New Thailand Elite Visa packages from September 15th ?

[JAFO]

19 hours ago, ukrules said:

Being unmarried, aged under 50 and not working in Thailand

 

You get a hassle free long term visa with 1 year entry stamps and some largely irrelevant 'window dressing' 'benefits' and never need to leave the country if you don't want to.

 

Is it really worth the cash outlay?  I guess if you are not working and under 50 and do not want to make border runs then maybe this offers a benefit. Of course a good agent can set you up for a heck of a lot less over that 5 year period. I mean they really fluff it up with all these "Incredible" benefits but just do not see it being worth it. Its like paying up front for a long term membership to some posh club but you never go and seldom use the amenities.  

[JayClay]

2 minutes ago, JAFO said:

Of course a good agent can set you up for a heck of a lot less over that 5 year period.

If know of a good agent who can arrange long stay visas for those unmarried and under 50 for "a heck of a lot less" than the elite packages I would be very grateful for an introduction. As would many others, I'm sure.

[farangbuffalo]

5 minutes ago, JAFO said:

Is it really worth the cash outlay?  I guess if you are not working and under 50 and do not want to make border runs then maybe this offers a benefit. Of course a good agent can set you up for a heck of a lot less over that 5 year period. I mean they really fluff it up with all these "Incredible" benefits but just do not see it being worth it. Its like paying up front for a long term membership to some posh club but you never go and seldom use the amenities.  

It's not a matter of not wanting to do border runs. There comes a point where you won't be able to any more. I'd happily do them indefinitely if it was possible. There is no long term option that an agent can setup for less that I'm aware of but please enlighten us if you know of something

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, JAFO said:

Is it really worth the cash outlay?  I guess if you are not working and under 50 and do not want to make border runs then maybe this offers a benefit. Of course a good agent can set you up for a heck of a lot less over that 5 year period. I mean they really fluff it up with all these "Incredible" benefits but just do not see it being worth it. Its like paying up front for a long term membership to some posh club but you never go and seldom use the amenities.  

Staying long term on visa exemptions and border bounces is no longer viable.

 

All a good agent can offer you (now fraudulent volunteer visas have been comprehensively squashed) is education visas. These involve cost and some hassle, usually necessitating annual border bounces alongside 60 or 90-day extensions. It might be possible to accomplish this more cheaply than a 20-yesr Elite (at current prices) but it will be hard.

[Tuvoc]

2 hours ago, JAFO said:

I mean they really fluff it up with all these "Incredible" benefits but just do not see it being worth it. Its like paying up front for a long term membership to some posh club but you never go and seldom use the amenities.  

I'm not interested in the benefits, the value for me is in completely hassle free dealings with immigration. Either you don't have to visit them at all for 5 yrs if you go out of the country once a year, or if you don't then the annual visit to immigration is simply a rubber-stamp I believe, minimal or no document or forms.

 

However, I am still totally conflicted about the 1 million baht price tag. I can do either retirement extensions or marriage extensions, my choice - and I think marriage extensions will always be "protected".  Is it worth 50,000 per year (x 20 yrs = 1.000.000 baht) just to avoid hassle once a year with immigration ?  I'm struggling to answer that question !

[nottin]

I have submitted my application for the 20yrs no-frills membership. I have done all of my visits by myself to Cheang Wattana for non-immigration OA extensions, re-entry permits, 90-day checks (before the online site was consistently reliable) for 5+yrs now. Realizing that am not getting any younger and it will get harder and harder to make these trips (even with the new BTS line running down Cheang Wattana Road), my memory more susceptible to forgetting to keep the required funds in the bank on which and which dates, I see merit in a membership. And then when consider the cost and doing a bit of back of the envelop math, I can find a way where it just about pays for itself.

 

The way I calculate this is with the non-imm OA visa we need to have insurance with out-patient coverage. Before this requirement came in a few yrs ago I still had medical insurance, although I had no out-patient and had a 40k deductible for hospitalization. With Thailand Elite I would go back to that coverage. That saves me ~37K. Then also save on the extension 1.9K, two re-entry permits 2K. Now am within 10k of the 50k cost/year on the membership (1mil/20yr). Some might say just get an agent to help. Well, an agent would probably cost most of that 10k and what assurance is there that an agent doesn’t do something correctly or does a flier. At the end of day a non-immigration it still is only a year at a time assurance. A Thailand Elite membership seems to me to give assurance and certainty with less stress. And if my math is correct, pays for itself

[JAFO]

1 hour ago, Tuvoc said:

I'm not interested in the benefits, the value for me is in completely hassle free dealings with immigration. Either you don't have to visit them at all for 5 yrs if you go out of the country once a year, or if you don't then the annual visit to immigration is simply a rubber-stamp I believe, minimal or no document or forms.

 

However, I am still totally conflicted about the 1 million baht price tag. I can do either retirement extensions or marriage extensions, my choice - and I think marriage extensions will always be "protected".  Is it worth 50,000 per year (x 20 yrs = 1.000.000 baht) just to avoid hassle once a year with immigration ?  I'm struggling to answer that question !

