DaveYo Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Dion, I sent a e-mail to the elite card department. How about you taking a look at it. I put some things in that e-mail and would like to know officially what the response will be. If you can how about you making it possible in having them revise some of these things to reflect it a lot better. Daveyo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MekhongKurt Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 There are eerie parallels with what went on in post-1949 mainland China, where for example, foreign companies were *begged* to stay on to assist the new government and given any privileges for doing so -- only then not only to have those privileges yanked right out from under them but to have the companies nationalities, and the foreign employees booted right out of the country. Of course, no one can argue Thailand suffers a communist government -- it doesn't. Still, this "Thailand Elite" privilege card is suspect, at best. At least one senior member of government has already decried the land-owning privilege as a sell-out of the Kingdom to (presumably evil and ill-intentioned) foreigners. In any case, as far as just the visa part is concerned, it is FAR cheaper to get, for instance, a one-year multiple-entry tourist visa, which through extenions gives one about 15 months without having to leave the Kingdom, than to cough up US$25,000. I read somewhere recently that even that "special discount price" is just that -- a temporary price, to be replaced by a price tag of US$50,000. I love Thailand, but I won't be rushing to buy this card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dion Posted November 25, 2003 Author Share Posted November 25, 2003 Mr Daveyo which email has you sent it to please sent that question to me also Dion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Moog Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Dion: Who are the owners of Thai Elite Card? Were politicians/bureaucrats/military given equity stakes? (In Indonesia, the going rate for official blessing of these kind of private ventures was 5% of the equity). What indemnities are given to subscribers that privileges will not be materially altered? Governments and politicians do eventually get booted out. What happens to your deals then? Can you provide audited financial statements of Thai Elite card? If Thai Elite Card folds, what happens to the land privileges? To where will ownership revert - assuming foreigners cannot take physical possession. MOOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveYo Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Ok Dion, I will send it to you. However it will cost you. You got to give me the Million Baht card for free!!!!! It is worth every baht of it. Daveyo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveYo Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Some very good questions here. Only way to be sure that it is guaranteed and in writing black and white and honored forever no matter what happens till heil freezes over. Once that is said and done, then it might be worth it. So lets wait and see till I get my responses. It is morning there now, so I should hopefully see it your night time. Daveyo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabaijai Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 If you want straight, quick, farang-style answers to your questions, do contact Leslie, whose phone number and email I provided earlier in this thread. No I'm not affiliated with TPC or the card, but they approached me to offer me one of the flagship 80 cards. I declined the offer. But Leslie wouldn't be involved in something he didn't believe was solid, he's lived in Thailand a long time, is married to a Thai scholar, etc. As I mentioned in another thread having to do with the Elite card, most of the purchasers, so far, are Asian executives or Asia celebs. It's not really the farang market TPC is after, although any farang who wants to buy one - ###### anyone with a mil - can buy one. Again I'm not saying it's a good deal (if I thought it was, I would have bought one). But before you go knocking it too much, find out the full details, ask for full disclosure, etc. All available, I believe, from Les. Dion, if you want to sell to this crowd you're going to have to come up with more concrete answers to their suspicions! Good luck to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Moog Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 I don't think people are knocking it. They are eminently fair questions - and its likely that Elite's policies are being 'shot from the hip'. (According to 'Situations Vacant' in the newspapers, looks like they're still hiring) My sense is that this whole thing has been put together by a shrewd wheeler-dealer out to make a buck. I don't think its a scam, but get-rich-quick schemes by these sharp practioners often implode. There's very unlikely to be any financial substance behind the flashy whizz-bang. Thaksin's promotional involvement is absolutely monstrous, and a disgrace to the dignity of the office of Prime Minister. He shouldn't stoop to such showground flummery. For Dion to claim that Elite Card is a metaphor for Thailand, and it will not be allowed to fail is patently foolish. It is not Export Import Bank of Thailand, nor is it Thai Petrochemical Industry. If the tea money dries up, Elite Card will fold, simple as that. Its a million baht - one could buy a house for that. (If Elite card falls flat, perhaps one could live underneath it, but it might get a bit wet when it rains) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterfly Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Sawasdee Krub everyone! Thank you for your interest in