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flbkk

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Posts posted by flbkk

    TM30 question when taking a holiday

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    I seldom post on this forum, because my comments seem to get moderated out, but the law did  change in 2020, but in the past few months, Bangkok immigration at CW started synchronizing TM 30s with 90 day reports. They will not accept your 90 day report, if the most recent TM30 is not at the address you put on your 90 day report application, so they are disregarding the law, but you have no choice. 

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    Has the TM30 been scrapped?

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    Bangkok immigration now requires new TM30 if you have stayed at a hotel elsewhere in Thailand. They have cross referenced the TM30 and the 90 day reporting computer systems. Your 90 day report will be refused otherwise. I did mine in person recently after moving to another room (same building and landlord). When I submitted my TM30 online, I received an automatically generated reply telling me to update the TM30. The landlord submitted it online, and i then was able to complete my 90 day report. They are ignoring the law, they don’t care. 

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    Changing to another health insurance with pre-existing conditions?

    in Health and Medicine

    Posted

    I do have a background about health insurance. I worked in a hospital office dealing with insurance for many years in United States. If you were buying individual health insurance, not in a group, particularly from Thailand. Any insurance they will give you is likely to be useless. They won’t cover your pre-existing conditions, and, as was mentioned, diabetes does micro vascular damage that can affect your heart, so they probably wouldn’t cover a heart attack or stroke that you might have. If you can get insurance at all, the amount you will likely receive with a serious illness with hospitalization will only be a little more than your annual premium, and then they will probably cancel you, exclude more pre-existing conditions, or raise the rates.  I comment about this extensively in other groups, although not on Aseannow because it’s so difficult to see the tracking. Good luck, anyway. 

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    Dual pricing swimming pool

    in General Topics

    Posted

    The amount is very small. I pay ฿3200/month for Virgin Active. But the short 1:30 time limit would annoy me even foe the thai price. It doesn’t bother me so much that they would charge me more as a foreigner, but that often dual price is for whites. Other skin color thai price, maybe not here cause you have to register. Ko Phi Phi ferry ฿200 for locals. Supposed to be ฿450 for others, but applied to white foreigners only

    • Like 1

    BKK Sukhumvit/Asoke: Atmospheric Café for Laptop-Working?

    in Bangkok

    Posted

    Au bon Pain in the office building lobby Emquarter. Outlets blocked though. True Coffee 3fl Emquartier my favorite as noted. Pastries always in stock as they bake em there, other places they run out. Limited space during renovation. Always looking for more good places too. Usually well revviwed places either no snacks, no seating, too loud, or discouraged from staying long.   

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    Opening. US mobile phone account while living in Thailand

    in US & Canada Topics and Events

    Posted

    I managed to open a tmobile account by phone, they charged $50 and had to send to me US address; I had it sent over here. Be aware, some banks, especially for new accounts or credit card applications, won't accept Skype, Google Voice, or other VOIP services. They use a third party verification service to see that you have a real postpaid US cell account that is being used in the area where it is billed to. (The Tmobile I got was prepaid so turned out to be useless for my purpose)

     

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    Spam calls

    in General Topics

    Posted

    When i applied to do 90 day report online, ut failed, but i started to get gambling spam texts, also got them when covid first started and we had to register to go in places. 

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    Virtual US phone number options that are reliable

    in Mobile Devices and Apps

    Posted

    I have spent a lot of time researching this issue. I have tried virtually every virtual US phone number option. If you simply need to receive a text, any of them will work. The problem is, especially to start service or open a credit card or bank account, many American companies use a third-party service. It requires you to have an American cell phone plan, postpaid only, with Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile. It needs to be billed to your US address, and you need to be making calls recently in that area. I tried a two mobile prepaid, not allowed. My friend in New York has a US cell phone on my account. I called Verizon and said I will be using that from now please connect it to my address of record in Florida. They did that. It is still not accepted by capital One Bank and others. When I visit US this year, I will reactivate my Verizon cell phone, get the accounts I need, and then discontinue it again. They not only want to protect themselves against fraud, they don’t want you living overseas.

    Hospital insurance recommendation to take me into my 80’s…?

    in Chiang Mai

    Posted · Edited by flbkk
    Error

    I have lived here a few years, and I don’t see any health insurance for us oldsters that’s practical. I had Aetna, modest cover, they promised a no-claim discount. Instead, they raised it 30%. I cancel I got a new proposal from some company. Price 39,000 baht per year. I looked at the cover. If I was sick, in hospital for three weeks, one week in intensive care, arrived by ambulance, saw the doctor each day. The total they would have paid was 42,000 baht. Now, they would want me to get an extensive and expensive physical before giving such poor cover. I self ensure, and maintain good cover in my home country, the United States. I have told my partner that if I get sick and can’t speak for myself to beg them to put me in a government hospital where it’s cheaper.

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    Question for American Expats on Medicare.

    in Health and Medicine

    Posted

    I’ve been here for a few years, and in that time got on Medicare. I explored all the options carefully. I do have a US residential address in Florida. I found try insurance for the elderly to be near any useless. The amount they would pay for a serious hospitalization is about equal to your annual premium, so you may as well self insure. I had Aetna for a year, then dropped it after a 30% increase. This is before Covid. Do not get a US Medicare advantage plan under any circumstances. It is only good in the county in which you live, although it does cover emergencies and the rest of the United States. I have a Medigap plan, also called Medicare supplement. It covers the 20% that Medicare does not cover, in the United States. By law, Medicare plans can only offer a limited 60 day travel cover overseas. So in summary, I go without trying insurance, but keep myself covered in the United States. If I needed an elective procedure, such as knee surgery, I could return to the US. If I became ill, or just wanted to relocate back to the US, I would have my coverage in place. As others have mentioned, there are waiting periods and medical underwriting involved if you want to take coverage later. If I get seriously ill in Thailand, I have told my partner to have them take me to a government hospital, where the price is less.

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    Are we just going to have to live with unvaccinated people across Thailand?

    in Thailand News

    Posted

    I guess we will have to live with them, because that’s the way it is. Personally, I believe people should be forced to take the vaccines, and forced to wear masks. The recent tourist arrivals embarrass me. It’s disappointing that with omicron, these measures don’t totally prevent you from catching the disease. But it’s all we have. I heard a new wrinkle this week. Somebody speculated that some of these anti-vaxxers actually or simply afraid of needles. We will need some assistance to hold him down. Like the mother holding a child in the pediatric clinic.

    Utter stupidity by the BTS

    in Bangkok

    Posted

    On the OP’s topic, I believe I’ve seen a rule that it should cost five baht to exit the same station, like if you want to go through the station to cross the big street. Another poster mentioned cashless. Signs up, cashless take credit cards, line pay, true money wallet, etc. Foreigners need a video interview and try to get true money wallet. Line pay, as noted you have to go and present your passport and register again. But credit and debit cards, often theySay, need 300 baht minimum, or machine broke.

    current ATK policies

    in Pattaya

    Posted

    My gym (Virginactive) required proof of vaccines when they reopened. The Sphere (hiso True Coffee Shop only for hi-spenders on True mobile/internet/TV accounts–I go as friend’s guest), started asking for vaccines proof after an employee case

    Cash refused

    in Pattaya

    Posted

    Usually it’s the other way around. They have signs advertising taking various forms of non-cash payments. But when you offer a card, it’s either the machine is broken or they require a 300 baht minimum.

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