked example — hypothetical proportional-removal clause#
| Action | Account Balance | Withdrawable | Bonus Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit $500 and receive hypothetical $500 credit | $1,000 displayed equity before trading | Depends on terms | $500 promotional credit |
| Request a $100 withdrawal | Depends on profit/loss and open positions | Must be confirmed | Terms determine proportional or full removal |
| Portal applies the clause | Recalculate equity and margin | Check portal ledger | Save the transaction record |
Lesson: Never plan a withdrawal from a generic table. Model it from the live cancellation clause and verify the result with support first.
Expiry Dates#
Promotions can have several deadlines:
| Deadline | What to record |
|---|---|
| Claim deadline | Last date to opt in or fund |
| Activation date | Event that starts the clock |
| Trading deadline | Last moment qualifying volume can be completed |
| Inactivity rule | Whether dormant accounts lose credit sooner |
| Campaign termination | Broker rights to amend or end the offer |
Always check the dated terms for your active promotion. Do not import a 30-, 60-, or 90-day period from another campaign.
What Trades Count Toward Volume?#
| Trade Type | Counts Toward Volume? |
|---|---|
| Standard market orders | Only if the terms include the instrument and order type |
| Filled pending orders | Usually treated as market positions after execution; verify |
| Very short-duration trades | May be excluded by a minimum holding-time clause |
| Hedged or offsetting trades | May be excluded or classified as abuse |
| Indices, metals, or crypto CFDs | May have different weighting or be ineligible |
| Copied, related-account, or collusive trades | Commonly addressed by abuse clauses |
Why exclusions exist: To prevent manufactured turnover. The exact threshold and definition must come from the live terms; “60 seconds” is not a universal rule.
Common Bonus-Term Mistakes#
| Mistake | Real Impact |
|---|---|
| Using terms from another country or entity | Calculation may not apply to your account |
| Confusing opened lots with round-turn lots | Required activity may be understated or doubled |
| Ignoring instrument weighting | Portal credits less volume than expected |
| Withdrawing before checking the cancellation clause | Credit or eligible profits may be reduced |
| Assuming bonus is free cash | Withdrawal restrictions come as a surprise |
| Failing to save the dated terms | Harder to resolve a later dispute |
For broader bonus context: Are Forex bonuses legit or scam.
How to Check Your Bonus Terms#
Step 1: Locate the offer in the official channel#
Start from the broker's authenticated client portal or official domain. Record the legal entity shown in your agreement and confirm that the campaign is available to your country and account type.
Step 2: Read the specific terms doc#
Each bonus has a linked T&C document covering:
- Eligibility (region, account type, KYC status)
- Activation method
- Volume requirement formula
- Withdrawal rules
- Expiry
- Excluded trade types
Step 3: Calculate breakeven volume#
Estimate total cost as eligible volume × your realistic all-in cost per lot, then add expected slippage and financing. Compare that cost with the amount that can actually become withdrawable. A headline credit larger than estimated costs does not guarantee positive expected value because trading losses remain possible.
Step 4: Plan withdrawals around volume completion#
Use the current withdrawal clause to model the result before requesting funds. If the wording is unclear, obtain written clarification tied to your entity and promotion.
Read the terms before depositing: If you choose to check XM's current offer, first identify the legal entity serving your country and obtain the live promotion terms from the official page or client portal. Do not activate an offer if its formula, expiry, exclusions, or withdrawal consequences are missing.
Risk Warning: CFDs and Forex are leveraged products that carry a high risk of losing money rapidly. Provider disclosures commonly show that a majority of retail CFD accounts lose money, with the percentage varying by provider and reporting period. A promotion does not improve your strategy or guarantee profitability, and trading solely to meet a volume target can increase costs and losses.
Comments 2
The math breakdown showing how long it actually takes to clear volume requirements at different risk levels was eye-opening. At 0.1 lots per trade with responsible risk management, a 30-lot requirement would take over 300 trades. That context is never mentioned in the bonus marketing.
Can you clarify something — when a broker says '5 lots per $1 bonus,' does hedging (opening simultaneous buy and sell) typically count toward that volume? I've seen conflicting information on this.
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