Questions about Thailand Elite Membership/Card

[CFC]

I have got a few questions about the Thailand Elite Membership with the 500K Easy Access Package

1) How much is it to extend the visa at the end of the 5th Year for 1 extra year.

2) It says on there website you have to report once a year to get a stay extension. If you leave Thailand every 6 months is no reprting needed.

3) What is put in your passport to show you are a Thailand Elite Member.

4) If you want to take the Limo at the airport do you have to notify them before hand.

[gerry1011]

I have got a few questions about the Thailand Elite Membership with the 500K Easy Access Package

1) How much is it to extend the visa at the end of the 5th Year for 1 extra year.

2) It says on there website you have to report once a year to get a stay extension. If you leave Thailand every 6 months is no reprting needed.

3) What is put in your passport to show you are a Thailand Elite Member.

4) If you want to take the Limo at the airport do you have to notify them before hand.

1) You cannot extend for one year at the end of the 5 years membership.

You can only extend (and pay) for another 15 years (which means becoming a full member).

The alternative is to buy another 5 years membership (which will probably cost more by then).

2) Each time you enter Thailand you get a "one year stamp" (as on the picture example). It means that you can stay one full year in the country.

However, you still need to make a 90 day report, like everyone else. If you are in bangkok, Thailand Elite make the 90 report for you.

If you leave the country after 6 months, or any other time, you will receive another "one year stamp" each time you come back.

In the case you do not go out of the country for that full year, you can extend the stamp for another year at immigration.

3) In your passport you will receive a Thailand Elite PE (Privilege Entry) visa (as in the example picture). The procedure to get the visa is very simple. You also have a member card.

4) For the limo service you need to contact Thailand Elite contact center at least 5 hours before the arrival of your flight. The staff will accompany you from the plane to the limo, and through immigration and customs.

Hope this helps.

Thailand Elite is a great program.

I am a member since 11 years

[bim]

Great reply from Gerry as always.

[gerry1011]

Great reply from Gerry as always.

It's my pleasure

On a rather "light" and amusing note, and thinking about all those who make "calculations" about the cost vs benefits of the Elite card, here is some good news...

Many say that the full (20 years) membership is scandalously expensive, especially because there is an extremely high annual fee (of 20,000 baht) to pay on top of the one time fee.

It's a question of opinion and perspective, of course.

Anyway, I found the way to offset that annual fee very easily

Just book a MJets private jet flight through Thailand Elite contact center, from Bangkok to Chiangrai same day round trip (12,600$), and you get a 5% discount. That makes around 20,000 baht discount, depending on the exchange rate. Super great discount, isn't it?

So, it means that each time you fly a private jet to go to a dinner in up country, your discount pays for your annual fee.

Isn't that a marvelous news?

[CFC]

Gerry Thanks for the Info.

[falang07]

If you can afford to waste 12,600$ on a private flight to have a dinner in Chiang Rai, why did not you opt for the investment visa for 10+ Million Baht? Must be peanuts for you. Oh, I see, you stay on Thai Elite for 11 years already so you got it for cheap before and despite that keep promoting the current offer which does not apply to you and really is not worth it....

[gerry1011]

If you can afford to waste 12,600$ on a private flight to have a dinner in Chiang Rai, why did not you opt for the investment visa for 10+ Million Baht? Must be peanuts for you. Oh, I see, you stay on Thai Elite for 11 years already so you got it for cheap before and despite that keep promoting the current offer which does not apply to you and really is not worth it....

I never considered investing 10 million to get a visa, indeed. It's too small of an amount. Any one of my cars is more expensive than that

Nevertheless, I am happy that you are still around to give life to the Thailand Elite threads. Stay with us

[falang07]

You do not invest to get the visa, you simply buy a nice condo for your money in your name, put money in a fixed deposit in your name and even earn interest, etc. and you get the visa for free while still keeping your property. Much better value than this project you promote where most money is wasted on promotion and not used for the benefit of Thailand anyway (since it is unprofitable due to low number of members, high expenses and perhaps pocketing the income by a few chosen ones, as usual). Anyway, give me same conditions as 11 years ago, I would buy, too. But today, no way, waste of money for something I can get easier.

[falang07]

The less people buy the current offer (which so far looks good in this sense since they are way behind the expected sales), the more will they have to try to come up with a better offer. If I was considering this visa (which I am not), I would not care about the discounts they offer for things I did not need. I can negotiate discounts myself, and moreover, it is very easy to offer virtual "discounts" from prices which were pre-adjusted for these discounts anyway. Just my 2 cents.

[falang07]

And gerry, please stop promoting this in the sense "I have it, too, and it is great". You did not buy the current offer, as you have admitted, and the product you have bought had much better conditions and price. This is my point.

[gerry1011]

You do not invest to get the visa, you simply buy a nice condo for your money in your name, put money in a fixed deposit in your name and even earn interest, etc. and you get the visa for free while still keeping your property. Much better value than this project you promote where most money is wasted on promotion and not used for the benefit of Thailand anyway (since it is unprofitable due to low number of members, high expenses and perhaps pocketing the income by a few chosen ones, as usual). Anyway, give me same conditions as 11 years ago, I would buy, too. But today, no way, waste of money for something I can get easier.

What makes you think that I don't already have a "nice condo" (Or a few maybe) and that don't already have "money in a fixed deposit in my name and even earn interest, etc..." (Or several accounts maybe)?