this Thailand Elite more or less. Thank you Mr. George for helping me quoating my message to this webboard. I am glad that lots of you seem to be interested in these privileges. Although, there is so many things which i cannot give you the answer such as what is the gaurantee for this lifetime membership, everything is depend on the credibility of our country. If this program is fail, I think the reputation of Thailand will also be. However, I just the Sales person I try to do my best to look for the customer, I think all of the privileges are good in my opinion but the price is depend on each person opinion, I am trying to pass this news of Thailand Elite to everyone perhaps one of you might finds it interesting. Anyway, I am willing to give you all information I have about this card. For those who are interested please contact me: [email protected] or call on 05-123 3112 Dion PS. I am glad that eveyone love Thailand Thanks for the honnest response. I know it's impossible for sales to "guarantee" something as big as the "credibility" of the Thai government. Your job is to sell, nothing more. I think there are too many risks involved and since I know how the Thais work and the pattern they follow when something becomes successful, I will NOT buy the card. I will rather spend 1 million bath on Nana, at least it's money well spent and the girls can have their cut too. THIS CARD HAS LITTLE CREDIBILITY and it's a shame. I doubt that 300 suckers went for it but again you never know. So many buy bars in Pattaya thinking they will make a fortune. One last question: can I import my luxury vehicle from Europe without paying duty tax with the card ? And one more thing: get rid of the Flash intro on your website. Very amateurish and scare off potential visitors because of the slow speed. Also this is not 1999, Flash is no longer in fashion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IT Manager Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 2 cents worth only, but Dion is doing a stand up job of fronting the card to us. It occured to me that it seems to make a prostitute look positively virtuous. The government selling "honorary citizen rights" to anyone wanting to put up 1 lan baht. I don't decry it for that, but I worry about backstepping away from the rights inherent in card holding, in case of a collapse of the system. I don't understand why Taksin can't see how others view him. He is a businessman. OT, but relevant, I described to the guys in my bar a year ago, after a heated argument about Thai yed Thai, that a CEO looked at his company as a series or set of individual profit/cost/loss centres. If a cost centre became a loss centre, it was traded off to someone else and the profit makers were supported and upheld. This is basic common business sense. I diagrammed a company caled Thailand, with cost centres of Tourism, Manufacturing, primary production/export, industrial, education, medical. I showed how the main group were profit generators and would be supported, and asked about education and health, which cannot make money any way you look at it. Even using long stay health tourism as a guide, the users stay in private hospitals and the money goes to the owners/shareholders, apart from tax, which may be reversed into the health system. In fact that doesn't happen here. Tax is consolidated and used according to needs. Now, they are seeing the results of their cheerleading of TyT, and one opf our older men is in hospital under the 30 baht scheme. He has been for about 4 months after a nasty m/cycle accident and has a broken back. His 30 baht visit has run out at 50,000 baht. He has a job he can't return to because of his back. What happens. The community won't/can't support him, though some of us will do what we can. The wondrous 30 baht is where? Hosptals broke, schools with no money for books. I wonder how long before the penny drops. 20 years? For Thailands' sake, I hope not. If some of the money were pumped into the health system, fine. Will it be..will it he11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Moog Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 This wheeler-deal will backfire horribly, hopefully to the advantage of Abhisit, when it is manifest that TRT have compromised their policy on foreigners (not only a cornerstone, but the basis of their party name), just to squeeze a few baht. Lets not shed tears for the card holders, once their 'privileges' disappear in a couple of years and their 10 rai of land is found to be legally unenforceable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryp Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Another load of money driven bull, 5 year visa...... ive been in Thailand on a non imm b for the last 17 years had to go throu all the yearly crap of reapplying for a new non imm at consulates and embassys that treat you like scum and invested around 8 million baht in a business that employs all Thais, this kind of loyalty is much better that very rich people throwing 1 million baht at a novelty card Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveYo Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Fellas, I did address this to the higher ups, and still waiting for their response. Some of the issues you just mentioned were quoted inside the inquiry that was sent. I am just as eager as you in finding out the real McCoy facts, and hopefully it comes as an official response. It remains to be seen. Daveyo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ovenman Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Still, this "Thailand Elite" privilege card is suspect, at best. At least one senior member of government has already decried the land-owning privilege as a sell-out of the Kingdom to (presumably evil and