The "new" Elite Card

[Naam]

Every time i read a negative post by our lovely retirees on this thread or any others, i just realize how afraid these old guys are of losing their visa advantages to younger guys with more money.

this statement contains a strange logic. why would any retiree give a flying fart whether younger guys with more money might have access to longterm visas?

you might as well claim that the oldtimers are afraid of cannibals or headhunters in Papua New Guinea.

tell us one more joke please!

[gummy]

Every time i read a negative post by our lovely retirees on this thread or any others, i just realize how afraid these old guys are of losing their visa advantages to younger guys with more money.

this statement contains a strange logic. why would any retiree give a flying fart whether younger guys with more money might have access to longterm visas?

you might as well claim that the oldtimers are afraid of cannibals or headhunters in Papua New Guinea.

tell us one more joke please!

Well that's Papua New Guinea off my "must see" list then if they eat old farts.Don't they like the young guys then - 'spose it must be because they have too much muscle between the ears rather than brain which is an apparent delicacy.

Edited March 30, 2007 by gummy

[gerry1011]

A far greater number would have rushed to buy one if they had ever been able to fulfill their initial promise of actual land ownership.

That was the single biggest benefit to card ownership to most looking to buy the card.... visas were waaaaay down the list and were only added as an after-thought because it didn't entail much real or actual cost to the government or the businesses involved.

The whole card program has been a total flop since its beginning, fret with corruption and mismanagement, which is rather unsurprising given it's creator. The pathetic number of members speaks for itself.

Is that a direct slam against the purchasers? No, not at all. Up to them... same as it is to anyone, as to what they do with their money.

The initial promise of land ownership was linked to the obligation to construct a house (residential purpose only) for a minimum amount that is certainly too high for most of the TV members.

By the way, I never considered the land ownership...

You are wrong for the visa privileges, it was there since day one.

[gerry1011]

Have you noticed than the folks who profess to have bought this card

never, ever specify exactly what benefits they got !

And I do not mean the usual blurb ... discounts at golf courses, spa's etc. ...

unspecified discounts by the way ... blah, blah, blah.

There again I guess anyone who has actually bought one

would be too embarrassed to tell exactly what they got

for their million Baht.

Naka.

Make a search for previous posts, Naka, and you will find many comments detailing how and why we love this program

I won't spend time doing it (again), since the Elite card is definitely not a product for you.

One million must look like a real fortune to you. If I was embarrassed I would not reply to the posts on here.

On top of that, some of the TV members - who might still not know who I am outside this forum - may have come to the parties I organize regularly.

And they never critisize the way I spend loads of money to entertain them...

Money must be something really important to you (and many others), since you really want to be sure you will have a benefit for every baht you spend... For some, money has far less importance.

[Hampstead]

A far greater number would have rushed to buy one if they had ever been able to fulfill their initial promise of actual land ownership.

That was the single biggest benefit to card ownership to most looking to buy the card.... visas were waaaaay down the list and were only added as an after-thought because it didn't entail much real or actual cost to the government or the businesses involved.

The whole card program has been a total flop since its beginning, fret with corruption and mismanagement, which is rather unsurprising given it's creator. The pathetic number of members speaks for itself.

Is that a direct slam against the purchasers? No, not at all. Up to them... same as it is to anyone, as to what they do with their money.

Can i ask, if you are so inclined to explaing the virtues on how foreigners should spend their money, then in whose name is the house or land that you currently live in?

Is it in your wife's name?

if so, isnt that a financial risk?

People purchase benefits in the present time, not the past.

Once again our esteem retirees are making their negative comments public on any such topic for which has nothing to do with them!

How long before the thai immigration look upon the reirement visa as an old out of date visa, for guys living on their pensions, and change to a new visa which accomodates for more age groups who have their own means to live in thailand.

I for one will gladly petition the thai immigration to get rid of this retirement visa and replace it with a visa which reflects a growing number of younger foreigners migrating to thailand who have their own finances to stay and live in thailand.

//edit out - you are warned to cease your repeated attacks on those retired here - lopburi3//

Edited March 30, 2007 by lopburi3
forum rule 2

[Hampstead]

Money doesn't buy intelligence, unfortunately.

You must be Kidding!!!

Living in thailand, being younger than most, earning lots of money, living that single life

After all why are most of the foreign guys living in Thailand?

Programmes like this and many more are needed for those who are rich, poor, skilled, young,old! more programmes should be introduced to help all foreigners from all backgrounds and all incomes and all age groups to live a life in thailand.

