moontang

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

Haha, you know you are in Thailand right? Can you think of any other service that is well advertised, is actually illegal and yet is allowed. You should be able to. 

I think you are talkig about the oldest profession, but you could also add the second oldest profession:  teaching.  If you look at a few of the FB groups, the people advertising are often illegal, and it appears that there is near zero chance of you ever being legal.  Almost as brazen as the whacky weed sellers. 

17 minutes ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

how about buying foreign investment / securities via thai banks?

i own shares in SHELL company, which pays 6.5% annual dividend.

i saw that SCB offer offshore investment account, with quite

god fees, and access to stock markets in many countries.

does anyone know if those foreign trading accounts are allowed also for

foreigners on retirement extention? and if other thai banks offer them?

http://www.scbs.com/en/product/product-offshore/

I bought some RDSA last week, but no, a brokerage accou t is not guaranteed under the Thai deposit insurance scheme.  I would be careful with the credit unions and coops, as well.  I have a Kim eng account, and as a foreigner, it is way down the list of places to trade. 

13 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Please elaborate. That's what I get on a savings account. Yes, one can get higher rates on a term deposit, but then Immigration looks askance at that because it is not immediately available.

CIMB and Krungsri both offer savings accounts in the 1.3% range.  A high percentage of offices accept FD, which simply call for a forfeiture of some interest if redeemed early. 

27 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Until the senior officer in charge gets fired, as happened at CM. Then all bets are off.

I can understand where the OP is coming from. I find the 800K baht earning 0.5% interest irritating too. However, he has to decide if the risk is worth it. I've already made the decision that it's not.

Does misrepresenting bank interest in Thailand really help anyone?  

8 minutes ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

i don't feel comfortable transfering money into thailand, after some horror

stories i've heard, that happaned to people with "TOO MUT" money in their

thai bank.

a recent story that was published on this board was that of a dutch man

who was sentenced to 100 years (!!) in jail for "money laundry" by thai court, while

his crime was only tax issues in this home EU country.

his mistake was transfering hundreads of millions of baht to thai bank accounts,

the thai banks allowed the payments no problem, and years later he lost it all.

 

just like any senior immigration officer can issue or cancell visas as much as he likes, 

so the authorities here or in other countries can, for the right amounts, arrest

you or confiscate your bank money , with and without the help of this or that agent.

so better keep your thai bank account thin and slim.

bank accounts get levied in the US on a daily basis, state of California is notorious.  Dutch man brought over millions from a weed business.  The reality is that the Thai banking system 

is a safe haven, and that is causing pain at the exchange booth.  Recent reports by IMF say Thai banks are on par with Singapore and Hong Kong.

29 minutes ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

indeed. i have no problem with visa agents, as long as they

will not get ME into trouble.

and the fee of 15K baht is worth it, if i can keep 800K out of thailand.

investing 800K in conservative way , with 3% annual return, will bring

24K annual profit, which will cover the visa agents commision.

 

Or you could just take 2% here and then only pay 1900 every year, and 100 for the letter.  You really need a banking presence here, anyways.

Just stick with fundamentals.  Chinese are willing to pay 35 times annual rent in some prime areas.. seems foolish to me.  However, no property taxes here and condo fees aren't bad, compared to sitting on a unit in NYC or SFO.  16 times rent is more realistic.  Heard the song about no lights on for 15 years.. Most of the clientele don't waste electric.. balcony lights are as rare as a functional crosswalk.  I have heard of units in Hua hin going for a third off super inflated prices, but nothing like the giveaways in Phoenix and Vegas in 2009-2011.

On 10/10/2019 at 12:10 PM, bkk6060 said:

I agree.

Have had some bad luck here however.

Guys asking for money after meeting several times for lunch or coffee.

Played golf with a guy who declined to answer my messages.  Saw him later and he said I was too good of a golfer, so he did not want to play again.