ill-intentioned) foreigners. Ignoring any of the other privileges afforded by this card, just the seeming ability to be allowed an indefinite stay in Thailand coupled with the right to buy up to 10 rai of land, all given for having ponied up one million baht, should make anybody a wee bit suspicious who has been around Thailand and its policies regarding these items for any length of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nam Kao Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 If i buy the card will i still have to pay barfines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flackjacket Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Having left the desert sands(not before time) and in UK for a temporary medical visit, I am amazed re the spiraling visa costs (I should not be) and all the poorly disguised efforts to extort money from farangs. No where is it more evident that the Thai Govetrnment only cares about rich visitors and to ###### with the peasants. Will they never learn that more often than not the "rich" visitors are the most crooked, how else did they become rich. Legally rich people do not holiday in Thailand, they have islands in the Carribian, villas in the South of France or other exotic resorts. Yes the folk who have supported Thailand over many years with no criminal record are yet again the whipping boys. Had I not spent a considerable part of my savings on an up market house in Isaarn , then I would be seriously looking at other retirement areas. Can no one knock some sense into the government or are they still trying to overfill their bank accounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickFarang Posted November 26, 2003 Share Posted November 26, 2003 If all that's backing it is "...the credibility of our country..." then all the card really has to offer is snob appeal. There is a market for this, and frankly, for someone who would 1 million baht for a card to mention to their friends, if it only lasts until 2008, that's plenty of flash for their money. Its not a sham if they aren't promoting more than they can provide (well, life-time benefits is kind of extreme. Its like when I had a front tire blow out on a desert highway. I looked under the front of the car and saw that the car had come to rest with frame setting on my barnd-new Die-hard battery. "Its a zero maintenance battery" I exclaimed. "Well, you're done maintianing it." said the tow-truck driver as he cut the battery lead. And so it goes -it may be a lifetime membership, only for the lesser of the lifetimes of the member and the lifetime of the backer. Beware of those who compose extremely long parenthecial statements.) RickF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabaijai Posted November 26, 2003 Share Posted November 26, 2003 So everyone's still speculating on this thread, and no one has bothered to speak directly to a farang employed by TPC? phone #: 026510991 Ask for Leslie Kierig and see if you can get the official answers. He explained the whole thing to me in some detail. As I said, it didn't interest me but instead of criticizing what you know nothing about, why not give him a call? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IT Manager Posted November 26, 2003 Share Posted November 26, 2003 Why dont you call him and ask him to post into the card thread, in answer to the 8,243 questions currently awaiting answers from little Dion, as he struggles to maintain his grasp on English and tries peddling it to the smelly masses? The guy on here who said he might buy it is still waiting, Daveyo is screaming the information, as only he can, from the rooftops. A few facts would be wonderful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveYo Posted November 26, 2003 Share Posted November 26, 2003 Well IT, I am still waiting for Dions reply. Up to this moment no response. I wonder ?????????? Daveyo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxexile Posted November 26, 2003 Share Posted November 26, 2003 flakjacket said.. Will they never learn that more often than not the "rich" visitors are the most crooked, . Legally rich people do not holiday in Thailand, they have islands in the Carribian, villas in the South of France or other exotic resorts.what on earth are you talking about?how else did they become rich have you never heard of hard work? have you never heard of business success ? have you never heard of planned savings ? do you really think that all "rich" people are criminals? or that legally rich people all own private islands in the caribian, what nonsense.you sound like a student socialist. all mouth and no experience. what is your definition of rich? £10,000 £100,000 £200,000 in the bank? if you have got £10 then the man with £20 is rich,if you have got £100,000 then the man with £200,000 is rich but are you poor with only £100,000? all this slagging off of "rich" people just smacks of pure envy, nothing more. why shouldn't someone with money choose to spend time in thailand,why shouldn't someone choose to spend 1,000,000B on a priviledge card if they think it suits their needs.what is your problem with it ? if it doesnt suit your needs then you wont be buying one. (but you sure would like those same priviledges included in your 1900B visa fee wouldn't you?) where does this need to interfere and criticize with anything that doesnt fall into your scheme of things come from? why do so many people want this thing to fail? Lets not shed tears for the card holders, once their 'privileges' disappear in a couple of years and their 10 rai of land is found to be legally unenforceable. miserable gits. live and let live. and long may the spirit of the entrepreneur remain unquenched, and no, i havent bought and will not be buying one of these cards. there are