Is anyone considering upgrading their Thailand Privilege/Elite Card?

[wasabi]

I recently got an email from Thailand Privilege pointing me to the following link.

 

Membership Upgrade Information (thailandprivilege.co.th)

 

In the email, I was told I had the "opportunity" to upgrade.

 

As a valued member of Thailand Privilege Card, you can consider upgrading your membership to a new card scheme to experience endless benefits and privileges from hundreds of vendors that fit your lifestyle.

 

They further stated regardless of choosing to upgrade or not, all tiers would change names as follows:

 

The current members in Elite Ultimate Privilege, Elite Family Premium, Elite Superiority Extension, Elite Family Alternative, Elite Privilege Access, Elite Family Excursion, Elite Easy Access, and Lifetime members have the option to remain in the same categories and enjoy their current benefits.

 

However, there will be an automatic card name change as follows:

•Elite Easy Access Card will change to “Gold Elite Easy Access Card”
•Elite Family Excursion Card will Change to “Gold Elite Family Excursion Card”
•Elite Family Alternative Card will change to “Platinum Elite Family Alternative” Card
•Elite Privilege Access Card will change to “Platinum Elite Privilege Access Card”
•Elite Superiority Extension Card will change to “Platinum Elite Superiority Extension Card”
•Elite Ultimate Privilege Card will change to “Diamond Elite Ultimate Privilege Card”
•Elite Family Premium Card will change to “Diamond Elite Family Premium Card”
•Lifetime Card will change to “Diamond Lifetime Card”

 

Other than the initial fee I paid to purchase my visa, I don't pay any recurring fees for my visa and am happy with my current benefits. But I was curious, so I followed the link which opens as a PDF that lists the tiers and upgrade options. All come with costs and recurring fees beyond what I currently (don't) pay. They mention "endless benefits and privileges", but I don't see any such thing in the documents they provided. Only additional costs. They've also implemented a point system which I don't know the utility of either. As I said I don't plan to upgrade but was wondering if anyone else will and what are the advantages of doing so.

 

 

**** Update. I see on the following website there are a few benefits I don't have in the new tiers but they are not worth the extra money I'd need to pay to upgrade and get them.

 

Thailand Privilege - Diamond Membership Reservation

 

[Will B Good]

Are you confident that this is not a scam?

[wasabi]

I am certain it is not. Because I saw brochures mentioning the same new tiers at their Headquarters. The email is from them and the website is https secure.

[Korat Kiwi]

It appears to be similar to Sports packages on TV/Internet. 

 

Initially you get the all singing dancing version that is yours for life.  Further down the road they mysteriously come up with an upgraded package. 

 

So your once in a lifetime double platinum membership heads to the bottom of their 'improved' status scheme. 

 

Just another way of additional funds out of you.  Oh sorry its called marketing. 

 

Best of luck with what you decide to do. 

[clearance]

I'll gladly pay one time upgrade fee to get points, but for 50/75/100k thb/year I can pay for my insurance/checkup and transportation from/to airport by myself. So no, thank you TE.

[Caldera]

They've clearly lost the plot with their new offers, I'm curious what's next.

[wasabi]

14 hours ago, Caldera said:

They've clearly lost the plot with their new offers, I'm curious what's next.

It was already confusing having the old Special Entry and newer Privilege Entry Thailand Elite tiers with each having their own benefits and quotas to use them (sometimes unlimited). Now, adding a point scheme and new tiers does not add value, only more confusion. I've felt that my benefits with Thailand Elite are similar to those I get with my credit card for simply having it. These benefits were easy to understand and use. The point system makes it seem like they want to be somewhere between an airline, hotel chain and visa concierge service. The duck-billed platypus of visas. If they wanted to enhance value, they should've found a way to get rid of 90 day reporting for holders of the visa in the same manner the LTR visa holders do not need to bother with that annoying process.

[Srikcir]

You might consider the 10-year Long Term Resident visa costing 50,000 THB. Four different qualifying categories. Annual notification of residence, multiple Fast Track re-entries, foreign income tax exempt for three categories, no annual bank statements, no minimum monthly monthly, transfers, etc. Offered by the Thailand Board of Investment.

 

[wasabi]

1 hour ago, Srikcir said:

You might consider the 10-year Long Term Resident visa costing 50,000 THB. Four different qualifying categories. Annual notification of residence, multiple Fast Track re-entries, foreign income tax exempt for three categories, no annual bank statements, no minimum monthly monthly, transfers, etc. Offered by the Thailand Board of Investment.