 

The last guy and this was recently, we started a conversation at Starbuck's at Central.  Turns out he is some type of self proclaimed cult leader outside Udon Thani and thinks the world is coming to an end.  Saw him a few days later at the same spot seems he is trying to recruit people.

 

Think I will just plan on sticking to myself at this point and hanging with the gf when she is not working.

At least they weren't Amazon resellers.  Seems like a good starting point of people to avoid is those who are too cool to have a mobile phone, almost as bad as the iPhone 13 guys.  The self proclaimed experts on everything Buddha are about as interesting as white pain drying.  I don't mind the stock market experts, because it is too easy for me to tell, who the pretenders are.  

2 hours ago, new2here said:

Slightly off topic.. I have had an Amex gold charge and Everyday (credit) both US issued for sometime.. the gold charge for well over a decade and the ED card for around 5 years.

I wanted a Thai-issued Amex (I work here with a valid WP) so I stopped by Amex’s office in the SP Building and applied..

While I had to meet the monthly minimum income test for a Thai issued card, they were able to use my US issued cards payment and cardholder history to function as a “credit referral” which made my approval quite easy.

I understand (but haven’t actually done it yet) that something similar may exist with Citi and their Thai-issued cards/application process and Citis’ US card operations.



Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

annual fee on Thai amex?

oh, and who remembers the Hollywood Bar at NEP...never seen anything better since.  Did a grand mariner and got a juice glass filled to the rim.  

On 10/13/2019 at 8:12 AM, Nyezhov said:

Nope. Far right corver as you faced it. No girls there. They had food. Nice little place. I met Stickman there.

Cathouse certainly offered value with AYCD Heineken from 4-8 for 300 THB...fun crowd minus the teacher cliques.  

UVa also got creamed during the crisis, with a similar MO. 

I just returned from the States, too.  Gained weight, but was eating steaks and oven fries galore.. much cheaper than here, but lower end restaurant food sucked.. including 21.50 us for two at Five Guys, which people rave about, but is Wendy with 50% higher prices.  Green grapes at 89 cents per pound, otherwise uninspiring produce.  But stuff like mustard, almonds, BBQ sauce, pickles.. much cheaper than LOS.  People seemed rude as Hell at retail, and was even hard to find an open cashier to pay for my package of Calvin Klein underwear at Macy, which were about 80% less than Central.  Got a nice stash of Partagas, too.  Parents started with zero and did well, watch tons of baseball, and got a post it note on the fridge that says "2019." I am very glad to be back in BKK.  It ain't perfect, but it's home. 

3 minutes ago, wimpy said:

It has been a couple years. Maybe it has changed? They are part of Central group. Would think they would use the same credit card processor as Central, Robinson, Office Depot, etc...

Reminds me of trying to use a Citi card at Makro... It is the only one they accept.. but not us Citi.. and of course Citi is a US company.  

7 hours ago, Oxx said:

Meaningless comparison.  University endowment funds are run to preserve wealth across generations, and as such invest conservatively.  One wouldn't expect (or want) them to keep up with the S&P in raging markets.

I recall they fared worse during the crisis, also.. but if you look at a 50 year SPY chart, the GFC is just a divet in an upward ski slope. 

33 minutes ago, wimpy said:

I have used my US visa card at Power Buy.

How recently?  I was denied in July 2018, and needed a lot of stuff for a recent condo purchase.  Did well at Lazada, except for the floor safe with a crooked lock, that was returned.  Oh, it was powerbuy online, which offers deals not in their stores.  Did use it at Homepro online, recently. 

he forgot to mention the militant lesbians.

4 hours ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

Umm, Crossy, I just bought a new TV at HomePro in July on my Thai AMEX, but more to the point, the poster asked about an AMEX from the USA.

 

If the business from which you wish to buy or purchase accepts AMEX, they will accept them from any country. It just has to be a good card or have no blocks on it.  You might have to contact AMEX to get the purchase pre-approved.

