Thailand Elite Superiority Extension application experience

[Triglav]

I have thought about making this post a lot for close to two months now, and had I made it sometime in December, it would’ve been a lot more venomous and sarcastic. As it is, I’ve now had time to cool off somewhat and decided that it would be better to present the events as objectively as possible and let others draw their conclusions. Here it is, my Thailand Elite Superiority Extension application log:

 

9^th December. I sent a mail with a couple of questions on payment procedure and options to [email protected], which is one of two emails listed as sales contacts on the website. I have never received an answer to this mail.

 

12^th December. As it became clear that my mail would not be answered, I registered on the website, filling out both the first- and second- stage forms. I was shortly after contacted by mail by a sales rep, who requested a copy of passport which apparently failed to upload. No biggie, I thought, and sent a picture.  The status of my application on the website was “sent to immigration for approval”, so I waited.

 

20^th December. In the morning I received the letter saying that my application was approved by Thai Immigration Office, and I can go forward with payment. Attached pdf had payment instructions as well as noted that “your application form has been approved with approval on December 15, 2017” (huh?).

On to the website I went, only to see that my application status was still listed as “sent to immigration for approval”, and the payment page linked in instructions was unavailable. I waited for a couple hours just in case site needed to be updated, but nothing happened, so I mailed back to the sales rep describing the problem. The one-line response amounted to RTFM (“Please kindly see instruction for online payment as files attached.”) and included the same payment instruction I already had. It was clear that nobody bothered actually checking their own website backend, so I had to do what one does to deal with most adversarial and unhelpful helpdesk services — I sent screenshots of their own website and instructions, highlighting the difference:

 

I received a reply that “once the approval letter has been sent out, your application status should already been changed to Could you please log out and login to the website again?” Once again, nobody bothered to check their own service, jumping immediately to the conclusion that it’s the customer who must be an idiot. I did obligingly try relogging to the website and even visited it from a separate device, with no change, and reported this to sales contact.

 

21^st December. I got a mail informing me that “problem with system has been fixed and ready for making the payment”, which it was. I saw that payment by card is available (handy!) and even has an option to pay the total sum in 2-5 smaller installments. Thinking that I’ll make transfer in four 250k THB chunks to lessen the risk of bank raising an eyebrow at the amount, I happily went off to exchange currencies.

 

23^rd December. First payment of 250'000THB was made:

 

The payment itself was uneventful, but when it was completed and I went to the website to start a second transaction I found three remaining invoices to be 62'500THB instead of 250'000THB each. Furthermore, the payment I just made was also listed at 62'500THB. At this stage I did not have a way to complete further payments in proper amounts and was not even sure if the one I did do registered properly. I proceeded to mail the screenshots of those issues to my sales contact:

 

 

25^th December. I got a mail informing me that “online payment system has been fixed and ready to be used for the remaining amount”. As it was now practically impossible for me to complete payment within a 5-day timeframe that website demanded, I asked whether this was going to be a problem, and was assured that it would not. I have also informed my sales contact that my accounting of the entire process will be made public.

 

26-28^th December. The three remaining payments of 250k THB each were done.

 

29^th December. I was informed that “Finance Department has checked the status of the membership fee and confirmed the final payment. The next step, we will register applicant into the system after that you will receive a welcome letter including ID number via e-mail. This process takes approximately 2-3 working days.”

 

5^th January. After a week of no further contact, I sent a mail inquiring about the status of my application. Two hours later I received a welcome letter with my member ID etc. The letter also mentioned that applying my new visa at Chaengwattana needs to be booked 5 working days in advance. Unfortunately, with all the intervening delays my extension of stay was set to expire on 7^th. I inquired if my only option at that time was to leave country and wait for them to prepare a visa at BKK, which was confirmed, the earliest date offered for getting said visa was January 10^th. I flew out and came back to Thailand on the 10^th, receiving my new visa at BKK. I did not, however, get my member card, and was informed that it will take some more time.

 

12^th January. I was informed that my member card was now issued and can be picked up at the office or mailed to me.

 

 

To say that the entire process has been handled poorly would be too mild. It was, in its entirety, mishandled completely and with contempt towards customer that one does not expect of a company selling premium services.

It's possible that I might have been one on the few/first customers to use Thailand elite website card payment path, rather than opting for a single wire transfer, but even then the utter ineptitude of the service defies belief. Had I known to expect half the issues I encountered, I would have reconsidered applying; the fact that I had to prod and ask and send screenshots of the issues, to get the process of handing someone over 30k USD going along still amazes me.

 

 

For what it’s worth, despite my experience being poisoned by the sales process, I can say that actual post-sale member service has been much smoother.

 

Edited January 22, 2018 by Triglav

[humbug]

it took roughly 3 weeks and you got the membership and then the after service has been good. Did it really need an indepth groan itemizing the 3 weeks.

