2 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

You can get $500 one way flights from Bangkok if you are willing to accept 23 hour layovers in Singapore and KL. $500 return is nonsense.

Nonsense?

BKK - Perth return Mon 26 Oct – Wed 4 Nov Nonstop 6 hr 45 min from $522

Google is your friend.

5 minutes ago, Nemises said:

There are actually a lot more financial perks than just the supplements, which I listed above. A major one for me is getting free travel insurance through my Aussie credit card by returning regularly. It saves me an absolute fortune on Thai insurance premiums.

I self-insure. I save a fortune on Thai insurance premiums anyway. I keep my private health insurance in Oz.

About a year ago, I had a bout of bacterial pneumonia. 2 nights in a Thai public hospital, IV in my arm, 4 bedside consults with doctors who spoke excellent English. X'rays and ECG, a pharmacy of take home medications.

Total cost $350.

Beside loss of $30 basic supplement on 20 September 2026 for Thailand dwellers, deeming rates will change affecting the assets test.

Don't expect to gain anything from the usual increase.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/money/government-support-and-welfare/nick-bruining-the-centrelink-payment-changes-that-will-clip-your-age-pension-and-how-to-minimise-the-pain/ar-AA2bGVA7

5 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I self-insure. I save a fortune on Thai insurance premiums anyway. I keep my private health insurance in Oz.

About a year ago, I had a bout of bacterial pneumonia. 2 nights in a Thai public hospital, IV in my arm, 4 bedside consults with doctors who spoke excellent English. X'rays and ECG, a pharmacy of take home medications.

Total cost $350.

A $350 bill for a couple of nights in a public ward is great, but pneumonia is a world away from a major accident or open-heart surgery. Self-insuring means you're personally on the hook for millions of baht if something truly serious happens. That’s a massive risk to take.

2 minutes ago, Nemises said:

Nonsense?

BKK - Perth return Mon 26 Oct – Wed 4 Nov Nonstop 6 hr 45 min from $522

Google is your friend.

Perth is a tad closer to Bangkok than Melbourne - about 2000 km. You said Australia, you did not specify Perth.

Claude is my friend

3 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Perth is a tad closer to Bangkok than Melbourne - about 2000 km. You said Australia, you did not specify Perth.

Claude is my friend

Moving the goalposts now? Perth is still Australia. It proves you can fly return from BKK to Oz for around $500, so it wasn't nonsense at all. I accept apologies in advance! :))

1 minute ago, Nemises said:

A $350 bill for a couple of nights in a public ward is great, but pneumonia is a world away from a major accident or open-heart surgery. Self-insuring means you're personally on the hook for millions of baht if something truly serious happens. That’s a massive risk to take.

Not for someone who lives sensibly, and monitors their health. Blood test, ECG/EKG etc. every 6 months.

Life is full of risk, such as insuring with a company that has a department full of people dedicated to weaseling out of claims.

2 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Not for someone who lives sensibly, and monitors their health. Blood test, ECG/EKG etc. every 6 months.

Life is full of risk, such as insuring with a company that has a department full of people dedicated to weaseling out of claims.

No amount of half-yearly blood tests or sensible living will stop a medical emergency or a serious accident. If you're happy to risk a multi-million baht bill on the assumption that nothing unexpected will ever happen to you, that's your call. But confusing a routine check-up with a safety net is a massive gamble.

2 minutes ago, Nemises said:

Moving the goalposts now? Perth is still Australia. It proves you can fly return from BKK to Oz for around $500, so it wasn't nonsense at all. I accept apologies in advance! :))

IIRC Perth has been trying to secede from the Eastern States since Federation.

Heaven knows why, we have been propping WA up financially ever since the GST was brought in.

Please post the return airfare quote from Google. You are the one moving goalposts, Perth is just a minor pimple compared to Melbourne and Sydney

8 minutes ago, Nemises said:

No amount of half-yearly blood tests or sensible living will stop a medical emergency or a serious accident. If you're happy to risk a multi-million baht bill on the assumption that nothing unexpected will ever happen to you, that's your call. But confusing a routine check-up with a safety net is a massive gamble.