This programme is for those who have few thai-downs like thai marriages and are below 50, who are single, rich and loving the life on offer in thailand.

[bkkrox]

Have you noticed than the folks who profess to have bought this card

never, ever specify exactly what benefits they got !

And I do not mean the usual blurb ... discounts at golf courses, spa's etc. ...

unspecified discounts by the way ... blah, blah, blah.

There again I guess anyone who has actually bought one

would be too embarrassed to tell exactly what they got

for their million Baht.

Naka.

Naka,not sure exactly what you are trying to say. I can be as specific as you need and since you mentioned spas I will tell you ,specifically what the benefit is.The spas (and there are ALOT of them around the country in the programme) each offer one free product(massage ,facial or some such thing) and then discount on any other products they offer.The free product and percentage discounts vary from spa to spa and all info is in the booklet issued upon membership activation.It is possible to use the free product offered from each spa only..and then have a spa service everyday...but would probably get a bit boring!

The details about hands free shopping and vip services at malls,restaurants,hotels,immigration fast track and transfers,golf,banking,TG discounts (25% off domestic fares) and automatic TG gold status and other benefits have all been discussed at length so either you didnt search correctly or are just posting to be objectionable. Let me know if you need specifics on another benefit and i will gladly fill you in.

[sriracha john]

A far greater number would have rushed to buy one if they had ever been able to fulfill their initial promise of actual land ownership.

That was the single biggest benefit to card ownership to most looking to buy the card.... visas were waaaaay down the list and were only added as an after-thought because it didn't entail much real or actual cost to the government or the businesses involved.

The whole card program has been a total flop since its beginning, fret with corruption and mismanagement, which is rather unsurprising given it's creator. The pathetic number of members speaks for itself.

Is that a direct slam against the purchasers? No, not at all. Up to them... same as it is to anyone, as to what they do with their money.

The initial promise of land ownership was linked to the obligation to construct a house (residential purpose only) for a minimum amount that is certainly too high for most of the TV members.

By the way, I never considered the land ownership...

You are wrong for the visa privileges, it was there since day one.

I'm not wrong because I never said it wasn't there since day 1, but that it was never highlighted in the manner that land ownership was or even spotlighted as much as the spa/golf/airport privileges were... it was talked about in an ".... and oh yes, by the way, we also give Card owners a 5 year visa" manner. The visa issue really only has been played up much later (including their former ads here on TV).

In the pre-issue days, it was mainly all about land ownership... that's what most who expressed a desire for the card were seeking... and when that failed... the whole program failed with it...

Judging by the under 1800 total cards (both sold and freebies) out of the 1,000,000 card goal...it has been a failure ever since.

[Hampstead]

This thread is no longer about a programme but on how foreigners choose to spend their money in thailand.

some will spend on one woman, some will spend on many, some will spend on a thai-down, like marriage, building a home or buying land to build on.

In each and every case the foreigner will lose.

As in all purchases, there is always an element of risk!

What happens to the guy who has invested so much in his life with his thai wife, only to see it crumble away with all his hard earned savings

or the guy who has just built the house for his new thai family and lives on another kind of visa, only to see the land taken away, and for this foreigner to be left with no savings but just a monthly salary.

or the foreigner who has built business's in other countries and decides to build a business in thailand, only to see it crumble away in weeks, months or years.

do we judge these foreigners? No, because for many foreigners this is a reality of living in thailand! it happens every single day, minute, second throughout thailand. It can happen to any one of us. We are all targets to be scammed, some are luckier than others.

for some 1 million baht represents a months salary, for many others it represents a life's savings.

This thread should be about how the thai immigration should expand on this programme to include more programmes for more people.

How about if they had a programme which allowed the foreigner to lease land for 90 years

how about if they had a programme which allowed after certain investments to be granted a residency

We need more programmes for all types of foreigners, not just arguing about how he or she should spend their money.

[gummy]

Do think it may be more prudent to accept that Thais have a right to determine their own destiny ? For instance your statement "We need more programmes for all types of foreigners" assumes that you have a right to determine the rights of foreigners in a land which I assume is not your country of birth or which you have citizenship, an incredibly arrogant statement.

You may not agree with the rules of the land in which you are a guest, but those rules do allow you to leave quite freely, to go elswhere of your own free choosing, where perhaps you may be able to influence the indigenous population into accepting your philsophies.