 

i would say the Elite service  over the years has been SUPERB for any issues that i require i think its better to be calm about things when in the end you still get what you wanted

Edited January 22, 2018 by humbug

[worgeordie]

6 minutes ago, humbug said:

it took roughly 3 weeks and you got the membership and then the after service has been good. Did it really need an indepth groan itemizing the 3 weeks.

 

i would say the Elite service  over the years has been SUPERB for any issues that i require i think its better to be calm about things when in the end you still get what you wanted

I think he was very calm about it all,and none of the problems were his

fault.

regards Worgeordie

[Triglav]

9 minutes ago, humbug said:

it took roughly 3 weeks and you got the membership and then the after service has been good. Did it really need an indepth groan itemizing the 3 weeks.

 

i would say the Elite service  over the years has been SUPERB for any issues that i require i think its better to be calm about things when in the end you still get what you wanted

It took over a month (hence me having to leave the country) and the sale service has been broken on virtually every step of the way. The way service was rendered, frankly, defies belief, and as such I figured actual account of events would be more helpful to discourse than an "I'm not happy with it" post. At the very least, anyone contemplating joining might weight their options of SWIFT transfer vs. card payment differently and save themselves some headache.

 

I have handled my communication with the company in a very calm constructive tone, even if I was screaming internally at the absurdity of it all at some points. I did get the membership and a 5-year visa, but the supposed benefit of the program is peace of mind re/ visa issues for the next 20 years, and frankly I'm now not quite convinced about that.

[Thaidream]

The customer paid the equivalent of $30K and he had to do all the work to get the Elite system working properly- hardly a recommendation for future customers nor a satisfied feeling of future benefits.  He should have been given a letter of apology and a 20% discount on any further extension of the Elite Visa. He even had to leave the country to stay legal. He should have been reimbursed for his expenses.

[FashionExport]

22 hours ago, worgeordie said:

I think he was very calm about it all,and none of the problems were his

fault.

regards Worgeordie

 

Even if I understand him that when we pay high prices we expect high service quality, this is anyway Thailand, and this is also the reason why I do not visit 5 stars places anymore...

 

If the OP had paid the full amount by bank transfer everybody's life would have been easier.

 

But still, I repeat that I understand him and would have been angry also. The difference is that I wouldn't have taken the same "risks" as the OP because I certainly know these people, even the ones offering expensive services, more than the OP, and I do not expect anything from them anymore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Theron Ware]

The original post was too long to read in full.  But it seems to me that if you intend to spend a lot of time in Thailand, you had better get used to this sort of thing by adjusting your attitude.  That's what I have done - otherwise I would long ago have had a massive thrombo.

[Briggsy]

The Thai government ministries, departments, agencies, etc. all struggle greatly with IT. It really doesn't matter what the organisation is. It seems to be beyond the upper limit of competence for the current crop of public sector workers and managers of course. Thailand Elite is a small operations with few employees so they don't have the economy of scale to develop a reliable online payment system integrated with visa approval.

 

When dealing with Govt. entities here, pay in cash which gets bunged in an unlocked drawer or go to the bank and do a bank transfer (often to a personal account!).

[impulse]

Just out of curiosity, is there someplace to go in person instead of doing it online?   Hard to play phone (and email) tag with the person standing across the desk from you.

 

I'm not discounting the OP's legitimate frustrations.  Just looking for alternatives that may work better should someone else decide to go down that path.

 

[Briggsy]

4 minutes ago, impulse said:

Just out of curiosity, is there someplace to go in person instead of doing it online?   Hard to play phone (and email) tag with the person standing across the desk from you.

 

I'm not discounting the OP's legitimate frustrations.  Just looking for alternatives that may work better should someone else decide to go down that path.

 

Their office is on Sathorn.

[impulse]

3 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

8 minutes ago, impulse said:

Just out of curiosity, is there someplace to go in person instead of doing it online?   Hard to play phone (and email) tag with the person standing across the desk from you.

 

I'm not discounting the OP's legitimate frustrations.  Just looking for alternatives that may work better should someone else decide to go down that path.

Their office is on Sathorn.

 

Anybody tuned in actually gone that route?

 

[MadMuhammad]

I have emailed Thai Elite directly 3 times and via their website contact page twice with no luck so I don’t think your experience is isolated.

I agree, poor service for what is supposed to be a premium (and expensive) service doesn’t inspire great confidence.

But as many state on TV and through personal experience, our idea of premium product, premium service doesn’t necessarily translate well to SEA.

 

Based on the many positive reviews and now your’s regarding the aftercare of Thai Elite I still plan on going ahead with my application. I’m in country again in 4 weeks so plan on dropping by their Silom office to get some clarification.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your experience of the entire process, very helpful

 

[Triglav]

19 minutes ago, impulse said:

Just out of curiosity, is there someplace to go in person instead of doing it online?   Hard to play phone (and email) tag with the person standing across the desk from you.