 

I've still got 15 years left on my 20-year Thailand Privilege visa, and other than the goofy marketing attempts as described above which I'm choosing to ignore, I'm happy with it. When those 15 years are over if I qualify for the Long-term Resident visa (which I mentioned above as LTR) and it's the best option, I'd consider it.

[MrBanks]

I also received the email from them.

I bought the 20 year visa for 1 million baht, I don’t see anything in the upgrades that interests me, or justifies the increased cost.

The one thing that I am unclear of, is where we stand regarding the change in income tax, I bought my visa, in great part because of this:

”Tax exemption on any income earned outside Thailand” direct quote from their website (at the time I was applying) https://thailand-elite.com/thailand-residence-visa-ltr-visa-vs-elite-visa-comparison/

I understand (hearsay only), that in the past when they changed the benefits, if an existing one was taken away from the new “offer”, it was left “grandfathered in” for the people who had bought the visa with that benefit.

I am trying to find out if that is the case, regarding tax, do you have any insight on this?

[Ben Zioner]

13 minutes ago, RockerC said:

So, for an older person wishing to retire, this would mean they would again need to meet both these requirements, which could be difficult depending upon individual circumstances (i.e. level of investment/passive income if no longer directly earning during the initial 5-year period and medical insurance depending upon age/health issues).  I have not seen this specified in writing but the BOI officer I sat across the table from was adamant this was the case.  

Well, if someone qualified on the basis of a USD 80000 pension, isn't the likelihood of a straightforward renewal quite high? 

[wasabi]

3 hours ago, MrBanks said:

I also received the email from them.

I bought the 20 year visa for 1 million baht, I don’t see anything in the upgrades that interests me, or justifies the increased cost.

The one thing that I am unclear of, is where we stand regarding the change in income tax, I bought my visa, in great part because of this:

”Tax exemption on any income earned outside Thailand” direct quote from their website (at the time I was applying) https://thailand-elite.com/thailand-residence-visa-ltr-visa-vs-elite-visa-comparison/

I understand (hearsay only), that in the past when they changed the benefits, if an existing one was taken away from the new “offer”, it was left “grandfathered in” for the people who had bought the visa with that benefit.

I am trying to find out if that is the case, regarding tax, do you have any insight on this?

 

I'm fairly sure that the link you've shared is not for the official Thailand Elite visa site even though at first glance it looks like it is. I believe that it's from a vendor wishing to act as an agent selling the visas (who may now be defunct). This is the official site. https://www.thailandprivilege.co.th/ I've read some people who said they were promised tax advantages by having the Thailand Privilege visa. I would certainly like that but I've never seen or been offered that myself.

[noobexpat]

I applied to upgrade my 5 year 600k elite in august last year.

A few weeks back i got my application letter accepted, which said i had 30 days to pay the extra 400k. 

 

They take 6 months to do their bit and want my money in 30 days.

Cheeky i thought.

I can just move to >50 retirement visa, so i'm in no rush to decide. 3.5 years left on the elite.

Good way to get rid of some cash i don't need, but still.

 

 

[schweizer]

Many years ago the Elite visa was without an end date, when they brought out the previous visa they tried to get them to change to a 20 year limited visa, not popular

 

now they are trying to get people to move to the new visa, shorter life, more costs

 

I believe the Americans call this a "no brainer"

[noobexpat]

17 minutes ago, schweizer said:

Many years ago the Elite visa was without an end date, when they brought out the previous visa they tried to get them to change to a 20 year limited visa, not popular

 

now they are trying to get people to move to the new visa, shorter life, more costs

 

I believe the Americans call this a "no brainer"

 

Yes many americans have no brain.

[Conno]

Looking back, the 20 year Elite PE Visa at 1M baht was the best move one could have made considering all the problems I read about with other visa options for long term stays. I also received this email and my first impression was it's a complete waste of money. My second impression is given the recent [up to 400%] price hikes, plus the new tax changes that kicked in 1st Jan, they might not be getting as much business and earning the same income they once were. Doubt this gimmick is going to change any of that.

 

Get a concession from the powers that be and make the new Privilege Visas tax exempt for overseas income [same same LTR Visa] and they might start attracting customers again.   

