Premium privilege: Thailand Elite Card set to increase membership fee by 50%”

Thailand Privilege Card Co (TPC), operator of the Thailand Elite Card, announced plans to increase its base membership price by 50%, raising it from 600,000 baht to 900,000 baht. The move is part of the company’s strategy to boost its annual revenue to 8 billion baht.

In addition, the company will be introducing four new types of cards, all of which will no longer carry the term “Elite” in their names, a term that has been in use since the programme’s inception in 2003, reported Bangkok Post.

Yuthasak Supasorn, the governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and TPC board chairman expressed confidence in the programme’s competitiveness despite these changes.

“We’re confident that we will not lose clients to neighbouring countries that offer a similar long-stay visa programme.”

The most expensive new membership, dubbed Reserve, will be priced at 5 million baht, marking a 150% increase from the 2 million baht fee for the current highest tier membership. This level of membership, which offers a visa length of 20 years, will be limited to by-invitation applications, with a cap of 100 members per year.

Existing members can continue to enjoy their current benefits or choose to upgrade to any of the four new card types by paying an additional fee. TPC is also offering promotional rates for these upgrades.

Manatase Annawat, president of TPC, shared his belief that the Gold membership, priced at 900,000 baht, will drive substantial revenue, similar to the previous Elite Easy Access option, which was priced at 600,000 baht.

“Even though it is more expensive, additional benefits would entice more customers.”

He also revealed that the fixed cost that TPC has to bear for new services will rise by 50%, or approximately 550 million baht, a significant increase from the current yearly cost of 200 million baht.

Presently, TPC boasts a membership of 31,500. Over its 20-year operation, it has contributed around 50 billion baht to the country’s economy.

Manatase also confirmed that the company is on track to remain profitable for the second consecutive year in fiscal 2023. They have already posted a profit of 645 million baht in the first nine months, surpassing the 627 million baht profit made in 2022.

In addition, TPC has repaid 765 million baht to the TAT, its parent company, after initially securing registered capital of around 700 million baht from the TAT.

The company currently has a cash flow of approximately 12 billion baht and aims to increase sales revenue to 8 billion baht in fiscal 2024, which begins this October with the launch of the new Thailand Elite Card card types.

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