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I have received more than 20 packages now - and I agree with previous poster that even USD 60-70/package (not including shipping) goes through without customs (just had one at USD 66 come straight through). Btw I am always charged the 7 Baht.

And yes; this month even the USD 4 is free and code YOQ460 will get USD 10 of any (first time) order over USD 40. (disclaimer; will get me some points)

Cheers!

While I do not know the company - I must say that their South East Asia plan is VERY cheap! In-patient cover up to $500k/year for somebody in their 40ties for only $336/year if accept a $1350 deductible(annual). If no deductible then $1088/year. Since I buy my health insurance to protect me against catastrophic(and bankrupting...) cases - not the small stuff, I prefer a deductible if saves me $750 year. It DOES limit the hospital choices to basically Thailand, and maybe Malaysia/Philippines as the other countries hospital standards are simply not same standard.

If pay a bit more one can get worldwide excl. US/Can - that is around $460. Not bad at all.

It does cover emergency treatment worldwide for 90 day a year.

I will via AA Insurance consider them when time comes for my healthcareinternational.com renewal.

Cheers!

If you have no Thai clients, no Thai employees, no registered office/company in Thailand - and do your work regionally (outside Thailand) - you do in practical terms not need a work permit for Thailand.

If you DO (and who doesn't?) work on your computer in Thailand - you technically DO need a work permit (any work performed in Thailand) - but for people having contacted lawyers like Sunbelt about obtaining such a "work permit" - it has not been possible - even when they were willing to pay taxes Etc. Only route there is to set up a Thai company.

Reading your message you seem to be in above situation - and your main issue is to obtain a visa so the 3rd option is to arrange for a sponsored visa which I know Sunbelt does too. You basically have them sponsor(they supply documentation) you for a fee, it will give you a yearly multiple entry non im visa - gotta leave the country every 3 months. I believe Sunbelt still do those visas - but it could have changed.

Cheers!

Still need to hear from anybody getting the card/cover in Bangkok area. When I find the time to go again (Chula as a university hospital did not issue these) - believe it is Lerdsin hospital covering amphur Sathorn. Cheers!

The hurum is generally on sale for around 10.000 Baht +

It is not a cheap juicer, but it gets much more juice out of the veggies and fruits that it will be earned back over time. Not to mention the added health benefits by juicing this way vs high speed juicers. Cheers!

Tropo, yes bought here.

They do also grow beet root here. Even organic. I do not recall seeing them at fresh markets though.

Cheers!

My Hurom juicer holds up well after a year, some discoleration on the flanges/plastic parts though. Had 1 problem recently with the main bucket not wanting to disconnect from the base when wanting to clean it. Not sure what is on with that - seems to be fixed by rinsing some water through - but has caused a bit of a hassle recently. Cheers!

For the ones that already GOT this new card:

1. What are the rules as to renewal? One of the posts stipulated one had to do the full health check again? True? And if so why? (can get cancelled if get 1 of the no-no sicknesses?)

2. how does renewal then work? Besides question 1. does one have to remember the date exactly? renew a wk before? A wk after ok? A month?

3. When not near ones assigned amphur hospital and acute illness or accidents happen - will this card then be accepted all over Thailand at government hospitals? Will it in an emergency even cover elsewhere? Thinking clinics Etc. if no time to get to a real hospital (as a side question will costs happening abroad also be covered after the fact - I presume not)

Cheers!

Gamini; calm down mate. I am sure that PR rules confuses many. Anybody getting a yellow tabien bahn (with their name as head of household) get the 13 digit ID. There is however a difference in the actual nos. I.e. what they start with Etc. signal different status. My ID no start with 6-1028, me not being a PR (a mere mortal!) so surely your status of PR is indicated in your ID No. Nobody disagrees with that.

As for medical cover even people with just a yellow book with their ID number in it have been reported to get free medical treatment as the Thais rarely see them too and have no idea. Also seems that some even got the medical card send automatically some time after obtaining the yellow book - but it seems that 1. they have stopped issuing cards, and 2. the card is not needed anymore even for Thais as other ID (or the yellow book for the lucky ones that seem to have cover) replaced it. 3. the medical cards was issued in error (or at least was not intended for foreigners).

Above said; it is not really the point of this thread, so just calm down and enjoy your free coverage. (or start a new thread).