[noobexpat]

15 minutes ago, Conno said:

Looking back, the 20 year Elite PE Visa at 1M baht was the best move one could have made considering all the problems I read about with other visa options for long term stays. I also received this email and my first impression was it's a complete waste of money. My second impression is given the recent [up to 400%] price hikes, plus the new tax changes that kicked in 1st Jan, they might not be getting as much business and earning the same income they once were. Doubt this gimmick is going to change any of that.

 

Get a concession from the powers that be and make the new Privilege Visas tax exempt for overseas income [same same LTR Visa] and they might start attracting customers again.   

 

.

[wasabi]

7 hours ago, schweizer said:

Many years ago the Elite visa was without an end date, when they brought out the previous visa they tried to get them to change to a 20 year limited visa, not popular

 

now they are trying to get people to move to the new visa, shorter life, more costs

 

I believe the Americans call this a "no brainer"

My wife and I purchased our Thailand Elite visas from a couple who had the lifetime TE visas and were leaving Thailand. Some classes of the visa then and now can be resold. Thailand Elite told us we could obtain a 30-year Special Entry visa or a 20-Year Privilege Entry visa. At first it seemed like a "no-brainer" to go with the Special Entry version but that required not only 90-day reporting but 90-day extensions as well. That'd involve getting our photo taken, paying the 1900 THB fee, and going to immigration or leaving and reentering Thailand every 90 days in addition to 90-day reporting.

 

Thailand does not offer their visa concierge services for 90-day reporting with the SE version. However, the 20-year PE version comes with yearly extensions and the various concierge services.  One last wrinkle is with the SE family visas we had to choose a primary member. If that member died then the other would lose their visa. The PE version does not have that restriction either. Basically, they really wanted to get people away from the SE versions of the visa and due to the hassle, the SE visas would have caused us we elected to go with the 20-year version. These are equal to the EUP class that has massages and transfer service etc. but cost us less than the 20-year superiority extension would have so that was the "no-brainer" for us.

 

 

[MrBanks]

18 hours ago, wasabi said:

 

I'm fairly sure that the link you've shared is not for the official Thailand Elite visa site even though at first glance it looks like it is. I believe that it's from a vendor wishing to act as an agent selling the visas (who may now be defunct). This is the official site. https://www.thailandprivilege.co.th/ I've read some people who said they were promised tax advantages by having the Thailand Privilege visa. I would certainly like that but I've never seen or been offered that myself.

 

[MrBanks]

Hi thanks for your reply.

I am going to email elite visa today and ask the question directly, I will let you know what they say.

Sorry, I screwed up the “quote” function, so posted twice, ah well, me and technology, not the best of friends 😂

[schweizer]

5 hours ago, wasabi said:

My wife and I purchased our Thailand Elite visas from a couple who had the lifetime TE visas and were leaving Thailand. Some classes of the visa then and now can be resold. Thailand Elite told us we could obtain a 30-year Special Entry visa or a 20-Year Privilege Entry visa. At first it seemed like a "no-brainer" to go with the Special Entry version but that required not only 90-day reporting but 90-day extensions as well. That'd involve getting our photo taken, paying the 1900 THB fee, and going to immigration or leaving and reentering Thailand every 90 days in addition to 90-day reporting.

 

Thailand does not offer their visa concierge services for 90-day reporting with the SE version. However, the 20-year PE version comes with yearly extensions and the various concierge services.  One last wrinkle is with the SE family visas we had to choose a primary member. If that member died then the other would lose their visa. The PE version does not have that restriction either. Basically, they really wanted to get people away from the SE versions of the visa and due to the hassle, the SE visas would have caused us we elected to go with the 20-year version. These are equal to the EUP class that has massages and transfer service etc. but cost us less than the 20-year superiority extension would have so that was the "no-brainer" for us.

 

 

I understand what you are saying

 

I guess they want everyone on the same type of visa as running 3 types, let alone the sub-types is not easy or fun, but screwing the customer over in the process is very typical of the non-rational thinking that I ave come to expect

[richard_smith237]

6 hours ago, wasabi said:

My wife and I purchased our Thailand Elite visas from a couple who had the lifetime TE visas and were leaving Thailand. Some classes of the visa then and now can be resold. Thailand Elite told us we could obtain a 30-year Special Entry visa or a 20-Year Privilege Entry visa. At first it seemed like a "no-brainer" to go with the Special Entry version but that required not only 90-day reporting but 90-day extensions as well. That'd involve getting our photo taken, paying the 1900 THB fee, and going to immigration or leaving and reentering Thailand every 90 days in addition to 90-day reporting.

