Between this and being charged 10 baht more than locals for noodles, I am going to have to seriously consider uprooting my entire life to start over in some other SE Asian country where these kinds of things would never happen. Those countries exist, right?

I concur with what Ivan said... The Thai Elite program begins when you receive your welcome notification (after approval and payment processing). The 5 year visa sticker is based on the date of the welcome letter. The "extra" year stamp is hotly contested, but I have not heard of anyone successfully getting a full extra year outside of the program. I am not sure if you could get a reentry stamp if you leave... To be honest though, I think most elite visa holders are not too bothered by renewing or changing visa types as required.

I didn't say which end of Sukhumvit... :)

I know a convenience "store" way down on Sukhumvit under a set of skywalk stairs where factory workers hang out after their shifts to grill on a hibachi and play dice... You can't actually go in, but the metal gate of the store front is open wide enough to pass things back and forth. I am pretty sure they are still selling beer.

Not everyone qualifies for a Non-O visa... But it is probably a really solid option for a lot of people.

My Thailand experience isn't as relevant as facts on the ground... The program has existed in some form for 17 years and has almost 10,000 members... none of them seem to be complaining. The one thing that even a first timer like me can tell you about Thailand, is that money talks...

Mark... What happens if anything happens ever and things change differently from now? If you live day to day, it makes sense to question what may or may not happen at some time in the future... I mean, what if there was a global pandemic and the world's stock markets dipped 30%? All kinds of things happen that you can't reasonably plan around... So you deal with whatever it is when and if it happens. The program has been around a while, and I have not heard of one person not getting what they paid for.

It was the only real option I had being under 50 and unmarried and not interested in working or going to school in Thailand... Having said that, it is nice not having to figure out which combination of visas I can exploit to live in Thailand. It is also not really that expensive compared to the hoop jumping and costs of most long term stay options (in most countries, not just Thailand). When I lived in Europe, I spent almost that much on agents and fees and travel to embassies to get long term visas.

If you think of it as 100,000 Baht per year (or less on some options) to not have to think about or deal with visas, then it's a pretty good deal. You don't have to be rich for this to be a good option... You just need to figure out your long term plan and factor in the costs associated with what you are trying to do. If you think it would be cheaper to rush in to a marriage to get a cheaper visa, you should strike up a few conversations in a bar when they reopen... A lot of people parked on Thai barstools with experience regarding the expense of marriage. :P

Send me 3000 baht instead. You have no better chance at getting in, but at least I am not going to lie to you about it.