Phillip9

Both times I've tried to get a TM30 from a hotel, the hotel refused to give it to me and repeatedly tried to tell me that it was not necessary to extend my permission to stay because they mistakenly thought immigration could actually access it themselves in their own database.

Entering Thailand by land from Vientiane is easy. I just did it. It's 2 or 3 hours by direct bus from Vientiane to Udon Thani in Thailand. From Udon Thani there are cheap flights to Bangkok.

Have you ever actually tried it yourself? Requesting a refund on all of the airlines I mentioned literally takes less time than writing this message-- Its about three taps on your phone. None of those airlines I mentioned charge any credit card fee, and many give you the option to pay in your own currency, so you can even avoid any international fees your own credit card might charge.

Below is a list of airlines that I am aware of that offer 100% refundable no fee fares. Malaysian, Delta, American, Qatar, Fiji, Ethiopian. I've purchased and refunded multiple tickets from various destinations with all of these airlines, and they all offer very easy reliable refunds. Just be very careful to pick a fare that is fully refundable and always book direct on the airlines website.

I fly out of SFO on EVA or Singapore 2-3 times per year. I'm always travelling on a one way ticket, and I am always asked if I have a return ticket at check in. Sometimes they will ask to see the ticket, but other times they will just ask me the date of the return flight.

Why are you posting to a 2 year old thread????? Bizare

Earlier is definitely better. I last extended there about 6 months ago. We arrived at about 9am and it wasn't too bad. Then it continued to get busier after we arrived. If I remember correctly, they only accept applications in the morning.

I doubt they say that because its wrong. Only one 30 day extension is allowed anywhere in Thailand.

People posting here that have been refused entry are usually spending a lot more time in Thailand than you are planning. The only defined limit is 2 land borded entries per calander year. No set limit to air entries. Personally, I don't enter by air unless I've spent some significant time out of the country. Correct, you can only extend once per entry, 1900 baht.

I like to travel. It's often somewhere new and usually multiple countries. My only frequent repeats are Indonesia, Phillipines (both because I like scuba diving), Japan, and New Zealand.

For about the last 10 years, I've been doing 5-6 months a year in Thailand using visa exempts exactly as you describe. I spend a few months in Thailand follwed by a few months elsewhere. The only exception was the covid year I spent entirely in Thailand. I've never had any problems.

Personally, I think anyone using an agent to open a bank account and then depositing a large sum of money there is just plain crazy. The agent is certainly using some illegal means to open the account, and it is just a matter of time until upper management at the bank figures this out and locks you out of your account.

All that thinking and typing and you still got the width of the paper, the thickness of the paper, and simple multiplication wrong. It should be 0.0000044 cubic meters (0.21m x 0.297m x 0.00007m). So you mistakenly calculated more than 4000 times the actual value.

Ok, so now it is obvious you are just a troll who made up a fake story. Get a life.

It was a really bad idea to tell them this. It shows intent of staying long term which is not what a tourist visa is for. It would be much better if you told them you like coming to Thailand for some normal tourist activity like going to the beach or eating the food here.

I purchased a one way fully refundable ticket from Bangkok back to San Francisco before I checked in for my flight. Then I refunded that ticket when I arrived. That's my normal strategy when traveling on a one way ticket, and I don't know how long I will stay in a country because usually the airline will ask for an onward or return ticket at checkin.

I arrived visa exempt. I flew from San Francisco to Bangkok. This was my third trip to Thailand this year visa exempt, and I extended last time, which is my guess why they asked me. I will be continuing on to another destination, but didn't decide when or where yet.

I just arrived to Thailand yesterday, and I was asked by immigration to show my onward ticket. This was the first time I have ever been asked to show it by immigration. I was travelling on a oneway ticket, so I was quite happy I had purchased a real fully refundable return ticket which I promptly refunded after I collected my luggage.

If you consider the money in interest he would lose by parking 800,000 baht in a Thai bank and earning next to nothing compared to leaving it in a US bank and earning 5 - 6 percent, it's actually cheaper to use an agent. I don't think the income method is available to US citizens.

Important to note that the METV only provides 9 months if you do 2 border bounces and 3 extensions during that 9 months. Each entry with that visa gives you 60 days which you can extend once for 30 days. Probably still your best option if you are under 50.

I have the same experience with tickets refunded within 24 hr on Expedia. It looks like they are reversing the original transaction and the exact amount is refunded with no extra fees. Fyi, Priceline.com is another good website to use for that strategy. Priceline gives you a minimum of 24hr to refund a ticket, but usually longer, and can be as much as 72hr depending on when you book. The exact time you have is very clearly displayed when you search for flights.

Sorry, I quoted baht here just because it is a Thailand forum. My account is in USD. I double checked my recent purchase and refund of my ticket on Malaysian Airlines. The fare was charged in USD, and refunded down to the exact penny in USD within a few days of when I requested the refund. I think there was an option to choose your currency somewhere in the process of purchasing the ticket, but I can't remember for sure.

I've booked and refunded fully refundable tickets on at least 5 different airlines, and I have never lost a single Baht to a credit card charge or fee. Do you have any example of an Airline that charges and won't refund some credit card fee for a ticket they say is fully refundable?

That small print only applies after the 24hr free cancellation window. As long as you pick a ticket on Expedia that is clearly marked as refundable for 24Hr, its is easy to cancel within 24 hr of purchase and get a full refund with no fees at all. I've done it dozens of times.

This is certainly an effective strategy that I have also used many times. The major downside is that you have to remember to refund the ticket within 24 hours. After a long flight when I was very tired, I almost forgot to refund the ticket one time, and so I stopped using this strategy. Now I prefer to just buy a fully refundable ticket directly from Malaysian Airlines website which costs a bit more, but can be refunded until the departure date I choose. Refunds through Malaysian Airlines directly are just as easy as Expedia and take about three clicks and ten seconds.