I could well have condo(s) and account(s) but at the same time I could still very much prefer the convenience of a Thailand Elite PE visa, rather than this idea of a (minimal) Investment visa... which you seem to be very much eager to promote

Reading these threads, I have a tendency to believe that quite a number of posters (who have the money) have chosen the super easy Thailand Elite way, rather than your "investment" way

But since everybody is free to chose his own ideal solution for a long and trouble free stay in Thailand, be welcome to follow your own ideas.

[CFC]

The investment visa has been mentioned as an alternative but it cant be as easy exiting and re-entrying thailand with an investment visa.

[falang07]

Why not? You just get a re-entry permit at the airport (10 minutes?) and you are free to exit and come back any time you want, very easy. I suppose with Thailand Elite PE visa it is the same, or do not they have to get a re-entry permit at all?

[falang07]

Yes, gerry, we know you have the condos and big money in the bank and despite that you bought the Elite card but the point is that you bought it 11 years ago and paid a lot less for it than it is sold for now and you also got much better conditions with it:) This is the most important point of all this discussion. Would you sell yours and buy yourself the new one? I doubt it

[gerry1011]

Why not? You just get a re-entry permit at the airport (10 minutes?) and you are free to exit and come back any time you want, very easy. I suppose with Thailand Elite PE visa it is the same, or do not they have to get a re-entry permit at all?

No need for re-entry permit with the Thailand Elite visa.

You come and go as you wish, and as often as you wish.

Each time you enter the country you get a new one year stamp.

Easy life with Thailand Elite

Edited November 19, 2014 by gerry1011

[gerry1011]

Yes, gerry, we know you have the condos and big money in the bank and despite that you bought the Elite card but the point is that you bought it 11 years ago and paid a lot less for it than it is sold for now and you also got much better conditions with it:) This is the most important point of all this discussion. Would you sell yours and buy yourself the new one? I doubt it

11 years ago I bought the Thailand Elite card for 1 million.

11 years ago posters were writing on this forum that 1 million was outrageously expensive.

Since 11 years, the early Thailand Elite members and I enjoy comfortable life and trouble free stays.

11 years after, new members buy the Thailand Elite card for 500,000 or 2,000.000

11 years after, some people on this forum (much less than before though) still complain that 500,000 is outrageously expensive.

11 years after, I switched to the new card, and get the same privileges as the new members.

Early Thailand Elite members, new members, and I, enjoy comfortable life and trouble free stays.

In the future, the price will increase...

Some people will still complain that the price of the Thailand Elite program is outrageously expensive (whatever the future price will be), while others enjoy comfortable stays...

Stop arguing for nothing, buy yourself a Thailand Elite card and start to be happy

[gk10002000]

Interesting responses. What happens if your passport needs renewal say, half way through your Elite card period of validity? Is it easy to transfer to a new passport?

[falang07]

11 year ago: 1 million for lifetime membership, a real deal.

now: 500,000 + 20,000 per year excl. VAT for a 5 years membership.

Form an article on internet you can search on Google: "The original Thailand Elite Card cost was one million baht, was good for life, had unlimited golf and massages, and allowed the owner to purchase land. The current Thailand Elite Card costs 2 million baht (or watered down cards at 1 million and 500,000 baht), is only good for 20 years, annual fees, limited golf and massages and cannot purchase land."

You decide. I say try harder or forget me spending money for this offer.

Edited November 20, 2014 by falang07

[ukrules]

11 year ago: 1 million for lifetime membership, a real deal.

now: 500,000 + 20,000 per year excl. VAT for a 5 years membership.

Form an article on internet you can search on Google: "The original Thailand Elite Card cost was one million baht, was good for life, had unlimited golf and massages, and allowed the owner to purchase land. The current Thailand Elite Card costs 2 million baht (or watered down cards at 1 million and 500,000 baht), is only good for 20 years, annual fees, limited golf and massages and cannot purchase land."

You decide. I say try harder or forget me spending money for this offer.

You're quite wrong here on several counts.

Gerry clearly stated that he switched to the new type of visa and from memory he mentioned in another thread some time ago that he did this for the increased convenience of the one year entry stamps as opposed to the 3 month stamps which were all that's available on the life long membership.

Life long members were given the option of swapping over to the new 20 year scheme.

With the new Easy Access 5 year membership you don't pay the 20k Baht yearly fee, that's only applicable on the longer term offerings which have more benefits. Benefits which if you use them would be well worth 20k a year.

For the 5 year membership it's a 500k one time payment, this includes any VAT, etc.

You pay 500k and you're all set for 5 years, no hassle, only convenience.

[falang07]

OK, thanks for the clarification. What happened to the visa status of the lifelong members between 2011 and 2014? Did they have the visa revoked after the original card was cancelled?

[ukrules]

OK, thanks for the clarification. What happened to the visa status of the lifelong members between 2011 and 2014? Did they have the visa revoked after the original card was cancelled?

I don't know about the benefits but the visas continued to be valid and still are. Also based on what members have said here no memberships or visas have were revoked at all.

There was a period of time when there may have been issues if you needed a new visa due to your passport being full, lost, etc but I don't think it was anywhere near as long as the above mentioned period of time.

Edited November 20, 2014 by ukrules

[gerry1011]

OK, thanks for the clarification. What happened to the visa status of the lifelong members between 2011 and 2014? Did they have the visa revoked after the original card was cancelled?

No no

Don't worry, the card was never cancelled (as already explained about 150 times) and the visa was still as great as it was the first day

If think you are the champion at keeping these Thailand Elite threads alive. You must be a Thailand Elite marketer