--- title: "Test membership tiers, paywalls and free trials with test accounts · Proxy Mail QA" description: "Check what free, trial, paid, top-tier and lapsed members can see, and every subscription email from welcome to payment failed, with one test account per tier." url: https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/membership-tiers --- 1. [Home](https://proxymail.qa/) 2. [Use cases](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases) # Testing membership tiers and paywalls Every tier is a different product: what a free member sees, what a trial unlocks, what a lapsed subscriber loses. Each needs its own account, and the emails that move people between tiers need checking too. Updated October 13, 2026 ## The accounts you need | Account | State | What it checks | | -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | Free | Signed up, no plan | Free content, and paywalls that explain what’s behind them | | Trial | Trial started today | Trial access, the welcome email and the trial-ending reminder | | Paid | Monthly or annual plan | Full access for the tier, and the right price on receipts | | Top tier | Highest plan, or members such as season ticket holders | Extras only that tier gets: early access, priority and discounts | | Payment failed | A test card that fails on renewal | The payment-failed email, retries and any grace period | | Cancelled | Cancelled, still inside the paid period | Access until the period ends, then a clean downgrade | | Lapsed | Plan ended | Paywalls come back, and win-back emails go out if you send them | ## Set them up 1. **Create the set in one go**: choose **Add account**, set **How many**, label the batch “Tiers” and tick **Generate persona**. 2. **Sign up as each one** and take it to its state with your payment provider’s test mode, or your staging admin for members set up by hand. 3. **Tag each address with its tier**, such as `free`, `trial`, `premium` or `lapsed`, and write in its notes the plan, the test card and the date it started. 4. **Save each password on its address**, so the “lapsed member” is still there to sign in as next sprint. ## What to check - **Paywalls:** every gated page, video and download is refused to tiers that shouldn’t have it. Try opening a paid page directly by its link while signed in as the free account. - **Changes of plan:** upgrades unlock straight away; downgrades and cancellations take effect when they should. - **Money:** the price, tax and renewal date in the receipt email match the plan. - **Rejoining:** a lapsed member can come back, and doesn’t get a second free trial if they shouldn’t. - **Member benefits:** discounts and priority windows apply to the right tier only. ## The emails to check Welcome, receipt, trial ending, renewal reminder, payment failed, card updated, cancellation and win-back. Each account’s row shows its newest email, and its inbox has every one in order, which makes it quick to check that a cancelled member got exactly one cancellation email and nothing after it. Use these accounts only on apps you build or are allowed to test, in development, staging or QA. ## Try it on your next sign-up test Free plan, no credit card. Create an address and watch the code or link arrive. [Create a free account](https://app.proxymail.qa/?mode=signup) ## Questions ### Can I test payments without a real card? Use your payment provider's test mode, such as Stripe's test cards, on a staging copy of your app. Proxy Mail QA receives the receipts and subscription emails your app sends. ### How do I test a trial that lasts 14 days? Most payment providers can move time forward in test mode, such as Stripe's test clocks, so you don't have to wait. Addresses last up to 30 days, longer than most trials. ### What about members your box office or sales team sets up? Create the account, then mark it as a member in your staging admin, the way your team would for a real customer. Write how you did it in the address's notes so anyone can repeat it. ## Related guides - [Test age gates and age-restricted contentOne account per age band, from under 13 to turning 18 tomorrow, with parental consent emails and each date of birth noted.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/age-restricted-content) - [Test content that depends on locationAn account per country for geo-blocked content, regional prices, tax and consent, and a traveller who crosses a border.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/location-based-content) - [Test predictor game scoringA player for every scoring rule, with picks and expected points in the notes, so the leaderboard proves the rules work.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/predictor-games) - [Test roles and permissionsOwner, admin, editor, viewer, removed user and another customer’s admin, each invited by email and signed in for real.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/roles-and-permissions) - [Test ticket ballots and prize drawsEnough entrants for some to win and some to lose, with priority members, duplicates, and a winner who never pays.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/ballots-and-prize-draws) - [Test referral rewards and welcome offersReferrer, friends and first-time customers, plus the self-referral and repeat claims your rules should refuse.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/referrals-and-welcome-offers) - [Test both sides of a marketplaceBuyer, seller, a second buyer and a moderator, so every order, message, refund and review email is checked from both ends.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/marketplaces) - [Test email changes, lockouts and account deletionAn old and a new address for change of email, plus accounts to lock out, reset, protect with codes and delete.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/account-changes) - [Test email preferences and unsubscribeAn account per preference setting, to prove opted-out users get nothing and unsubscribe works in one click.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/email-preferences) [See every email testing problem we solve →](https://proxymail.qa/solve)