 

Thailand does not offer their visa concierge services for 90-day reporting with the SE version. However, the 20-year PE version comes with yearly extensions and the various concierge services.  One last wrinkle is with the SE family visas we had to choose a primary member. If that member died then the other would lose their visa. The PE version does not have that restriction either. Basically, they really wanted to get people away from the SE versions of the visa and due to the hassle, the SE visas would have caused us we elected to go with the 20-year version. These are equal to the EUP class that has massages and transfer service etc. but cost us less than the 20-year superiority extension would have so that was the "no-brainer" for us.

 

I hold the same membership which is life time and can be sold on for 30 years (S.E. Visa - 5 years validity each time, renewable for life, but have to do 90 day extensions, its a bit weird)....  I didn't know it could be sold on for a 20 year P.E Visa.

 

Thai Elite provide one 'concierge service per year' thats why they don't do the 90 day extension every time (just once per year) but you have to go ourselves anyway, so its the same as doing it yourself - but its still a PITA... 

 

Given the amount I travel and the unreliability of taxis / Grab etc... the airport transfers and fast track are an exceptional convenience. 

 

 

How much did you buy your memberships for (2nd hand) ?

 

I've always been lowballed by offers in the past and never sold mine on.

 

[wasabi]

2 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

I hold the same membership which is life time and can be sold on for 30 years (S.E. Visa - 5 years validity each time, renewable for life, but have to do 90 day extensions, its a bit weird)....  I didn't know it could be sold on for a 20 year P.E Visa.

 

How much did you buy your memberships for (2nd hand) ?

 

I've always been lowballed by offers in the past and never sold mine on.

 

 

Once we elected to change from SE to PE visas, we were briefly converted to the SE and then the PE visas. It was not possible to go straight from the lifetime version to PE, but the process was done seamlessly on our end. My wife and I retain the right to sell our visas one time, but the next person would only receive our remaining years. We have no plans to sell them.

 

Thailand Privilege has a flat rate they charge for eligible transfers, and that fee is non-negotiable. I don't remember what portion of the total we paid that was. Whoever is selling the visas sets their own rates in addition to the flat rate. The couple were eager to return to Russia, which affected our price. We purchased both visas for a total price of 1.5 million THB (which included the couple's fee and the Thailand Elite fee) That was an exceptional deal as far as I can tell, given that the Priority extension, 20-year visas were 1 million THB each at the time, which itself was a good deal too. At the time, the Elite Ultimate Privilege (EUP) visas, which is what we now have, were 2 million each. So that's a 2.5 million THB savings. One other detail is we were required to pay in cash which was a little odd but not a big deal since the transaction took place at Bangkok Bank.

 

I was ignorant about how all of this worked until I discovered the secondhand visas on the website BahtSold.com. At first, I thought my wife and I would be getting lifetime visas, too, and did not expect any further benefit. We were lucky to have a very knowledgeable Thailand Elite Staff member who explained all the options clearly. Once I understood everything, I realized this was the best deal I'd get, and we went for it. I had not planned on receiving the "benefits" and likely would not have paid extra for them, but my wife and I enjoy them immensely, so it all worked out in the end.

 

[xenophon]

On 2/22/2024 at 4:58 PM, wasabi said:

As I said I don't plan to upgrade but was wondering if anyone else will and what are the advantages of doing so.

I agree with you. However these emails do make me nervous. I have had a 20 year Elite Superiority Extension for a few years now., am happy with it and see no need to change.

I hope that I can continue to simply use that. What do you think?

[wasabi]

1 hour ago, xenophon said:

I agree with you. However these emails do make me nervous. I have had a 20 year Elite Superiority Extension for a few years now., am happy with it and see no need to change.

I hope that I can continue to simply use that. What do you think?

 

The precedent up to now, as another poster mentioned, is for current visa holders to be grandfathered into their various visa schemes. Thailand Privilege can try to entice us with new schemes, but all visa holders have signed contracts with them which should prevent them from requiring us to change. There was a brief period around 2008 when Thailand Elite nearly went bankrupt and there was uncertainty if the scheme would endure but even then, no one was forced to give up their rights to the visa because the government stepped in and supported the program.