new2here

11 hours ago, jackdd said:

He said "residing in Thailand"

Foreigners on non-immigrant visas aren't considered as residents, but as temporary visitors.

So if this turns out to only apply to permanent residents he wasn't lying.

I agree in that the term “residents” does have a immigration-based definition... that said, i suspect - my guess only - is that when the term “resident” is used by government and quasi-governmental entities *outside* of the IB, I think they are using a more “common man” definition which i might envision means those here on one or more of the long-stay (ie yearly) visas/extensions.

I do think the acquisition of new aircraft isn’t all that bad of an idea.

In the short term it’s going to drive down their line maintenance costs markedly 

For example, I recall their 772’s are ready for fleet removal and that will help as that fleet type is now around the 14 year mark with some of their oldest 772 being acquired in late ‘06

Overall their net fleet age isn’t too bad, but that’s largely driven by their A388’s and 787’s... so... to me, if they replaced their older 772s that would help tremendously with not only line maintenance costs, but also boot network reliability... and of course have a huge impact on driving down CASM (Cost per Available Seat Mile).

So... while i agree the optics of adding fleet now seems perhaps odd or unwise, i also recognize that given the overall interest rate environment is at very very low levels, this actually might be a good time to borrow for fleet renewal projects....: and by moving to a more fuel efficient fleet should help drive down operational costs on a post-restructuring basis.

5 hours ago, flexomike said:

you can take all you want out of the US, just have to declare it with customs if over $10,000, they do have sniffer dogs at some airports and than can smell out the money, I am speaking from experience. Wasn't aware of the limit and got sniffed out by a dog In Minneapolis, the officer gave me a hard time but after filling out some paperwork I was OK

This is a good point.  when you speak of traveling with cash, you should consider the laws of the arriving AND departing countries.

Many, like the US, DO in fact have *reporting* mandates for currency (which includes not only paper currency, but a lot more that the government depends to be cash-like or cash equivalent) EXPORTS due both citizens and non-citizens alike.

I myself have traveled from the US to thailand with $15,000 and once with $27,000 in paper currency form.  both times i filed a paper FinCen form with the CBP office at my departing airport and made a verbal declaration at the Thai customs RED channel.  the time with $15,000 the officer said “no problem” and waved me on...  the time with $27,000 they “ran” my name/data in their CRD system and asked to see the currency.. other than that, there were no issues. 

21 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

As indicated, unless you ride most every day, the Rabbit stored value card is the way to go. 

 

If you do ride daily, you can get a monthly pass with a set number or trips, but it's use=it-or-lose-it.

I agree... I’d also add that for the monthly pass system, you’d be wise to “do the math” as the monthly passes assume a value of each trip of X ... regardless of how far YOUR actual trip is*. 

so you’d probably want to know how much is the cash price for your typical BTS ride, then look at the monthly pass to see if there’s a savings, and if so, is it enough.

(*I recall that some trips incur a modest cash-top up in addition to the use of one trip credit when using the monthly pass)
 

It’s actually very easy.

I got my first EIP via paper check .. and that went to a oz. This time I got my smaller EIP via that Debit card..

If you follow the directions, it’s actually very easy.. as noted, you can also have the funds directly sent from “the card” to your US based bank - no fees....  you can also pull the funds from any ATM.. but many arms will still hit you with fees UNLESS you use one of the Money Pass network ATMS- then it’s free.. lastly can also use it for day-to-day spend.. alike any other pre-paid debit card...

I myself decided when i first arrived that as a part of trying to truly build a life here, that one part (of many parts) was to develop my financial footprint.

I don’t subscribe that debt is good, but I did seek, and currently have true credit cards* issued to me alone (Im employed, and single) and backed by my own personal thai credit file.

Given money can be moved fairly quickly and credit cards are largely universal in terms of acceptance.. I don’t think it’s really a NEED-TO-HAVE relative to credit cards... but ... i DO think there can be some upside...

My BBL and KBank cards all offer some decent dining promos that i regularly use.. and the cards I do carry are either fee-free or fee-waived due to my annual spend or overall relationship with the bank in question. 

i have both car and motorcycle Thai DLs ... and I have it such that they expire the same date.. The last time i renewed (from 5yr to another 5yr) I did have to do double paperwork (ie one set of papers for the car DL and one set for the motorbike DL) but i only needed to sit for the video and take the reaction/vision test once.. photos however have to be taken independently - i guess they can’t apply one photo to more than one card .. 

This issue has been discussed in the US with respect to universities.

My take is this.. I think we have to break-down all the parts...   When we talk of things that are objective in nature; like fees for lunches, etc... unless those meals were still provided or a substantially similar alternative provided, then I think the charges that are apportioned to the meals should be refunded.. as i think there’s a clear case to be made that the “product” simply wasn’t provided.

When it comes to the costs apportioned to the “instructional” component... THAT i think is harder to assess.

Essentially how does one accurately, fairly and impartially compare instruction via traditional “in class” format versus “online”... i think it’s true to say that the *experience* is vastly different, but does tuition also cover “experience” or is sorely the transmitting of knowledge?  lots of subjectivity here..  i don’t think it’s every really been formalized what exactly is covered by paying tuition. 

