george Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Breaking News: Thailand Elite Card is abandoned BANGKOK: -- The loss-making Thailand Elite Card, launched in 2003 to lure wealthy tourists and business people to Thailand, will be scrapped, a government spokesman said. Only 2,570 were members in 2008. -- Reuters/Bangkok Post 2009-01-29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george Posted January 29, 2009 Author Share Posted January 29, 2009 Little fancied Elite card is abandoned -- Bangkok Post (printed edition) 2009-01-29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAWP Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Anyone complaining about their card becoming worthless wasn't ELITE to begin with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neverdie Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 (edited) WELL WELL WELL (3 Wells), Looks like that should put an end of all the speculation. What a bargin card to own. I guess the only thing we need to wait and see is how much compensation the members are going to get? Hope no-one holds their breath. Edited January 29, 2009 by neverdie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkup2000 Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Let just hope that those who actually bought the card, got the value they hoped for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtoad Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 This has been coming for a number of weeks, although a number of "Elite" card holders have been burying their head in the sand, and even the "noted" Sunbelt jumped to it's defence. No surprise, only that it's lasted this long. 2,800 members, not exactly a success. The next question though, is where have the membership fees gone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtoad Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 WELL WELL WELL (3 Wells),Looks like that should put an end of all the speculation. What a bargin card to own. I guess the only thing we need to wait and see is how much compensation the members are going to get? Hope no-one holds their breath. I think we all know the answer to that. Ah, well at least I have my TOPS SPOT card, probably more value than the Elite card these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sriracha john Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 (edited) Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had instructed his ministry to work out compensation for the small number of members or find other ways to take care of them. Perhaps as a show of their good nature, Thaksin's formerly-owned AIS's competitor DTAC will be offering complimentary 600 baht pre-paid mobile phone service cards to compensate for the 1.5 Million baht spend on the Elite Card. That's a fair "way to take care of them." = Edited January 29, 2009 by sriracha john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sriracha john Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 No wonder they kept their inner-workings more private than a clandestine CIA operation: The state-owned Thailand Privilege Card, which issues the cards and runs the scheme, posted accumulated losses of up to 1.14 Billion Baht as of 2006. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neverdie Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Nasty stuff to laugh at someone else's misfortune! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxexile Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 to work out compensation for the small numbers of members or find other ways to take care of them sounds ominous , images of cement overcoats and cold nights on the hudson riverbank spring to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nirvana Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 No wonder they kept their inner-workings more private than a clandestine CIA operation:The state-owned Thailand Privilege Card, which issues the cards and runs the scheme, posted accumulated losses of up to 1.14 Billion Baht as of 2006. Its pretty special to loose that kind a money on such a scheme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyofdoom Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 (edited) 2570 is less than one million Edited January 29, 2009 by monkeyofdoom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtoad Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Nasty stuff to laugh at someone else's misfortune! I agree, but it really was a risk paying for a service, that really came with no guarantees, and was always at the mercy of the changing political landscape. I'd guess that there are some pretty pissed off folk out there, although this has been quietly happening for the past few weeks, what with the cancellation of the Visa privilages and reduction in services. I also know that a number of companies had been refusing to work with Elite, becasuse of unpaid bills, which was one of the reasons for the cut in services. As anyone knows, never invest more............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeaceBlondie Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Maybe they could compensate the members by sending them a tiny plastic replica of a Lotus Elite, made by slave laborer Buddhist monks in Myanmar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldgit Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 A chap was recently trying to offload his card on Thaivisa, I wonder if he was successful. I presume the government will reimburse all those that were sucked into this con. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loong Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 No wonder they kept their inner-workings more private than a clandestine CIA operation:The state-owned Thailand Privilege Card, which issues the cards and runs the scheme, posted accumulated losses of up to 1.14 Billion Baht as of 2006. That loss after the scheme had been running 3 years, so probably double that now and equivalent to 1 million Bt per member. Another case where these losses should be investigated. Did some cash get diverted somewhere along the way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markokang Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 (edited) Nasty stuff to laugh at someone else's misfortune! Yeah my heart bleeds for those <snip> Edited January 29, 2009 by soundman No name calling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DagonKhan Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Nasty stuff to laugh at someone else's misfortune! I couldn't agree more. Let's hope those who are affected get sorted out to their satisfaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luangtom Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 This has been coming for a number of weeks, although a number of "Elite" card holders have been burying their head in the sand, and even the "noted" Sunbelt jumped to it's defence. No surprise, only that it's lasted this long. 2,800 members, not exactly a success. The next question though, is where have the membership fees gone? Could it be spelled t-h-a-k-s-i-n or crony? Just a thought......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffer Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 This could be a long thread. Must be over 2,000 Thai Visa members with this card, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtoad Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 This could be a long thread. Must be over 2,000 Thai Visa members with this card, no? Which card SPOT or "Elite"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearhunt Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 ouch... and such a short news report, no mention of refund or if people with existing 5 year visas will still get their 90 days extensions at suan plu.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxexile Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Yeah my heart bleeds for those <snip> care to explain why ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swelters Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 One should not be mean spirited, but there is something fundamentally sad and inviting of bad karma to try to buy prestige, the root of it might have been in Thaksin himself. Swelters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaibkk Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 how much did they overcharge again for this joke card ? well, I guess the ones who bought can afford to go find a better country where there are less regulations AGAINST farangs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crushdepth Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Just reinforces the fact that you can't trust the Thai government. I'll be amazed if the members get any more than a token compensation (I can see the 'certificate of appreciation' and welcome drink vouchers now The annoying thing is that the programme could have worked - give members small concessions such as the ability to buy a block of land for a house, a decent shot at residency or a *real* long term visa, aka a bit of security, and they'd be lining up. Unfortunately Thai governments of all persuasions just want to take and give nothing back. Anyone takers for the government's next big foreign investment scheme? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grantbkk Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 No one should be surprised. I just hope there is some compensation for the Elite Card holders. The lesson: This is Thailand. If you have low expectations you will never be disappointed. If you are the recipient of competent or excellent service from time to time it is an unexpected pleasure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelepulse Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 >>Did some cash get diverted somewhere along the way? Ya think? I'm just curious as to HOW MUCH got diverted and to whom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animatic Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 (edited) 2,570 members x 1,000,000 baht per head membership.... 2,570,000,000 2.57 Billion baht why should any of these services cost more than that. 2 and half BILLION baht... and then a loss of 1.4 billion baht on TOP.. hello. Who was getting paid for what? Total scam from SOMEBODY on the Thaksin team... who started this up in the first place. A sop for the egos of the overly rich, who don't like to wait, but typically these are the worst people to screw over, because they ARE investors one and all... These people paid for long term visas, why should they be charged 1,900 baht for a visa now... It's all rotten to the Nth degree Edited January 29, 2009 by animatic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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