Power Buy accepts Thai Mc and visa, but not foreign cards.  They get declined before they reach your issuer.  It appears to be a different process for Thai vs. Others.  Used US Amex at Tesco yesterday. 

4 minutes ago, Tayaout said:

I speak French but I'm from Canada. I never had issue at border control except the country I mentioned. However only Thailand ever denied me entry. 

Lots of Canadians are immigration gamers, and lots of folks seem to have a Canadian passport that also have one from reputable places like Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Borders are porous, common knowledge.  Good maple syrup and plywood though.. 

15 minutes ago, OJAS said:

If the word were to get about in the airline industry that, even those with valid visas were being denied entry into Thailand, the requirement to sign such disclaimers before being permitted to board flights to Thailand could conceivably become a matter of routine for all non-Thai nationals at airports of origin, regardless of their immigration status.

Was also grilled a little bit by AA in Chicago at the gate before boarding JAL, that was 2017..she was confused about the four year old visa, and the extensions, but took my word for it.  Seemed like the stories were circulating.  Impossible for them to be familiar with the countless possibilities for different visa scenarios.  Seems like airport employees are the lowest of the low nowadays.  They discovered a Somali war criminal working security at IAD.. probably couldn't get hired by fast food. 

19 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

Right.  One time teaser of $170, not $200.  Do I have to explain to you what happens in the future?

Did it occur to you that most of my charges would still be in the US?  Did it occur to you that I may just keep the card for emergencies, and use my other cards in LOS?  Did it occur to you that this thread is about using Amex in Thailand, and not what kind of consumer credit you and your partner use for hamburgers and coffee?  

2 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

Why on earth bother?  Since moving to Thailand, I have been able to get both a Capital One cc with 1.5% cashback, and a State Department Federal Credit Union card with 2% cashback.  No foreign transaction fee on either.  The SDFCU card hasn't arrived yet, but I have been using the CapOne card regularly for some years now without any problems.  I still have an Amex card, but I would never use it outside the US.

You feel it worthwhile to mention getting back 15 usd on a 1000 spend, maybe put on your bottle bottoms and read the part about me getting 200 back on a 1000 spend... only 1200% more.  Next. 

29 minutes ago, MattDM said:

I was in Thailand during 2019 for 6 months, less about 3 weeks for the trips to Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam

and how many days in 2018?

5 hours ago, MattDM said:

The OP to this post is correct. I know this because I AM THE PERSON THIS HAPPENED TO. The OP is a good friend of mine who put this up while I was pretty much on the plane back.

 

The story;

 

In 2018 I had a few SETVs (two) which I extended in CM. I then flew back to the UK. I arrived back in Thailand in November 2018 on an METV. Visited Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Myanmar while on it. Left June 2019. Visited Dubai and spent 3 months in the UK.  Went to the Thai consulate in Hull, asked a bunch of questions and got approved for a 2nd METV. Flew into BKK on EVA air on 8th Oct. Then the fun started.

 

With the IO he asked me a few questions before sending me over to another officer. They asked me more questions before I was sent to a 3rd officer to sit down while they asked the boss. Same guy came back and asked me to follow him. For future reference, this walk is to the detention centre, you are moving away fro immigration. Ask immigration questions here as all future staff will tell you you should ask immigration.

 

It was here I was sat down and told they were returning me to the UK, after taking photos etc, and not talking to you to tell you what is going on. They then call an airline representative, who will say you are being detained and you need to book another flight back. Asking to go to Vietnam, Philippines seems a waste of time. Sent to a detention cell for 18 hours (1070 baht by the way) and booked another flight home on next EVA flight back. They come 1 hour before flight time, sign you out, keep your passport and only give it back to you when you are in the UK at the UK border.

 

All in all, £700 on flights, £200 on visas and travel, £50 on trains just to end up where I started.

 

Vietnam is sounding interesting...........

one question..how many days were you in Thailand in 2019?

1 minute ago, brewsterbudgen said:

You can buy booze from 00.00 on 14 October.

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Does that mean you can't on the 13th?