MartinBKK

I just emailed to book an appointment to open a bank account with Kasikorn and received this very disappointing reply.

We half everything here. I am 39 and GF is 48. We have a joint bank account and every month we both pay in the same amount and all expenses come from this. We both have an ATM card.  GF has a good government job and I do not work and have no income other than from investments. EVERY expense is shared including trips to Europe, AUS etc. Every month we sort out who owes what if there is an expense that has not come out of the joint bank account. If we eat together then we would pay the bill from the joint account but if we were to eat separately then we would pay from our personal accounts. If i buy something for the house like food, bulbs, decorations etc then i would pay with the joint account but if it was something that only i would use like an ipad for example then of course i would pay myself. Fortunately GF never pressures me about money for which i am very grateful. Occasionally she indicates we have spent too much this month and next month we must spend less. I make sure to do this of course. 

Two years into our relationship GF wanted to buy a house to which i agreed. Prior to this i rented a house on my own and we lived separately some of the time. We have a mortgage and share payments every month. We have been doing this for ten years already. We are not married although if we were our relationship would not change. I fully understand the house is in GF name and i have no claim on it whatsoever if we were to separate. To me it is just the same as renting but this way is beneficial for her. I have made provisions in my will so that my side of the mortgage would be completely covered.

In a previous serious relationship i paid for everything as GF had just graduated university with no money. The relationship was not easy and there was a lot of friction over money (although this wasn't the only issue). Eventually I became unhappy and had to end the relationship although we parted amicably. Personally, i would not go back to this kind of relationship again although i have met many happy couples who have a similar arrangement. 

The best advice i can give is to let your GF know exactly what you expect from her and likewise listen carefully to what she expects from you. Communication is really important and could save a lot of unhappiness in the future. If you both strongly disagree on who should pay for what now then it is my experience that these issues will not resolve themselves in the future.

Ubonjoe is right. You can open at any branch you just have to tell Thailand Elite which one you prefer. 

This was the reply i got from customer services:-

Thank you very much for your email. With reference to your inquiries, please be advised that Thailand Elite's members can open both Thai Baht and Foreign Currency Account with Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn Bank. 

Kindly inform us the name and full address of the bank branch, type of currency account (THB, USD, EUR, etc.), date and time you would like to visit the bank for opening a bank account. To enable us 

to make an appointment and issue documents accordingly, you are required to inform us at least 3 working days prior the service date. 

Please kindly find all required documents for opening bank account as below;

1. Your current passport

2. Thailand Elite Visa

3. Thailand Elite Membership Card

4. The official confirmation letter (This will be issued and sent directly to the bank by Thailand Elite)

5. Thai mobile number (Strongly required for online internet banking)

***For THB account at Bangkok Bank, minimum 500 baht deposit is required to activate a savings bank account. If you wish to apply for an ATM debit card, the price of card will be available upon your request at the bank.

***For THB and Foreign Currency Account at Kasikorn Bank, minimum 10,000 THB deposit is required for a THB account and 10,000 USD deposit is required for a foreign account. 

On 6/3/2018 at 8:11 AM, Robert24 said:

I have accounts with both. Fairly similar to be honest. The only difference really is that the Kasikorn ATM card you can use also as a Visa debit card. Whereas Bangkok Bank works with Union Pay which I have never used.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

This is the very reason i am switching to Kasikorn. I prefer a Visa card over UP and BKK Bank are replacing my current Visa card with UP.

I have just discovered that Thailand Elite now has an arrangement so that members can open a bank account with Kasikorn. Previously i believe they only had an arrangement with BKK Bank. Thought this might be of interest to other members who may have been struggling to open an account previously.

On 08/03/2018 at 8:55 AM, lkn said:

This is the reply I got when I wrote them some time ago (asking about Chiang Mai):

 

The fast track service available in Bangkok, Phuket but priority lane in Chiang Mai. Kindly show your membership card to the immigration officer to identify yourself as Elite member to get through the priority lane.

 

For the lounge usage in Chiang Mai, please show your membership card at the Coral Executive lounge to utilize the service.

 

So while they have no personal assistant, there should still be both fast track (priority lane) and lounge access in Chiang Mai.

 

Please let me know if this is incorrect (I have still not left via Chiang Mai since getting my own membership).

You are correct. Those services are available at Chiang Mai.

I am flying out of Chiang Mai on Friday and have been told no EPA service is available at Chiang Mai.

"Greetings from Thailand Elite Customer Contact Center.

With regard to your request, we are sorry to inform you that at the moment we do not have the EPA service provided at Chiangmai airport . However, Thailand Elite is working on coordination with the Immigration Office and Airports Of Thailand Plc. at Chiangmai and asking for their facilitation and supportive Elite services extended to our members. This request is now being in process and under the consideration.

We know that our explanation may not be enough to meet your satisfactorily expected answer but please accept our sincere and profound apology and kindly be informed that we will try our best to find out the best solution of Chiangmai airport Elite service. Once we have any updates, we will let you know immediately.

We hope you understand the situation and thank you so much for your inquiry."

