Congratulations, you are now part of the Thailand Starter Kit Inner Circle.
As promised, here’s your list of services that Karsten Aichholz, the founder of Thailand Starter Kit, use for both my personal and professional life.
Personal Service
Finance
Bank Account
My main bank account is with Kasikorn. They have good English support and an impressive online banking system.
My ATM card is also from Kasikorn. In addition to Kasikorn, Bangkok Bank (good exchange rates, but otherwise prefer Kasikorn) and SCB (great app, also use them – SCBS – for buying stocks) also offer a good banking system that works well if you plan to stay here long-term.
Credit Card
My main credit card is a Royal Orchid Plus Select credit card from Citibank, mainly because of their flight benefits.
It’s a good choice if you spend at least 300,000 baht per year using a credit card. Royal Orchid Plus Preferred is even better if you spend significantly more than that.
LMF
LMF is a long term equity funds that offers a personal income tax deduction benefit. I have been buying Krungsri SET50 LTF every year for many years now.
Sending Money
Xendpay is my regular money transfer service when I need to send money from Germany to Thailand. It has one of the lowest fees I’ve found so far.
It’s cheaper than Transferwise and cheaper than Bangkok Bank’s bank transfers for smaller amounts (for high amounts – e.g. $10,000+, it depends – sometimes Bangkok Bank is cheaper).
Health
Health Insurance
I’m being insured with ACS with their health in Asia plan. It costs me 7,444 baht a month but covers most of my health related costs, including a regular visit at Bumrungrad Hospital and dental treatment at BIDC.
One thing to keep in mind on ACS is that there is no significant cap on rate increases. In theory an insurance can stop selling a plan, launch a new plan and then just massively increase the rates on the old plan.
If you’re looking for 20+ years of coverage, a globally-known brand name insurance plan may be a good choice. However, the value-for-money tends to be worse for them (e.g. lower coverage limits, or way higher premiums).
Sometimes the maximum coverage age plan on those make 20+ years of coverage impossible anyway. In the end you get what you pay for and the best you can do is avoid the really bad apples.
This said, I’m happy with my current provider and wouldn’t hesitate to include them in my list of recommendations.” If I were to look for a new plan now, I’d also take a look at LUMA.
If I wanted to talk to a broker, I’d talk to Bruno Odermatt from VR-Broker.
Hospital
Bumrungrad Hospital is my go to hospital for general illnesses and health checkups. It’s one of the most famous hospitals in Thailand with quality medical service and comfortable facilities.
It costs me around 3,500 baht per visit. But everything is reimbursed by my insurance company. If you have to pay out of pocket, the best value for your money is probably Sukhumvit Hospital, or one of the religious hospitals, like St. Louis or Camillian.
Dental
All my dental treatment is done at BIDC. Although they charge around 25% higher than other dentists, BIDC offers international treatment standards and English-speaking doctors. Also, it’s right near my place.
My dental treatment costs are also covered in my insurance package.
FitnessI regularly workout at Fitness 7 Ratchada. It has all equipment I need at 1,600 baht a month. The best part? It’s next to my place and it’s open twenty-four hours. WeFitness in Esplanade is also decent.
In general, if you like classes, the mall gyms can be good deals. They often have special sales at events (keep an eye open for fitness fairs at convention centers).
Health Checkups
I did a blood test for creatinine and BUN with BRIA Labs. It was very cheap. Although it looks more like an office than hospital, it’s probably the cheapest way to get a health checkup in Thailand.
Rent
Handypersons
The place I’m living has a good handyperson. So, every time I have any problem with the room, I just contact the maid who actually knows all the people around the area.
Seekster is another option where you can find both handypersons and maids online.
Maids
Similar to a handyperson, I’m using a maid who works inside the building. She charges me 400 baht each time for standard cleaning. For washing my bed set she charges me addition 250 baht.
Other option would be finding a maid online. Lately there are more websites created specifically for this purpose. The most popular one at the moment is Ayasan.
Laundry
I ask the same maid who cleans my room to do my laundry for me. She charges me 5 baht per piece for washing normal shirts that don’t require ironing.
For shirts and pants that need ironing, I use the laundry service inside my apartment building. They charge me 800 baht every month for sixty pieces of clothing.
Shopping
Groceries
Most of my groceries are purchased online through HappyFresh, Tesco Lotus, and HonestBee.
I still visit 7-ELEVEN, but the trips are mainly for water and snacks.
Clothing
I buy my clothes at Uniqlo most of the time. They also offer regular discounts every month, providing at least 30% off of certain products.
Utilities
Internet
Truemove is the internet I use in my apartment. There’s no special reason behind it. But so far my internet has been running stable and fast.
Phone
I use a postpaid package from Dtac. They regularly have the cheapest prices for phone plans, which often unlimited internet.
Traveling
Flights
Every time I fly, I will research the price first using Google Flights. But when I go through with the actual booking, I use Expedia–but only if the price I find on Expedia is lower than what’s shown on Google Flights.
ITA matrix search is good if I fly internationally and want to collect miles (but it lacks lots of low cost carriers).
Hotels
Airbnb is my favorite website when it comes to hotel bookings. You can get a great room at a good price. In case the place I’m going to doesn’t have Airbnb, I use Priceline or TripAdvisor.
Although many times these two sites have similar hotel listings, prices for some hotels can be different because of their respective deals.
Car Rentals
To be honest, I’d rather rent a car with a driver. You can get the cheapest rates by negotiating with taxi drivers in Bangkok. They’re happy to drive all day, and unlike professional car rentals and drivers, taxi drivers’ rates aren’t charged by the hour.
Tour Company
I don’t have a preference for any tour companies. Everytime I travel, I contact a local guide in the area I’m visiting. Usually, I find tour booths at the airport that aren’t a hard sell and have many customers. They tend to provide better prices and services.