I will call NHSO tomorrow and at least figure out with hospital is my amphur assigned hospital. The staff at Chula and my staff was guessing Lerdsin Hospital. When got that confirmed I will go visit there and report back.

Cheers!

Nick, sure the small meal is 109 Baht - but it is a single small burger, it rotates between specials so you can not always have what you want - and there is no bacon, cheese Etc. finally the coke and french fries is bigger.

Now that said; for me the small meal is generally enuff - and when really hungry the whopper jr meal is plenty - so not a good deal for me either.

As was mentioned; notice the validity date of that Groupon - not valid for a couple of weeks.

Cheers!

I went to Chula hospital in Bangkok today with the needed documents Incl. yellow tabien bahn and print of the above brochure, gov letter and application form - no luck. Even got some help from decent English speaking staff there. Got the run around, they said they did not make those cards, referred me to talk with my amphur to figure out what hospital I belong too Etc. Does anybody know which would be my "amphur" hospital for Sathorn amphur Bangkok? Cheers!

Chula is a government hospital but a tertiary level one i.e. not for primaeryt care, and I think people under UC have to be referred to it by their primary hospital.

NHSO would be able to tell you which hospital that is for Sathorn. Call center 1330 but might not speak English.

I'll be surprised if you suceed in getting this in Bkk though.

I would be most surprised too! Thanks for the number though. Will call and see what they say. Cheers!

Donald; at Chula Hospital I got them to call Udorn, after some communication with them, the conclusion was that I had to apply at my designated amphur hospital, and that they did not produce those cards at Chula itself. They did not confirm in anyway that I COULD get such a card - but did also not say I could not.

I guess my next trip will have to be to the Sathorn amphur first - to see if I can get a clear answer as to which hospital should cover me (in case I get ANY cover of course!).

Cheers!

I went to Chula hospital in Bangkok today with the needed documents Incl. yellow tabien bahn and print of the above brochure, gov letter and application form - no luck. Even got some help from decent English speaking staff there. Got the run around, they said they did not make those cards, referred me to talk with my amphur to figure out what hospital I belong too Etc. Does anybody know which would be my "amphur" hospital for Sathorn amphur Bangkok? Cheers!

Yes - we can all get free hospital registration cards for both fancy private and public hospitals - but that is just to keep track of your details and history, and got nothing to do with any insurance cover.

As we can see in this thread - since public hospitals generally are cheap - a lot of foreigners believe that they have some kind of insurance from handing over the hospital registration card or their tabien bahn, "I only paid 1000 Baht" Etc. but in reality they simply paid the going rate at that hospital.

This new paid program would have some free treatments (for approved meds/treatments - and not including the room) but as Citizen has pointed out; it is surely intended for immigrants from neighboring countries, so even for those foreigners that DO get this insurance - there is the risk that one day, when they need it the most, they will be told "Mai Dai"/can not at the hospital when they show the card.

Still worth exploring further - so look forward to others experiences. Cheers!

Ricklev; let us know how it goes!

Citizen; yes those numbers (Baht 600 for health check, Baht 2200 for insurance) mentioned in your articles, match the above information exactly. It clearly mentions the NEIGHBORING countries by names - so hard to see how foreigners from EU, USA Etc. would fall under that category!

Will be interesting to see how it develops! Cheers!

Very interesting. I would like to get as a back up to my international health insurance. I live in Sathorn, Bangkok - how do I figure out which is my local, public hospital?

I do not like the idea of having to do the same health check every year at (or for?) renewal. Annual full upper body x-rays for no reason is more radiation than I would like to be exposed to. Also makes me wonder whether one will then NOT be renewed if for instance they find tuberculosis have taken hold?

If anybody would bother to translate the above linked brochure http://udon-news.com/sites/default/files/files/05-recht/Health%20Card%20For%20Foreigner.pdf losely that would be a great service here! Also some help with translating the non English parts of the application form would be appreciated: http://udon-news.com/sites/default/files/files/05-recht/antrag-krankenversicherung.pdf

I a guessing that both the brochure and the application form is a generic form for all provinces. Cheers!

U are welcome mate! Cheers!

Thanks Naam - good article. Main message from it is that the gold/silver markets are simply too manipulated for us mere mortals to be invested (much) in it. I hold about 10% of portfolio in precious metal mining and bullion ETF, as well as physical - and while tempting to "double down" as this year has been hard on them - I will just leave that part as is for now except for a bit of re-balancing.