much better ways of investing 1,000,000B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 If i buy the card will i still have to pay barfines?your short time cost will double if a bar girl sees you with this cardAlthough, there is so many things which i cannot give you the answer such as what is the gaurantee for this lifetime membership oh thats reassuring. this card is a joke. sounds like a group of morons sat around for lunch one day and thought of what benefits they could scrape up to make it semi appealing. hello, not everyone has a boner for golf. now there is a new 5 year visa just coming out without paying out the ass Thai Immigration to issue 5-year multiple entry visas However, I just the Sales person I try to do my best to look for the customer, btw, dion what is your commission on each card you sell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axel Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 Still a lot of questions open. I myself are not sure if I can be convinced to buy this card. One question raised to Life-time. It not necessarily means mine, this can as well mean the lifetime of the Elite Club. Cynical but true for any kind of club member-ship, albeit some clubs do return part of the investment before closing down. A very BIG question I did not find in this threat: METHODS OF PAYMENT OF MEMBERSHIP FEE OF US$25,000: by money transfer to UNITED OVERSEAS BANK LTD., SINGAPORE. Why in Singapore, why not in Thailand???? DISCOUNTS & SPECIALITIES offers buy 1 get 1 free in TG First and business. Are these companion tickets or 1 buy two open tickets and pay only for one? This would be 50% discount! If companion to fly on the same flight: Who qualifies? Family members or anybody? 25% discount on TG tickets in First and business class. VISA: Can this visa be linked up with work permit? (George asked already) AIRPORT SERVICES include free transfer hotel/residence and airport. how often per year? FREE SERVICES: 1.5 hours Thai massage: How often? Free medical check-ups: How many per year for how many years? Above are some additional questions not yet raised. As said before the question actually is, how long does it take a member to benefit from the investment of 1 million Baht. If I take the free airport limo service I can safe about Baht 1000 per trip. I make 15 trips a year equals 66.6 years to brake even on this privilege. Medical check up is about Baht 11 - 20,000 each. 25% discount on TG tickets can add up to a lot, I estimate a saving on my travel of about Baht 100,000 p.a. So a saving on tickets, medicals, airport transfers comes for me to about Baht 135,000 p.a. or after about 7 1/2 years brake even. (Not considered loss of interest) Since the offer is on the desk, I do the calculation if it is worthwhile money wise. If the privileges with immigration can include labour dept. work permit. Life time I replied already, until the club or myself is dead, whatever comes first??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopsticks Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 *sheesh* Yes, there are some legitimate questions (and fears). However, anyone wanting/needing a GUARANTEE before they slap $25k on the table IS NOT ELITE. Sad to say that 99.99998% of this forum is NOT rich. They're NOT elite. They're far from it. Drive a top of the line BMW, Mercedes, Lexxus, Range Rover? No? (Do you have driver? No? ######, many don't even tip the taxi driver more than a few baht.) ELITE people don't FINANCE cars. And they don't "nickle & dime" negotiate over the price of their new BMW either. *** It's not that I haven't been poor. I have. I've worked at McDonalds. I've taken student loans and lived off of them. I've gone for weeks eating on noodles or macaroni & cheese. And I've ridden the public bus back and forth to the university. But those days are over. *** If you don't pay more that $25k a a year in TAXES then you're not elite. Shut up before you humiliate yourselves more. You might think you're asking intelligent questions, but, in my opinion, you're just advertising that you're NOT elite. Elite = very special. Elite = not common. Elite = priviledged. Yes, I know, everyone has questions. But seriously, MOST LIKELY YOU'RE NOT ELITE! Don't lie to yourself and think that you're in that category of superstars/"moveers & shakers". 99.999999999% of people in the world aren't elite... and 99.9998% of the farrang who live or frequent Thailand aren't. If you go to Nana then you're not elite. ELITE people go to much more (OUTRAGEOUSLY) expensive establishments. It's just that simple. (Sorry to burst your bubble. But we're talking ELITE here, the upper-crust of society! Do you expect to see people who were knighted by the Queen of England in Nana? Or bitching about Thakskin's lack of guarantee for the $25k? Compare and contrast yourself and others to Hollywood superstars, WallStreet Stock brokers, etc. worrying that there might not be a "guarantee" of the future? *gag!