Another hint for finding off-the-beaten track tour guides are the forums or Q&A sections of local forums on couchsurfing.org.Another favorite method of mine is to ask officials at national parks whether they are interested in doing part-time work as my personal guide.
Travel Insurance
Everytime I travel, I’m likely to purchase travel insurance from World Nomads. They have good prices, coverage, and cover many countries, including Thailand.
I’m not sure if they’re actually the best, though, as I currently have one major claim pending with them–so let’s see how that goes.
Transportation
Grab
Grab is my favorite method for calling a taxi in Bangkok, especially when I need to be picked up from a specific location, like my apartment. Other than this, I commute regularly via MRT and BTS because my apartment is close to the MRT station.
Language
Learn Thai
I’m able to speak, listen to, read, and write Thai at a competent level. I can handle basic communication in daily life as well as working in the company with my Thai employees.
I learned Thai using private tutors and through the Thai intensive program at Chulalongkorn University. Due to privacy reasons, I’m unable to list the names of my private tutors. If you’re interested, please contact me directly through this page.
Legal
Tax
For personal tax issues in Thailand, including filing taxes, I use Switchaya Nukhan. She’s the same accountant I use for my company in Thailand. Because I trust her, she handles everything. All I need to do is add my signatures.
Professional Services
Legal
Accounting and Tax
All accounting and tax matters are handled by Switchaya Nukhan. This includes payroll, tax filing, social security, tax refunds, and so on.
Visa and Work Permits
I hire an office manager in the company that handles all visa and work permit issues for every expat in my company, including me.
Being supported by BOI, most of the time my visa and work permit issues are resolved in only a few visits to the One Stop-Service Center.
Other
For a lot of general, run-of-the-mill stuff, I ask Pongkarn Khunphasee for advice.
For mission critical stuff (things that can get the company sued or steeped in hot water, or for very high value stuff), I work with Tilleke & Gibbins and check which of their lawyer is highly specialized for the issue at hand.
For tax stuff I like Law Alliance.
Finance
Credit Cards
I use credit cards from Bangkok Bank as my main corporate credit cards. They are one of the first banks that approve us in Thailand. They also have one of the best exchange rates.
This helps us because many services I use are from overseas.
However, depending on what functionality you need, you’re better of getting one of the airline points cards from Citibank (prestige, select, preferred).
Another unique card is offered by ICBC, which does not include hidden exchange rates for USD and EUR expenses.
Bank Accounts
I have two bank accounts for my company: Kasikorn and Bangkok Bank. Kasikorn Bank is used for dealing with local companies and transferring salaries.
While Bangkok Bank is used for receiving money and paying service providers in other countries. Exchange rates are the main reason I use them.
Another reason I use Bangkok Bank is because they were willing to accept USD checks right away, whereas Kasikorn said I needed to have the company for six months and the account for three months before they accepted checks in USD.
HR
Recruitment
Every time I need to recruit new employees, I will post ads on Jobsdb. Although the advertising rate is higher than other job posting websites, the quality of the candidate is also better.
Another effective way to recruit new employees is through personal connections. I offer a 5,000 baht referral fee to anyone who can help me successfully recruit a new candidate. Sometimes, the people I know just recommend to me a promising candidate without me having to pay anything.
Networking with people who work at universities is also a good practice. They tend to give me a heads-up when there is a promising graduate, or they can pass on my job ads to those promising graduates.
Health Insurance
All employees in the company are insured with Bupa corporate plan because it’s the most suitable for my requirements, including price, coverage, and hospitals in their network.
So far, everyone is happy with it. For a corporate health insurance broker, I’d go with Bruno Odermatt from VR-Insure.
Offices
Office Spaces
Right now I use a serviced office from Regus. With the cost combined, it’s slightly more expensive than my previous physical office at Forum Tower. However, it also lessens my administrative work as well.
Office Supplies
Every month I order all office supplies online from Officemate. They have all the supplies I need and can deliver directly to my company within a day or two.
Office Furnitures
Officemate is still my go to place when it comes to buying a furniture. My favorite branch is in Central Rama 9. The store is big store and is located next to a supermarket. I also buy furniture from Ikea. They have many choices, styles, and good prices.
Websites
Domain Registration
Due to the nature of my online business, I have tried many domain registration services. As of now, I use internetbs because of its free privacy service.
Web Hosting
Thailand Starter Kit is hosted on WPX Hosting. So far I’m happy with their service.
Security
To improve security and performance of my website, I use a paid service from Cloudflare. In short, it’s a CDN service that can effectively prevent spam and attacks.
Freelance Services
Content Writing
In addition to my in-house editorial team, I use strict editorial guidelines and recruit authors though freelancing websites like Upwork and textbroker–my two favorites.For other freelance work I use fiverr.
Other
Messenger Services
In the past I used a motorcycle taxi for any messaging services, including sending documents to other companies or picking up important documents from the Department of Business Development.
However, when I moved to a new location, I couldn’t find a reliable motorcycle taxi anymore. So, I used skootar instead.
Data Storage
Running a business in Thailand requires a lot of paperwork and I simply don’t have enough space for that. So, I use a data storage service from DataSafe and keep all unused documents there.
If I need a document, they can deliver the document to us within a day or two.
Transportation
I use Grab everytime my employees need to go out for company business. You can set up a company profile using their app and have the expense paid directly through your company’s credit card.
File Management
I use dropbox business plans to keep all company documents and website backed up. This way all my employees can have an access to the company’s document no matter where they are.
This is especially useful for my accountant and administrative team.
Communication
In addition to traditional email, I use Skype for my group video call meetings and international calls.
For sending sensitive data such as passwords, I use Signal. It’s an encrypted messenger service that can automatically delete messages after a set amount of time.