diff --git a/src/backend/access/transam/xlog.c b/src/backend/access/transam/xlog.c
index 3cb866f530..5452ae139a 100644
--- a/src/backend/access/transam/xlog.c
+++ b/src/backend/access/transam/xlog.c
@@ -9906,19 +9906,7 @@ CheckForStandbyTrigger(void)
 			fast_promote = false;
 		}
 
-		/*
-		 * We only look for fast promote via the pg_ctl promote option.
-		 * It would be possible to extend trigger file support for the
-		 * fast promotion option but that wouldn't be backwards compatible
-		 * anyway and we're looking to focus further work on the promote
-		 * option as the right way to signal end of recovery.
-		 */
-		if (fast_promote)
-			ereport(LOG,
-				(errmsg("received fast promote request")));
-		else
-			ereport(LOG,
-				(errmsg("received promote request")));
+		ereport(LOG, (errmsg("received promote request")));
 
 		ResetPromoteTriggered();
 		triggered = true;
@@ -9934,6 +9922,7 @@ CheckForStandbyTrigger(void)
 				(errmsg("trigger file found: %s", TriggerFile)));
 		unlink(TriggerFile);
 		triggered = true;
+		fast_promote = true;
 		return true;
 	}
 	return false;
diff --git a/src/bin/pg_ctl/pg_ctl.c b/src/bin/pg_ctl/pg_ctl.c
index a4e7922d68..14365e6079 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_ctl/pg_ctl.c
+++ b/src/bin/pg_ctl/pg_ctl.c
@@ -1107,13 +1107,12 @@ do_promote(void)
 	}
 
 	/*
-	 * Use two different kinds of promotion file so we can understand
-	 * the difference between smart and fast promotion.
+	 * For 9.3 onwards, use fast promotion as the default option.
+	 * Promotion with a full checkpoint is still possible by writing
+	 * a file called "promote", e.g.
+	 * 	 snprintf(promote_file, MAXPGPATH, "%s/promote", pg_data);
 	 */
-	if (shutdown_mode >= FAST_MODE)
-		snprintf(promote_file, MAXPGPATH, "%s/fast_promote", pg_data);
-	else
-		snprintf(promote_file, MAXPGPATH, "%s/promote", pg_data);
+	snprintf(promote_file, MAXPGPATH, "%s/fast_promote", pg_data);
 
 	if ((prmfile = fopen(promote_file, "w")) == NULL)
 	{
@@ -1778,7 +1777,7 @@ do_help(void)
 			 "                 [-o \"OPTIONS\"]\n"), progname);
 	printf(_("  %s reload  [-D DATADIR] [-s]\n"), progname);
 	printf(_("  %s status  [-D DATADIR]\n"), progname);
-	printf(_("  %s promote [-D DATADIR] [-s] [-m PROMOTION-MODE]\n"), progname);
+	printf(_("  %s promote [-D DATADIR] [-s]\n"), progname);
 	printf(_("  %s kill    SIGNALNAME PID\n"), progname);
 #if defined(WIN32) || defined(__CYGWIN__)
 	printf(_("  %s register   [-N SERVICENAME] [-U USERNAME] [-P PASSWORD] [-D DATADIR]\n"
@@ -1817,10 +1816,6 @@ do_help(void)
 	printf(_("  fast        quit directly, with proper shutdown\n"));
 	printf(_("  immediate   quit without complete shutdown; will lead to recovery on restart\n"));
 
-	printf(_("\nPromotion modes are:\n"));
-	printf(_("  smart       promote after performing a checkpoint\n"));
-	printf(_("  fast        promote quickly without waiting for checkpoint completion\n"));
-
 	printf(_("\nAllowed signal names for kill:\n"));
 	printf("  ABRT HUP INT QUIT TERM USR1 USR2\n");