3 hours ago, PatOngo said:

...and will continue to be until the authorities grow a pair and do something about it! Then again, maybe not, this is just part of the seriously dated culture that seems to accept such disgraceful behaviour!

I agree.

I do however believe that “discipline” IS a part of the overall and larger educational process, I think it’s critical to spell out- painstakingly clearly exactly what is .. and is not allowed - so that everyone involved; parents, teachers/administrators and students, know what the possible consequences are.

That said, I am not a huge believer in the use of physical pain (ie hitting, etc) as either an acceptable means of punishment or for behavior modification. My father is a (retired) US Marine, and as such, my father - at that time - felt strongly that pain instills discipline and teaches lessons (ergo my childhood was littered with episodes of beatings)  today he’s taken a different tract.. i think we need to rethink how discipline is done in schools...

2 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

It's imperative that they re-open schools - fast!

I agree.. I think for many parents the issue in the very short term is more to do with the added hours of child care/supervision and/or being (or having to be) a more active player in their child’s online learning, than it is the about the learning per se. .... so I think that by not having kids in school, it is holding back some adults from their jobs/economics...    

.. i also think that for some kids the so-called technology divide, is really exacerbating the gap between kids who just don’t legitimately have resources at home to do online and those that do... so i think by going back to school, this should help to level that metric.

Lastly, I also think that for some of the smaller, perhaps more rural and economically lower communities, schools might be a child’s principle place where they consistently receive a meal.

but I do get where the MoE is coming from in terms of risks .. schools are, by their very nature, places where you can’t really avoid groups and close contact situations and in largely “enclosed” spaces...   and i think there’s also an “optics” risk.. IF they left schools open and IF an outbreak were to occur, with children getting sick, in the hospital, etc .... , THAT would make for some very uncomfortable press coverage.. so I get why the government might choose to close down.... not saying it was the right decision or not; that’s  hard to say as one can’t really prove what would have been the reality had the MoE left schools open. 

I might have done it by having a registration “window” of say 96 hours.. then have someone, perhaps the GLO or a non-governmental entity, then do a “draw” from the pool of registrations received within the registration window..

that way there really isn’t a mad rush to sign up and the people who receive it are random.. 

7 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

It will only be a matter of time before all of the appointee's made by the prior Administration will be replaced, or as many have done already resigning with a new career diplomat being put in place to assist with Bidens Agendas and wishes.  I was at the US Embassy yesterday for a few notarizations on some documents.  Did not see a Photo of the President or of the Ambassador up in a location where most Government offices would place them, might have been a tell tell sign I guess of the changes occurring.

i agree... and to a large degree, o think this is the right process... only because he is/was a *political* appointee abs not a career FSO. 

Career FSOs i would think are covered differently and i’d expect a slightly different process - but even with FSOs, they too largely serve in the role at the pleasure of the executive office holder... and as noted official photos don’t go up right away as the official photo must be taken and approved, then produced and distributed across all the various channels... it’s time consuming.

I’ve done it in Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco (using places like Hertz, Dollar and Enterprise) and never been denied.

Enterprise did initially have an issue, but after they called the local DMV for guidance on the legality of me (as a US citizen but non-resident of that state where the rental took place) using a Thai license, they were more than happy to accommodate me.

1 hour ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

To be fair, the whole medical certificate for work permits thing doesn’t seem to make much sense. I don’t see why they test exactly for those five diseases, and doctors say that if you actually had, they wouldn’t have to test you for it — you would be looking like it from afar. 

I agree.. while I DO think having some form of a medical certificate to prove ones health is a good thing, I think they should be more more clear about what diseases are being tested.. and .. I would also limit the places/people that are authorized to issue such certificates- and in conjunction with that, I’d also cap the fee that can be charged for it.

In addition, I’d think it’s reasonable to have more than 1 medical test; for example if your job is one that puts you into contact with a large number of people or so-called higher risk areas, then I could see testing for more diseases that may be more easily transmissible... by contrast if your job is one that puts you into lower contact, then a test that is perhaps not as exhaustive may be more appropriate. 

0.25% seems to be right at market as that’s only 10bp under the 3mo T-Bill which was sold back in December at an APY of 0.35% 

If you’re looking for APYs in the 1.00% range then that’s going to push the maturity out to 7-8 years.. so a 0.25% for a liquid account that has a nominal opening requirement seems to be priced fairly considering the comparative government rate on an T-bill. 

6 hours ago, Tidybeard said:

But I can still fly from Samui to Bangkok 4 times per day. This is nothing to do with Covid, this is just a lack of passengers between Phuket and Samui. 

I just drove from Phuket to Samui without a single check anywhere ! 

I think it IS to do with Covid... albeit indirectly.... in the end, outside of airport and other ground locations which can be impacted directly by covid issues... it’s always going to end up as a case of “no passengers” per se that drives the carrier to suspend flights....  I so think their statement here is fairly accurate in that the whole Covid issue is probably what’s driving a lot of cancellations of existing bookings and/or drop on demand for new future bookings as well. 

so i don’t think they’re “piggybacking” off covid in that respect nor using it as a shadow excuse. 