* Come on! Truly "ELITE" people wouldn't allow ANYTHING, including the entire Kingdom of Thailand flushing itself down the toilet, to suck them down too. Elite people have alternatives; they have exit strategies; they have investments; they have wealth; they have connections; they have VIP status without the stupid "elite card" itself. [ / soapbox mode: OFF ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IT Manager Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 well Chopsticks my old bucket of fruit salad, after three posts you sure came on smiling. <snipped by ######> I stand corrected and appropriately disabused of my notion of self importance. Good points by those who will now go forward knowing that I didn't read everything properly, as I should have. I will do so in future and I apologise for my rudeness, unreservedly. Further, having looked everywhere and not found one, I am looking for an emoticon of me beating myself with a piece of 4x2. IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parryhandy Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 *sheesh*Yes, there are some legitimate questions (and fears). However, anyone wanting/needing a GUARANTEE before they slap $25k on the table IS NOT ELITE. Sad to say that 99.99998% of this forum is NOT rich. They're NOT elite. They're far from it. Drive a top of the line BMW, Mercedes, Lexxus, Range Rover? No? (Do you have driver? No? ######, many don't even tip the taxi driver more than a few baht.) ELITE people don't FINANCE cars. And they don't "nickle & dime" negotiate over the price of their new BMW either. *** It's not that I haven't been poor. I have. I've worked at McDonalds. I've taken student loans and lived off of them. I've gone for weeks eating on noodles or macaroni & cheese. And I've ridden the public bus back and forth to the university. But those days are over. *** If you don't pay more that $25k a a year in TAXES then you're not elite. Shut up before you humiliate yourselves more. You might think you're asking intelligent questions, but, in my opinion, you're just advertising that you're NOT elite. Elite = very special. Elite = not common. Elite = priviledged. Yes, I know, everyone has questions. But seriously, MOST LIKELY YOU'RE NOT ELITE! Don't lie to yourself and think that you're in that category of superstars/"moveers & shakers". 99.999999999% of people in the world aren't elite... and 99.9998% of the farrang who live or frequent Thailand aren't. If you go to Nana then you're not elite. ELITE people go to much more (OUTRAGEOUSLY) expensive establishments. It's just that simple. (Sorry to burst your bubble. But we're talking ELITE here, the upper-crust of society! Do you expect to see people who were knighted by the Queen of England in Nana? Or bitching about Thakskin's lack of guarantee for the $25k? Compare and contrast yourself and others to Hollywood superstars, WallStreet Stock brokers, etc. worrying that there might not be a "guarantee" of the future? *gag!* Come on! Truly "ELITE" people wouldn't allow ANYTHING, including the entire Kingdom of Thailand flushing itself down the toilet, to suck them down too. Elite people have alternatives; they have exit strategies; they have investments; they have wealth; they have connections; they have VIP status without the stupid "elite card" itself. [ / soapbox mode: OFF ] Actually a very good post which underlines the fact that the card is not aimed at the " elite".Like chopsticks says people that are elite would not by the card anyway they would expect certain privalleges regardless.The " by invatation only" is an obvious marketing ruse and carrots are being dangled now, by the week, to make it more attractive as in land ownership etc.. The comment about rich (elite ) people not nickle and dimimg is a generalisation. I know at least 3 self made millionaires who haggle over every penny.No the true "elite" wouldnt i.e. the mega rich or royalty , but again this is not aimed at them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parryhandy Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 well Chopsticks my old bucket of fruit salad, after three posts you sure came on smiling. If you have to surf the internet, you aren't rich enough to afford the card, and you are surfing.. so bugger off. Twit IT Your a decent bloke IT dont let this new position go to your head.The guy made some valid points and did not insult anybody or use bad language etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axel Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 One point is clear, if you have to buy a card to be ELITE, you are NOT! How do you do it? Hang the card around your neck that everybody can see you are ELITE? Maybe I buy an aftershave that smells of BMW-gasoline. Btw, if you have to ask how much your GF, car, boat costs you probably cannot afford neither. Remains the calculation and question, is it worthwhile? I think everybody of us poor fellows who would be willing to buy the card should do the calculation. A question I still will investigate, Why payment to a bank in Singapore? We are in Thailand! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxexile Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 Your a decent bloke IT dont let this new position go to your head.The guy made some valid points and did not insult anybody or use bad language etc.. agreed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 Drive a top of the line BMW, Mercedes, Lexxus, Range Rover? No? (Do you have driver? the car you drive does not make you elite the clothes you wear does not make you elite last year i saw naomi campbell wearing old jeans with holes and a tee shirt at jatajuk here in bangkok. when i walked by she was bargaining for a good price on something. i don't know how much money she has or care, its not important. Every person is different and if you judge someone's status by their looks, you are an idiot. about the only card that would qualify for elite would be the American Express Centurion Credit Card or better known as the black card. this wallet-sized status symbol is available to people who charge upwards of $150,000 per year and are willing to pay an annual membership fee of $1,000 for the privilege. For their money, cardholders get a raft of concierge-type services--as well as astronomical spending limits. i heard there are only about 80 in existence. this other lame piece of plastic is not elite, only an attempt to make money off naive farangs and thats a shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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