Belt Promotion at Total MMA Tustin

I’m genuinely looking for opinions from people familiar with BJJ and Muay Thai.

My son has been training BJJ there for a while and has been sitting at a white belt with 5 stripes for quite some time. He’s now being promoted to gray/white, but it seems like almost all the kids are being promoted at the same time—including some who joined much later and, from what I’ve observed, don’t seem as technically developed yet. I understand I’m not the coach and there may be other factors that go into promotions, so I’m trying to keep an open mind.

We currently pay **$240+/month**, and they’re charging an additional **$150 for the BJJ promotion**. They also offer Muay Thai/kickboxing and charge **$100 for promotions** in that program as well.

For those with experience: **Are separate promotion fees like these common in BJJ? And is paying for a “promotion” even a normal practice in Muay Thai?**
Not trying to bash the gym—I’d just like to understand what’s considered normal before forming an opinion.