I acknowledge that these cases are not only about law, facts and justice.. but they are political too... whether they should be or not is a debateable issue, but right now, it seems that they are.:/

as such, i think... i’d be more comfortable if the case was investigated by and a charging decision made by a more “disinterested” party - like a nearby county, the state or even the local Assistant US DA... that way i think a stronger case can be made that any decision - for or against either party, was made more free of “bias” ... but i cede that i think it’s very very hard to have any case processed complete free of any forms of implicit or explicit bias.. but i think it’s to everyone’s advantage of we try like hell to get more to that point than not. 

to me what might be the better, easier was is to base their status on what/how they operated the business in the preceding day 60 or 90 day period.. that way they wouldn’t be able to make a last-minute pivot today to be a “restaurant” explicitly as a means to circumvent rules.  

this question is really hard as each person has their own values, issues and situations which all play a role.

Its my opinion only that for a single-mother there IS some measure of “security” when it comes to a prospective partner.. after all, as the mother, for the most part, the onus for child care/expenses will fall to them.. sure, they may get help from extended family- but the first person will the the mother.

So to that end, i can see why a friend of a single-parent might place increased value on the financial/stability measure when suggesting a prospective partner..

I’ve also found that for a large percentage of females who are both university graduates AND fully/gainfully employed in the formal employment sector (ie not “at-home” or other largely off-book work) they aren’t really seeking to have children right now... rather they seem to be more focused on their own financial stability, that of their parents/family etc, BEFORE they consider having children of their own... again, everyone’s different, but I myself, have met a sizable percentage of women in this socio-economic group who’d LIKE children, but haven chosen not to do so until they establish a better financial position.

To a good degree, i think for many  women, the issue of “will this person be financially viable...?” will factor into their thinking to varying degrees... 

... and again, how things work and the thinking/values process for women/families who live much more “rurally” and as such may find they have fewer economic and educational options, may place economic higher.. or they may just accept “it is what it is” and be less selective.

My partner, her parents were initially quite keen to learn of my work, income and income stability, etc... and i don’t blame them as my partner is keen to have children in the very near future.

I agree that it’s not the easiest thing to find a place that does both the correct test (ie RT-PCR as required for CoE) AND can reliably get the results back to you within the 72hr time frame that the results remain “valid” for use as a part of the returning process.

That said, I do think that as C19 has become much more prevalent (sadly so) that there are also more testing sites open..  but i’m sure the testing capacity has equally been matched with demand as well.. but I digress...

I was able to get mine done by my local State Department of Public Health (free) but i had to be sure of the timing as they sole offices process tests locally, but smaller offices send them to larger regional labs- and those tests took a few days longer to be processed.

I wouldn't be surprise if a supply was sent to a countries foreign embassies - but - I’d guess the supply will only be for the embassies expatriate staff (not locally employed staff from the country to which the embassy located) and other staff who are stationed in that embassy on official duties. 

I wouldn't expect a local embassy to import a supply for use with their own nationals/citizens. 

As i recall SCB, like most of the major commercial banks, has several different debit cards. The only difference - aside from the basic ATM use and PIN purchasing abilities, is that some have more “perks” added than others- and I remember that the annual fee varies as well.

So... I might hazard a guess that the OP has one of SCBs more perk-heavy card as opposed to their base model.

My input is this...

Yes, a non-thai *can* get a credit card.. as I know it, there is no statutory limit imposed on banks by their Thai regulator nor statue that expressly prohibits it... Therefore, it’s largely an individual lender issue.

I have cards* from KBank, BBL and Krungsri.

My experience is that having a valid work permit will be the largest obstacle to getting any card — true, not all banks make this mandatory... but IMHE, it appears to the norm..

So long as you have the WP part, the rest of the mandates weren’t all that high or difficult..: my experience was that a few of the banks wanted to see that I had: a) held that same job as listed in my WP for a minimum of six months to 1 year at time of application, b) the WP itself had a minimum of between 90 and 180 days validity remaining at time of application  c) i could show either original bankbook, bank draft copies showing my monthly salary payments or d) a copy of my annual income statement issued by my employer, that you’d use to file your annual PD90/91 with Revenue.

The last part that i found commonplace is that as a foreigner the minimum monthly income to be considered seemed to be around B50,000 ...  some a bit less, some more ... naturally the more “premium” cards has mandatory income of 100K+ monthly.. but many entry level cards had minimums of around B50k monthly.

It my experience that so long as you can meet the paperwork/documentation tests, your monthly salary meets the lenders/card type minimums *and* you don’t have a negative credit file/report with the NCB, you should be easily eligible for a true credit card.

But again, some banks will be more flexible depending on their lending and underwriting position at the time you apply.. those without WPs have been approved - so it’s not a case of “no WP, no card”... but my experience is that absent holding a valid WP or having substantial sums on deposit or a established relationship with the bank, you’re odds are not that good, but not totally impossible. 

(I define a true credit card as one that is issued to me, in my name only, based on my income and credit profile without a secondary Thai national signer/guarantor/joint account relationship or the requirement to deposit any funds into an account as either collateral or the like as a precondition of approval)