The Elite card was offered with certain benefits. Those benefits may or may not now be realisable or indeed perhaps initially. However there is a consensus in the TV that for some, then the Elite card works. Why go off topic in attempt to belittle those people ? Best start a seperate topic on what programmes you would like Thailand to adopt that would be more in keeping with your own personal aspirations do you not think ?

[phibunmike]

I do not have this card, nor will I get one, because it doesn't suit my circumstances. However, I think the hoo-ha about the price needs to be put into context:

Compare it to the SICC, a golf club in Singapore:

Term membership (annual fee): 500,000 baht

Foreign membership (life): Whatever you pay the member you buy it from, PLUS a 1,000,000 baht "transfer fee" to the club.

So, 1m baht for life-time membership, granting visa, travel benefits, etc., doesn't sound so bad to me....

(but then, I don't play golf )

Cheers,

Mike

[Hampstead]

Do think it may be more prudent to accept that Thais have a right to determine their own destiny ? For instance your statement "We need more programmes for all types of foreigners" assumes that you have a right to determine the rights of foreigners in a land which I assume is not your country of birth or which you have citizenship, an incredibly arrogant statement.

You may not agree with the rules of the land in which you are a guest, but those rules do allow you to leave quite freely, to go elswhere of your own free choosing, where perhaps you may be able to influence the indigenous population into accepting your philsophies.

The Elite card was offered with certain benefits. Those benefits may or may not now be realisable or indeed perhaps initially. However there is a consensus in the TV that for some, then the Elite card works. Why go off topic in attempt to belittle those people ? Best start a seperate topic on what programmes you would like Thailand to adopt that would be more in keeping with your own personal aspirations do you not think ?

[/q

Yes for sure we need more programmes for foreigners.

Elite is one and i for one hope they will be many more which attract foreigners to other benefits like land lease or residencies.

Why not? In fact as we speak all the major property agencies companies are pushing the thai governmet to offer 90 year leases in response to the changes on nominees in the foreign business law to allow foreigners to have more legal rights to their property purchases.

whether they succeed or not, time will tell, but at least they are trying

whereas for people like you, once you have your visa, you seem to want to lock the door behind you thinking you are better than the rest of us.

by the way

as a guest of this country staying within the laws of the land, then what visa are you on?

[Naam]

Money doesn't buy intelligence, unfortunately.

You must be Kidding!!!

Living in thailand, being younger than most, earning lots of money, living that single life...

...still doesn't buy intelligence or education

[Hampstead]

Money doesn't buy intelligence, unfortunately.

You must be Kidding!!!

Living in thailand, being younger than most, earning lots of money, living that single life...

...still doesn't buy intelligence or education

of course money buys you many things

you should know, you live in pattaya

who needs intelligence or education to live in that city

all you need is plenty of cash!

[Naam]

you should know, you live in pattaya

wrong assumption Hampstead. i live in my (quite comfortable) home which happens to be located in the Pattaya area. as i hate to cross my property line it does not matter to me where exactly my home is located. as far as the relation "money/Pattaya" is concerned, your hint "needs plenty cash" is unwarranted.

for my wife and me living in Pattaya is not only totally "free of charge" but reaps additional profit. living in my native country Germany, Herr Steinbrueck the taxman would demand (even if i cheated considerably) approximately €UR 90,000 = more than 4 million Baht income tax per annum which i don't spend in Pattaya although i live (compared to Europe) a rather luxurious life style.

[MTW]

I thought the whole idea of this website is for farang to get togther and help each other. Many people writing seem to be very involved with the idea that they are better because they have more money, or that they are smarter because they didn't spend the money, whatever. There are all kinds of people living here as farang and from my own experience after three years here, we really need to stick together.

Different people need diffent things to make them feel secure and happy in life. If we are all so typical why didn't we stay in our home countries? Something made us come here to live and can't those reasons bring us together rather than make us fight about who has more, who is more stupid or smart?

This feeling that I am getting from those who say they bought into the Elite program reminds me of Thai culture where you can't admit maybe you made a mistake and also where if you have more money you deserve more respect and privileges.

A 70 year old person who lives here on a retirement pension is not someone I would think deserves disrespect just for the sake that some people have more money. Of course you do or you would not be here at such a young age. I came here at 37 and expect to have enough money to last my lifetime. A much older person doesn't need as much as they will probably not be living anywhere for 40-50 more years.

I would tend to very much respect people who can make such an adventurous change at a late age in their life and have found many people on this forum to be smart and experienced. While I also think some of the younger people are smart and experienced also, some are just running away from a life they hated for whatever reasons. Many I am sure have SAD, seasonal affective disorder, i.e., depresssion from their cold, grey countries and feel better here in the sun. I had this problem when I lived in cold, grey places to some extent and can understand this.

