Thailand Elite Card is preparing to raise its minimum membership price by 50% to 900,000 baht, from 600,000 baht.

The four new types of card will also remove the word "Elite" from their title, which has been used since the scheme began under the Thaksin Shinawatra government in 2003.

"We're confident that we will not lose clients to neighbouring countries that offer a similar long-stay visa programme," said Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and board chairman of Thailand Privilege Card Co (TPC), the operator of the card.

The price of the most expensive new membership, called Reserve, will be raised to 5 million, surging 150% from 2 million baht for the existing top membership, with a visa length of 20 years. However, this type will be accepted on the basis of by-invitation applications, with only 100 members per year.

Even though it is more expensive, additional benefits would entice more customers, the company said.

The number of members is now 31,500, which after 20 years of operation had generated around 50 billion baht to the country's economy.

TPC posted a 645-million-baht profit in the first nine months of 2023, exceeding the profit of 627 million baht in 2022.