I think that is fair Tuvoc.  I am surprised at some of the other posters who can't seem to find an agent to make it work for them.  I know half a dozen expats 40 to 60 who use agents.  Price ranges from 12k to 15k bht.  X 5 is 60K baht over 5 years.  Math seems pretty simple to me.  I understand those who are under 50 and not married to a Thai national might want an easy path.  While in my current position I could comfortably fund the elite Visa pkg, It just doesn't make good financial sense. If I was single I would probably use an agent but I think a lot would depend on where I lived in Thailand and the access to an immigration office.  I am not that busy that once every 3 months I can stop by and say Hi then go have lunch somewhere and with the money I didn't cough up for the Elite Visa I could enjoy a lot of really good lunches all over Thailand. ????

 

 

[BritTim]

4 hours ago, JAFO said:

I think that is fair Tuvoc.  I am surprised at some of the other posters who can't seem to find an agent to make it work for them.  I know half a dozen expats 40 to 60 who use agents.  Price ranges from 12k to 15k bht.

How on earth can an agent offer you a one-year stay as a 40-year-old for 15,000 baht? Even when agent assisted volunteer visas and extensions were available, they cost way more than that. Today, the cheapest is a Non Ed visa and extensions which (including immigration fees and fees to the school) cannot be less than 40k baht a year, and hard to arrange at that price.

[Klonko]

4 hours ago, JAFO said:

 ... I am surprised at some of the other posters who can't seem to find an agent to make it work for them.  I know half a dozen expats 40 to 60 who use agents.  Price ranges from 12k to 15k bht.  X 5 is 60K baht over 5 years.  ...

Assuming that future usability of agents is as probable as the validity of a 20 year Elite membership.

Edited August 14, 2023 by Klonko

[DrJack54]

9 minutes ago, Klonko said:

Assuming that future usability of agents is as probable as the validity of a 20 year Elite membership.

Surely you are new to Thailand 

[Tuvoc]

In my case, there are no agents in Chiang Rai, or at least that was the case 2 years ago. Out of province agents and extensions are not a good idea in my humble opinion. 

[Tuvoc]

8 hours ago, nottin said:

I have submitted my application for the 20yrs no-frills membership

Did you do it directly, or through one of the many agents ?

[ukrules]

It will be interesting to see if those who rushed to 'upgrade' their 5 year memberships were all processed in a timely manner before the deadline which is Tuesday (today).

 

I also find it a little odd that now the Thailand Elite memberships appear to be thriving that there's a new management team - did they fire the management who were in charge of making it successful?

 

The first thing the new 'management team' go on to do is take the successful membership packages which are selling quite well and CANCEL every single one of them to be replaced with something that's yet to be determined.

 

It's very odd

Edited August 14, 2023 by ukrules

[Klonko]

4 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Surely you are new to Thailand 

Long enough to consider it more likely within the next 20 years that agents will not be able to provide workarounds anymore than Elite not to honour existing memberships. It is interesting that as many forum members support MFP and critize corruption as many forum members use agents for visa workarounds.  

[nottin]

6 hours ago, Tuvoc said:

Did you do it directly, or through one of the many agents ?

Directly with them online. It is very easy, very quick. Now am waiting for them to verify documents which they say can take up to 3 months. 

[RedCardinal]

Found on a Facebook group, with the following comment:

"I’m at the Elite offices now. All upgrades have been extended with your original upgrade price locked in."

Can't vouch for authenticity, but looks legit:

 

 

[BritTim]

7 minutes ago, RedCardinal said:

Found on a Facebook group, with the following comment:

"I’m at the Elite offices now. All upgrades have been extended with your original upgrade price locked in."

Can't vouch for authenticity, but looks legit:

 

 

I would be happier if this letter included the phrase "at the original prices". My fear all along has not been that an upgrade would be impossible, but that the price of an upgrade would be much higher.

[youngexpat]

just spoke to a rep on the phone.

 

sounded like she was saying i could do my original upgrade at the old price.

 

didn't make a recording

 

let's hope for the best.

 

6 minutes ago, BritTim said:

I would be happier if this letter included the phrase "at the original prices". My fear all along has not been that an upgrade would be impossible, but that the price of an upgrade would be much higher.

 

[RedCardinal]

6 minutes ago, BritTim said:

I would be happier if this letter included the phrase "at the original prices". My fear all along has not been that an upgrade would be impossible, but that the price of an upgrade would be much higher.

I think the fact that they are going to permit members to upgrade to packages that will no longer be available to purchase, in addition to an upgrade path to the new yet-to-be-announced packages, most probably indicates they'll honour the current prices for the legacy upgrade packages.  Best guess of course, and only time will tell I suppose.

[stratocaster]

Just received e mail from elite that if you wish to upgrade from the 5 year to the 20 year you now have until 3 months before your 5 year expires to renew. The new dead line has been cancelled.

[Tuvoc]

5 hours ago, nottin said:

Directly with them online. It is very easy, very quick. Now am waiting for them to verify documents which they say can take up to 3 months. 

Oh I didn't realize it could be done online directly with them.