I want to think I am good for Thailand as I do not work here and much of my money gets spent here as well as I do not participate in illegal activies or unethical activities and I directly contribute to supporting Thai people. Some people DO come here to avail themselves of things that are not easy to get in our home countries and are illegal here even if nobody enforces the law. Are you better than some war veteran who is in a wheel chair and only has 40,000 baht a month to spend? Are any of us better or are we just more lucky? Personally I hate this word, lucky, because Thai people use it to describe others who are obviously smarter and/or harder workers although some were "lucky" to be born into families that could help them more.

But really, my experience has been difficult here, and I could use smart, sophisticated, open minded people around me which I think are the type of people to come here. We all have had some problems I believe, even those who are so rich they don't care if they waste $1 million baht a day ... why aren't you in Fiji or somewhere similar. I am not there because of lack of things to do and cost considerations.

Also let me just say that I am a woman. Do you know how hard it is to move here/live here as a woman? Alone I should add and I am not gay, am not fat and ugly and not broke. I am afraid to talk to most of you western men after I read on websites how pathetic you think we are if we are here, how you hate all your ex-western wives. I came here because I didn't care about meeting another man, after I was screwed over quite well by my white western husband. Some of you seem to think only men have something to lose to women who treat them badly.

Anyway I am getting off topic, but as Rodney King said "can't we all just get along?"

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I thought the whole idea of this website is for farang to get togther and help each other. Many people writing seem to be very involved with the idea that they are better because they have more money, or that they are smarter because they didn't spend the money, whatever. There are all kinds of people living here as farang and from my own experience after three years here, we really need to stick together.

Different people need diffent things to make them feel secure and happy in life. If we are all so typical why didn't we stay in our home countries? Something made us come here to live and can't those reasons bring us together rather than make us fight about who has more, who is more stupid or smart?

This feeling that I am getting from those who say they bought into the Elite program reminds me of Thai culture where you can't admit maybe you made a mistake and also where if you have more money you deserve more respect and privileges.

A 70 year old person who lives here on a retirement pension is not someone I would think deserves disrespect just for the sake that some people have more money. Of course you do or you would not be here at such a young age. I came here at 37 and expect to have enough money to last my lifetime. A much older person doesn't need as much as they will probably not be living anywhere for 40-50 more years.

I would tend to very much respect people who can make such an adventurous change at a late age in their life and have found many people on this forum to be smart and experienced. While I also think some of the younger people are smart and experienced also, some are just running away from a life they hated for whatever reasons. Many I am sure have SAD, seasonal affective disorder, i.e., depresssion from their cold, grey countries and feel better here in the sun. I had this problem when I lived in cold, grey places to some extent and can understand this.

I want to think I am good for Thailand as I do not work here and much of my money gets spent here as well as I do not participate in illegal activies or unethical activities and I directly contribute to supporting Thai people. Some people DO come here to avail themselves of things that are not easy to get in our home countries and are illegal here even if nobody enforces the law. Are you better than some war veteran who is in a wheel chair and only has 40,000 baht a month to spend? Are any of us better or are we just more lucky? Personally I hate this word, lucky, because Thai people use it to describe others who are obviously smarter and/or harder workers although some were "lucky" to be born into families that could help them more.

But really, my experience has been difficult here, and I could use smart, sophisticated, open minded people around me which I think are the type of people to come here. We all have had some problems I believe, even those who are so rich they don't care if they waste $1 million baht a day ... why aren't you in Fiji or somewhere similar. I am not there because of lack of things to do and cost considerations.

Also let me just say that I am a woman. Do you know how hard it is to move here/live here as a woman? Alone I should add and I am not gay, am not fat and ugly and not broke. I am afraid to talk to most of you western men after I read on websites how pathetic you think we are if we are here, how you hate all your ex-western wives. I came here because I didn't care about meeting another man, after I was screwed over quite well by my white western husband. Some of you seem to think only men have something to lose to women who treat them badly.

Anyway I am getting off topic, but as Rodney King said "can't we all just get along?"

Well said

[Hampstead]

I thought the whole idea of this website is for farang to get togther and help each other. Many people writing seem to be very involved with the idea that they are better because they have more money, or that they are smarter because they didn't spend the money, whatever. There are all kinds of people living here as farang and from my own experience after three years here, we really need to stick together.