True. If it happens, at 83 yo I am already past the average life expectancy of the Australian male.

Still. it's nice you should worry about my well-being.

6 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

IIRC Perth has been trying to secede from the Eastern States since Federation.

Heaven knows why, we have been propping WA up financially ever since the GST was brought in.

Please post the return airfare quote from Google. You are the one moving goalposts, Perth is just a minor pimple compared to Melbourne and Sydney

Jetstar's baseline price for a direct return flight from Bangkok to Melbourne has hovered around A$600 to A$650, putting the current A$628 fare right on par with typical pre-Iran conflict rates.

https://www.kayak.com.au/flight-routes/Jetstar-Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi-BKK/Melbourne-MEL.b.JQ.ksp

11 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

True. If it happens, at 83 yo I am already past the average life expectancy of the Australian male.

Still. it's nice you should worry about my well-being.

I’m not losing sleep over your health. My posts are purely for the other forum members reading this, so they don't get the wrong impression about what 'self-insuring' actually looks like when a real emergency hits.

2 minutes ago, Nemises said:

Jetstar's baseline price for a direct return flight from Bangkok to Melbourne has hovered around A$600 to A$650, putting the current A$628 fare right on par with typical pre-Iran conflict rates.

https://www.kayak.com.au/flight-routes/Jetstar-Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi-BKK/Melbourne-MEL.b.JQ.ksp

You really should check before posting.

The fares quoted in that link are ONE-WAY

Ah, you're spot on. Total oversight on my part—that is indeed for a one-way ticket. Thanks for keeping me honest!

Even so, factoring in a few of those trips a year still works out far cheaper than paying for health insurance in Thailand, especially when you factor in collecting the $2,400 supplement and all the other medical and pharmaceutical benefits mentioned earlier. Not to mention the big savings from bringing back duty-free perfumes, decent cheeses, and chocolates!

Plus, on a non-monetary level, getting to regularly see family and mates is absolutely invaluable.

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

It is getting pretty rare to find a GP in Australia who still bulk bills. Most want extra.

A GP consultation at a private hospital in Chiang Rai is $15.

I only have one medication. It would cost me $100 pa in Australia. Here, it is about $700 pa.

Two roofs over my head, village house and condo. Two scooters, two cars. Try doing that in Oz on an age pension.

Yes I do find out last week the blood pressure medication valsartan was triple the price in Thailand

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I keep my private health insurance in Oz.

What's the point of paying private health insurance if your over pension age

So your paying $160-200 a month for Australian private health insurance which also has a excess I guess of $500-$750

At your age if there am emergency just come back to Australia and use the Public hospital system

Edited 38 minutes ago38 min by georgegeorgia

1 hour ago, Nemises said:

Ah, you're spot on. Total oversight on my part—that is indeed for a one-way ticket. Thanks for keeping me honest!

Even so, factoring in a few of those trips a year still works out far cheaper than paying for health insurance in Thailand, especially when you factor in collecting the $2,400 supplement and all the other medical and pharmaceutical benefits mentioned earlier. Not to mention the big savings from bringing back duty-free perfumes, decent cheeses, and chocolates!

Plus, on a non-monetary level, getting to regularly see family and mates is absolutely invaluable.

I still don't see how the math works.

Let's say I keep the $2400 supplement by traveling in and out of Australia 3 times in a year. That's $1200 per trip, plus $150 Chiang Rai to Bangkok. Call it $4000 all up.

Even going to Perth instead of Melbourne, it is still more than $2400.

Certainly it becomes more viable if it is 12 weeks before losing the supplement, rather than 6.

I don't know how much jet fuel Aussie airlines have in reserve, which may be keeping prices down. Having said that, from your own link airline fares are predicted to rise world-wide, if they have not already.