 

I'm not discounting the OP's legitimate frustrations.  Just looking for alternatives that may work better should someone else decide to go down that path.

 

Payment instructions had options of local bank transfer and direct deposit to their bank account (they use KTB), which might be the closest thing.

As Briggsy noted, they have an office (went there to pick up my member card just to check the place out), but I'm not sure if they would accept someone rolling in with a wad of cash.

[impulse]

43 minutes ago, Triglav said:

Payment instructions had options of local bank transfer and direct deposit to their bank account (they use KTB), which might be the closest thing.

As Briggsy noted, they have an office (went there to pick up my member card just to check the place out), but I'm not sure if they would accept someone rolling in with a wad of cash.

 

I appreciate all the posts (like yours) with good information that narrows down the bracket of possibilities.  Like I really appreciate the OP for taking the time to post the details.

 

I'm hoping someone tuned in here has actually rocked up with a buttload of cash and can tell us how they fared at their physical location.  Or stumbled onto a process that went smoother than the one in the OP.  Or was smarter than I am, and deliberately and methodically took a step by step process that worked, minus the aggravations.

 

Someone has the whole answer.  (One would hope)

 

Edited January 23, 2018 by impulse

[ubonjoe]

7 minutes ago, impulse said:

I'm hoping someone tuned in here has actually rocked up with a buttload of cash and can tell us how they fared at their physical location.  Or stumbled onto a process that went smoother than the one in the OP.  Or was smarter than I am, and deliberately and methodically took a step by step process that worked, minus the aggravations.

They will not accept cash. Most people have transferred the payment to their bank account. This is the first report I have seen of it being done by using a credit or debit card.

If you are sure of the package you want the best thing to do is submit your application by email. Then after it is approved by immigration they will give you instructions for sending the payment to their bank.

[impulse]

3 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

They will not accept cash. Most people have transferred the payment to their bank account. This is the first report I have seen of it being done by using a credit or debit card.

If you are sure of the package you want the best thing to do is submit your application by email. Then after it is approved by immigration they will give you instruction for sending it to their bank.

 

Bummer. 

 

So, what you're saying is that the story in the OP may be as good as it gets...

 

Good information, even if it's not the answer we'd like to hear.

 

Edited January 23, 2018 by impulse

[ubonjoe]

11 minutes ago, impulse said:

So, what you're saying is that the story in the OP may be as good as it gets...

No I am not.

I would call it an oddity since they were not accepting  payments by credit or debit cards before. All others I have read about were done by way of a bank to bank transfer.  

[Triglav]

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

I would call it an oddity since they were not accepting  payments by credit or debit cards before. All others I have read about were done by way of a bank to bank transfer.  

It's possible I might have been the unlucky soul to do the fist card+multiple transactions purchase in their practice. Doesn't really explain how this relatively straightforward webservice went into production with no testing, but it is hopefully less broken now.

[impulse]

12 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

24 minutes ago, impulse said:

So, what you're saying is that the story in the OP may be as good as it gets...

No am not.

I would call it an oddity since they were not accepting  payments by credit or debit cards before. All others I have read about were done by way of a bank to bank transfer.  

 

Apologies if I've overstepped my interpretation of your information.  My point is that we don't have a walk-in option available to us that can eliminate the email tag and frustrations experienced by the OP.   He may have been unlucky, and his case may have been an oddity.  But apparently there's no sure fire alternative process that the next guy can do differently to keep it from happening to him.  Which is a bummer when spending $15,000-30,000 (and still having to leave the country because the process wasn't glitch free).

 

[ukrules]

3 hours ago, Triglav said:

Payment instructions had options of local bank transfer and direct deposit to their bank account (they use KTB), which might be the closest thing.

As Briggsy noted, they have an office (went there to pick up my member card just to check the place out), but I'm not sure if they would accept someone rolling in with a wad of cash.

 

When I got my membership I was going to do a transfer from my Thai bank account direct into the TE bank account but apparently it was too late in the day for some reason.

 

This is before the cheaper (per year) 1 million Baht 20 year option was available so I went with the 5 year visa at 500k Baht.

 

I withdrew 500k Baht in cash from my bank, walked to their bank in the same mall some 10 meters or so away and paid the money directly into their account in cash. I scanned the reciept from the bank, emailed it to them and that was it. Job done.

 

I guess the payment process can be as easy or as hard as you choose to make it. It took me 10 minutes to do it in person by visiting two banks. This was a few years ago.

Edited January 23, 2018 by ukrules

[MyFriend You]

I suppose 500,000 baht ($250 a month) for five years is cheaper than getting a Retirement Extension for five years??  I don't think so, but maybe I am missing something.