I think I'm going to go ahead. At the moment I'm still going backwards and forwards between NZ and Thailand, and I'm not always in control of the timing. So it is very possible that I may not be in Thailand at the right time to do the annual retirement renewal and it would lapse. Guess I could just rely on visa exempt with extension, but that will become a hassle. So Elite does actually work quite well for me.

 

 

[JAFO]

14 hours ago, Tuvoc said:

In my case, there are no agents in Chiang Rai, or at least that was the case 2 years ago. Out of province agents and extensions are not a good idea in my humble opinion. 

Understand Tuvoc. Of course a quick trip into BKK for a weekend for some R&R, an agent can be located. Again this all depends on ones personal disposition and life status.  I fully understand that if an individual cannot travel or doesn't want to, then this Elite Visa option might be the best avenue. For me being married and here on an O marriage extension, my annual cash outlay is 1800 bht for a 1 year and my wife usually does my 90 day check in's so my POV is heavily skewed that an Elite Visa is just tossing money out the window for what appears to be a little convenience.  I would rather take that cash and go rent a top class Villa on an island for a bit and reeeeeelax. 

 

I do appreciate everyone's point of view and situation.  We all do what's best for ourselves and our situations.

 

Cheers

[mokwit]

22 hours ago, JAFO said:

I know half a dozen expats 40 to 60 who use agents.  Price ranges from 12k to 15k bht.  X 5 is 60K baht over 5 years.  Math seems pretty simple to me.  I understand those who are under 50 and not married to a Thai national might want an easy path. 

You forgot to elaborate on this easy path for the under 50's. The board is all ears.

[ukrules]

6 hours ago, youngexpat said:

just spoke to a rep on the phone.

 

sounded like she was saying i could do my original upgrade at the old price.

 

didn't make a recording

 

let's hope for the best.

I expected them to backpedal when the new program failed but not before it even launched.

 

Amazing.

[K2938]

11 hours ago, stratocaster said:

Just received e mail from elite that if you wish to upgrade from the 5 year to the 20 year you now have until 3 months before your 5 year expires to renew. The new dead line has been cancelled.

Good!  Sounds like too many people complained that their rights were violated by the Aug. 15 deadline and so Thai Elite eventually decided not to pursue this any further.

[martinafr]

We submitted Elite Easy Access on the end of July and are waiting for approval. Than our Agent told us we should think about upgrading to the 20 Extension because of the Elite "relaunch". 

So we are organizing "EASY PEASY" another 20k for upgrade...???? 

Hopefuly the end of this "deadline scam" is true!

Now all the Agents are so silent...

Can someone else confirm or post the "no deadline anymore email" from Thailand Elite? ????

[BritTim]

17 minutes ago, martinafr said:

We submitted Elite Easy Access on the end of July and are waiting for approval. Than our Agent told us we should think about upgrading to the 20 Extension because of the Elite "relaunch". 

So we are organizing "EASY PEASY" another 20k for upgrade...???? 

Hopefuly the end of this "deadline scam" is true!

Now all the Agents are so silent...

Can someone else confirm or post the "no deadline anymore email" from Thailand Elite? ????

I hope you are applying direct with Thailand Elite. If so, call them and confirm whether your not yet approved Easy Access membership will include the same upgrade rights as older memberships.

[K2938]

36 minutes ago, martinafr said:

We submitted Elite Easy Access on the end of July and are waiting for approval. Than our Agent told us we should think about upgrading to the 20 Extension because of the Elite "relaunch". 

So we are organizing "EASY PEASY" another 20k for upgrade...???? 

Hopefuly the end of this "deadline scam" is true!

Now all the Agents are so silent...

Can someone else confirm or post the "no deadline anymore email" from Thailand Elite?

As there are a huge number of posts on this in the social media, it is virtually certain that the deadline is gone for sure.  But this does not really help you so much because there is a lack of clarity on what terms you could upgrade.  So to be on the safe side, you might still want to upgrade, though best to wait a couple of weeks to see what other news might come out

[ukrules]

1 hour ago, martinafr said:

Can someone else confirm or post the "no deadline anymore email" from Thailand Elite?

Yes, I got it via email too.

 

It's worth reading this bit again :

 

 

It does specifically mention that old OR new membership types can be used when upgrading but I wonder if that was their intent to still be issuing the old style 20 year 'Superiority Extension' in several years from now, perhaps it is.

 

Maybe someone should confirm this with them. Previously when reading an email from them I had understood that renewals of existing memberships would resume January 2024 well after the new memberships have launched and it would only be to the new memberships.

 

I wonder what happened there today for this to be the end result. It's quite a change.

[martinafr]

 

7 hours ago, ukrules said:

Yes, I got it via email too.

 

It's worth reading this bit again :

 

 

It does specifically mention that old OR new membership types can be used when upgrading but I wonder if that was their intent to still be issuing the old style 20 year 'Superiority Extension' in several years from now, perhaps it is.

Maybe they need "equivalent membership type" because they discontinue ESE but granting existing members the same price with a new name.

They wrote "equivalent" then the price shouldn't really differ? But nobody knows right... Other question is whether the content of the letter only applies to members or also for applications made before 15 Sept. received?