Different people need diffent things to make them feel secure and happy in life. If we are all so typical why didn't we stay in our home countries? Something made us come here to live and can't those reasons bring us together rather than make us fight about who has more, who is more stupid or smart?

This feeling that I am getting from those who say they bought into the Elite program reminds me of Thai culture where you can't admit maybe you made a mistake and also where if you have more money you deserve more respect and privileges.

A 70 year old person who lives here on a retirement pension is not someone I would think deserves disrespect just for the sake that some people have more money. Of course you do or you would not be here at such a young age. I came here at 37 and expect to have enough money to last my lifetime. A much older person doesn't need as much as they will probably not be living anywhere for 40-50 more years.

I would tend to very much respect people who can make such an adventurous change at a late age in their life and have found many people on this forum to be smart and experienced. While I also think some of the younger people are smart and experienced also, some are just running away from a life they hated for whatever reasons. Many I am sure have SAD, seasonal affective disorder, i.e., depresssion from their cold, grey countries and feel better here in the sun. I had this problem when I lived in cold, grey places to some extent and can understand this.

I want to think I am good for Thailand as I do not work here and much of my money gets spent here as well as I do not participate in illegal activies or unethical activities and I directly contribute to supporting Thai people. Some people DO come here to avail themselves of things that are not easy to get in our home countries and are illegal here even if nobody enforces the law. Are you better than some war veteran who is in a wheel chair and only has 40,000 baht a month to spend? Are any of us better or are we just more lucky? Personally I hate this word, lucky, because Thai people use it to describe others who are obviously smarter and/or harder workers although some were "lucky" to be born into families that could help them more.

But really, my experience has been difficult here, and I could use smart, sophisticated, open minded people around me which I think are the type of people to come here. We all have had some problems I believe, even those who are so rich they don't care if they waste $1 million baht a day ... why aren't you in Fiji or somewhere similar. I am not there because of lack of things to do and cost considerations.

Also let me just say that I am a woman. Do you know how hard it is to move here/live here as a woman? Alone I should add and I am not gay, am not fat and ugly and not broke. I am afraid to talk to most of you western men after I read on websites how pathetic you think we are if we are here, how you hate all your ex-western wives. I came here because I didn't care about meeting another man, after I was screwed over quite well by my white western husband. Some of you seem to think only men have something to lose to women who treat them badly.

Anyway I am getting off topic, but as Rodney King said "can't we all just get along?"

Well said

Foreigners throughout the world are migrating to other countries, in vast quantities, this is not because there are running away or they have more or less money, it is for many different reasons and each reason is individual.

To say why thailand is to say why anyone chooses anything in life, why not? its their choice?

I respect those who are opened minded, not just stubborn mules who are of any age.

Your post shows a tendency to think the older the age, the more repsect he or she shall have, well in thailand with the vast numbers of retirees then this view is very much distorted.

Especially if you yourself are living in Pattaya or Jomtien or maybe worse you live around Washington Square in Bkk, then you will see many men of an older age for which you respect and admire so much.

some retirees are very open minded to see that thailand should have visa policies to reflect all kinds of foreigners, others seem to think that as retirees on longterm visa's they should comment in a negative way on any such matter of foreigners living their lives in thailand or looking to live their lives in thailand.

Thailand has moved on from the indo-china wars and this should be reflected in its visa regulations. Like in any third world country, laws take time to change.

Many foreigners once they recieve there longterm visa's want to close the door and not care a ###### about any other foreigners looking to migrate to thailand.

i for one will always back a programme like the elite or any other programmes or visa's which allow foreigners to stay in thailand.

After all this thread was about an elite programme for those under the age of 50 with excess liquidity and maybe living the single life, then why do we have a few negative comments from those on retirement visa's. with the exception of one?

there are plenty of other threads for these guys and ladies to get their teeth or false teeth into, in which has alot more to do with them than a programme which has nothing to do with visa's for foreigners looking to retire!

Edited April 1, 2007 by Hampstead

[gerry1011]

...

This feeling that I am getting from those who say they bought into the Elite program reminds me of Thai culture where you can't admit maybe you made a mistake and also where if you have more money you deserve more respect and privileges.

...

Pffff... It looks like the message will never go through !!!

"Made a mistake by bying the card" ??? Who said that ??? The ones who did not buy one ???

I really don't know what kind of language we must use to make you understand that we (the TE members) are very happy about the card.

We bought a product and we are happy with it. No more than that.

Nobody ever said that TE members deserve more respect because they have money. Same as for the retirees who nobody is suposed to respect only because of their age. Respect is gained with more than age or money, no need to say.