In the FAQ of the website it clearly states EPA service is available at Suvarnabhumi, Phuket and Chiang Mai airports.

Very misleading and disappointing.

1 hour ago, phuketjock said:

Jack you are at it again, those electronic notice boards you refer to have been around, in

non electronic form, for more than 20 years, so nothing new.

I have travelled most of my working life and i would never dream of going to another

country, on holiday or for work, without having at least 2 or 3 hundred pounds in cash or 

travellers checks and i would wager that 99% of the tourists that come to Thailand on 

holiday do exactly that, anyone who doesn't is rather foolish imo.

You have been reading too much fiction Jack.

I will take that wager. Most people now are using plastic not cash and travelers cheques. It's a matter of choice but I wouldn't call those people foolish because an argument can be made the other way too.

1 minute ago, jphripjah said:

14 pages and the OP hasn't answered this. I wonder why.

Maybe he is on a flight to somewhere. Can't imagine he will want to hang around there for long.

Also, last month (in newsletter) there was a promotion offering a free round of golf at a course in Rayong. So i emailed to say i would like to play and was told my membership level is not entitled to this offer. Ok fair enough but why send me the newsletter with an irrelevant promotion?

Can anyone with experience of the "departure service" advise what one can expect at Suvarnabhumi. I have never seen any information about it. I have the Superiority Extension Membership i am not sure if that gives you less than the full blown membership or not. I am not entitled to Limo service so do i go to the Thailand Elite office at the airport on arrival or something? Is the lounge airside or before immigration? What service is offered there? Can you skip the immigration lines? I am planning a trip out soon so any information would be appreciated. 

I don't have any privileges though because I have the superiority extension 20 yr option. So for me the membership card is not necessary?

What is the membership card for? I have never actually used mine nor been out of the country since i joined. Do you need to show it at the airport for something?

10 minutes ago, Dan5 said:

You've got a point there.

I fail to see it

Until the 20 year option came out i didn't have much interest in Thailand Elite. When the 20 year option was offered i joined within just a few weeks of it being introduced. For me the decision was very easy but then again i am 38 not 48 which i think makes a huge difference. If i was 48 i don't think i would go for Thailand Elite at all. You have only 1.5 years left until you are eligible for extensions based on retirement. From the circumstances described, i would put up with a little inconvenience for such a short time. In Chiang Mai for example, you can get an ED visa just going to a self defence class two days a week. All the extensions etc are handled for you (you do have to attend immigration but i understand there isn't much waiting).  Make sure you also consider that while the PE visa is nice there are other aspects of Thailand Elite which are in fact not as good as having a non immigrant visa. For example, i can only get a 2 year driving license and still have trouble opening a bank account at banks other than bangkok bank. For the price paid and the type of person targeted by the program, i would not have expected this.

Thailand Elite confirmed that direct family members are permitted to accompany a member through fast track facilities. I would certainly consider a "wife" to be a direct family member, perhaps a "Thai GF" is not though. I suggest emailing to clarify if this is important to you.

From Thailand Elite

With reference to our previous monthly Thailand Elite newsletter, we announced that fast-track service at the airport was provided for Thailand Elite members only which effective on February 1, 2017. We would like to insure you that members’ feedback is very important to us. We continually aim to improve our service and benefits for our elite members.

We have discussed with various concerned departments the burden of extra guests. They finally allowed us to provide fast-track service not only for our members, but their immediate family, who travel together.

However, for member’s guests they declined our proposal. Therefore, we are unable to provide any expedited services to your guests, which had included our electro cart and Elite Personal Assistant service. At this stage, we will continue to concentrate our airport resources for you, our members.

We express our sincere gratitude for your enthusiastic support. Please be assured that we do our utmost to provide all the necessary assistance to enhance your travel experience to Thailand.

Easy to miss when you don't have your browser window maximized. If you reduce the window size the search facility is either not shown at all or partially obscured by an intrusive advert.

2 hours ago, anotheruser said:

This is a screenshot from the latest newsletter. It is sort of amusing. For all of you young lovers out there an Elite card makes a good Valentine's gift evidently. The newsletter before this one informed me that Thai immigration refused their request to allow guests to use the fast track service except for immediate family. They said that for whatever reason this would apply to use of the golf cart as well. Not sure why immigration would have any bearing on using the golf cart. 

 

 

 

 

So when i arrive at Suvarnabhumi with my TGF i will be getting on the golfcar and she will be walking to the immigration. This doesn't seem very Thai to me and i honestly will be amazed if this actually happens.

Well I have the 20 year membership and this response makes me feel very misled. Assistance with driving license was a selling point I never thought I would be getting a two year temporary license.

A 2 year visa with Thailand Elite. That can't be true surely? Did you use the concierge service to obtain the license?

I don't understand the logic of refusing to allow Thai wives to accompany members thru the immigration formalities at the airport. It costs them nothing at all and hardly takes any extra time. I could understand refusing to allow multiple guests or possibly even foreign wives.  I very rarely travel alone so the fast track facilities are now of no value to me whatsoever.