Cheers!

Yes Naam, I meant ICBC - my mistake. Meanwhile the link you send is to China based ICBC with their gold options. I found that too in my search and agree those accounts are gold TRADING accounts with no interest and instead storage and trading costs. That is NOT the same as the Thai Gold SAVINGS account.

I will investigate further; but feel free to call the hotline to prove me wrong!

Wonder what their ATM charges are....?

Cheers!

Mccw; translator? Ok - will do that - I send the bill to you? Presume you also want it certified by embassy, foreign ministry and a holy spirit? From opening accounts elsewhere I expect at least 10 closely written pages of stuff - probably more.

Yeah - it's spooky stuff indeed. I could not find there either (planned to use google translate to get me more info) Imagine a homepage not updated with correct info...and then in Thailand.... Maybe that Sathorn Branch is all fake too?

I did get a flyer from them (all in Thai) at last visit. That and the banner(s) are so far the only marketing I have seen for this account.

The flyer DOES however stipulate their hotline: 02 663 9333. Give them a buzz and ask about "ICBC (Thai) Gold Savings".

Cheers!

Somebody mentioned the small print, and think also that is what Naam hinted at with "no catches" and as you know well - when I go to open the account, all the prints, small or big, will be in Thai so I will probably not be able to read it anyway....

I will however sacrifice myself on the alter and open an account, and will report back if learn anything new in the process of that, or when holding the account.

Wish me luck guys!

Cheers!

Naam; I think mccw has a point. The new Basel rules make gold as good as cash as bank reserves - so there is really no difference in you getting interest on your cash deposit is there?

Cheers!

Naam, yes, my guess is they, besides usual embedded fees and bid/offer spreads, might lend out the gold (which in Thailand can be 2%/month...) - but the same is done with our cash deposits (but being FIAT money often ten times over) - so nothing unusual in that - at least they can (hopefully..) only re-lend it out 1 time in case of real gold...

In the end it still comes down to trust in the bank - I trust Bank of China more than most western banks these days.

Cheers!

Good morning to you Bruce...

I went there and to my surprise it IS actually 2.7% in interest/year, comes with a free debit card, and yes - your money is then in Thai gold - so interest is added as gold too.

It can be used just as a normal account as such. No lock ups Etc. Minimum is 10.000 Baht. Asked about fees/commissions and they claim there is none, but would think they will earn on the bid/offer spread - and who knows what other hidden fees - still - with an interest of 2.7% (was 2.9% before) I will be happy.

Most other ways to invest in gold (leaving out holding it physically which can be a good idea too!) will COST money in storage fees, generally have higher bid/offer spreads (Thai gold must have near the lowest bid/offer spread in the world). Other alternatives like ETFs, Closed End funds and similar comes with management fees and broker commissions. I.e. if gold price stays flat - the value of the investment drops - while here there will be 2.7% more on the account.

Some will argue that 2.7% interest is hardly worth it - considering the volatility involved with gold - and I agree in principle. This should be for a person ANYWAY wanting to invest in gold, and who do maybe not want to buy it all in 1 go. Spreading out the purchases dollar-cost-averaging into it bit by bit. If done with ETFs/funds that could become expensive in commissions, while here it can be done easily.

The debit card is an interesting touch! Besides being free it will when used, automatically convert gold to cash for payment in Thai Baht accordingly. As mentioned above this account has the best fit (for me) as a gold saving account - and using it day to day as ones normal salary account could probably lead to a few heart attacks as the gold price bounces around! I do however appreciate that it gives super easy access to my gold, in the exact amount I want to sell.

Forgot to ask about internet banking but with the ATM card it will be easy to track. Also forgot to ask about whether I can withdraw actual gold from the account (if at a certain size maybe) or whether any access to it will have to convert to paper money..... Will ask when open the account at their Sathorn Branch.

Cheers!

What a day in the forex, stock and equity markets. Lot's of action.

If the FEDs keep pumping money into the system I am along for the ride - looking at equity valuations we are not yet in a true bubble there, so my guess is we could see the momentum continue this fall/end year with even higher highs.

Appreciate having read the latest part of this thread. Incl. insights and ideas from Paulo.

Cheers!