• Do you still have to do the 90 day reports??.
• What are the benefits of this Visa, I am guessing people not old enough for a Retirement extension would benefit.
• Are the mandatory deposits or salary waived ??

forgive me if I am skeptical - but sometimes I can't see the Forest thru the Trees.

 

 

[Briggsy]

8 minutes ago, TunnelRat69 said:

I suppose 500,000 baht ($250 a month) for five years is cheaper than getting a Retirement Extension for five years??  I don't think so, but maybe I am missing something.

• Do you still have to do the 90 day reports??.
• What are the benefits of this Visa, I am guessing people not old enough for a Retirement extension would benefit.
• Are the mandatory deposits or salary waived ??

forgive me if I am skeptical - but sometimes I can't see the Forest thru the Trees.

 

 

Not really on the topic of this thread which is the ropey Elite card payment service but this visa is not appropriate for you.

[YetAnother]

On 1/22/2018 at 1:24 PM, Triglav said:

It took over a month (hence me having to leave the country) and the sale service has been broken on virtually every step of the way. The way service was rendered, frankly, defies belief, and as such I figured actual account of events would be more helpful to discourse than an "I'm not happy with it" post. At the very least, anyone contemplating joining might weight their options of SWIFT transfer vs. card payment differently and save themselves some headache.

 

I have handled my communication with the company in a very calm constructive tone, even if I was screaming internally at the absurdity of it all at some points. I did get the membership and a 5-year visa, but the supposed benefit of the program is peace of mind re/ visa issues for the next 20 years, and frankly I'm now not quite convinced about that.

this is thailand, all they (ever have and ever will) want is your money; they care not a wit of issues or problems; that is who they are

[ukrules]

36 minutes ago, TunnelRat69 said:

I suppose 500,000 baht ($250 a month) for five years is cheaper than getting a Retirement Extension for five years??  I don't think so, but maybe I am missing something.

• Do you still have to do the 90 day reports??.
• What are the benefits of this Visa, I am guessing people not old enough for a Retirement extension would benefit.
• Are the mandatory deposits or salary waived ??

forgive me if I am skeptical - but sometimes I can't see the Forest thru the Trees.

 

 

 

Yes, you're missing something, I was 42 years old when I did this.

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, ukrules said:

I withdrew 500k Baht in cash from my bank, walked to their bank in the same mall some 10 meters or so away and paid the money directly into their account in cash. I scanned the reciept from the bank, emailed it to them and that was it. Job done.

 

I would be surprised if the bank would accept a 500k baht deposit in cash today without some documentation. Actually, I am quite surprised if you could do it even three years ago. Anti money laundering regulations usually make it tricky dealing with large wads of cash.

[ubonjoe]

54 minutes ago, BritTim said:

I would be surprised if the bank would accept a 500k baht deposit in cash today without some documentation. Actually, I am quite surprised if you could do it even three years ago. Anti money laundering regulations usually make it tricky dealing with large wads of cash.

Not here. Cash transactions are very common.

[mduras01]

Took me about 2 weeks. Process was way easier. I never looked at their website, nor did I make an online payment--which is where I think your problem originated from. Personally, I would never pay 1 million baht over a website, but to each their own. Glad it was all taken care of. Once you arrive in Suvarnabhumi, their service is stellar. I was driven straight from the gate in a gold buggy driven by two gorgeous ladies all the way to the Elite VIP immigration desk. They escorted me to my domestic connecting flight. It was a scene from a Bond movie. I don't even think the IO looked at me--stamp and go.

[Triglav]

2 minutes ago, mduras01 said:

I was driven straight from the gate in a gold buggy driven by two gorgeous ladies

This keeps getting worse by the minute — I only had one lady to drive me around. 

 

But seriously, the service at the airport is really nice. Wish they expanded to DMK.

[ukrules]

4 hours ago, BritTim said:

I would be surprised if the bank would accept a 500k baht deposit in cash today without some documentation. Actually, I am quite surprised if you could do it even three years ago. Anti money laundering regulations usually make it tricky dealing with large wads of cash.

They didn't even raise an eyebrow and questioned nothing at all. Of course I had a withdrawal reciept from my own bank anyway so it wouldn't have made any difference.

 

 

[Dipterocarp]

14 hours ago, ukrules said:

 

Yes, you're missing something, I was 42 years old when I did this.

Some people can't understand everyone who applied is was yet 50.

 

I applied online was approved in about 2 days, paid by bank wire from abroad, and a few days later was at Suvaranabhumi  airport getting the visa. Thailand Elite said it would take 3 hours to get the visa at Suvaranbhumi it actually was done in about 10 minutes. A brilliant service I am very pleased with the whole program. No agent required nor  have I ever been to their office or Chang Wattana either.