Even those rich enough to have bought a Thailand Elite Card are too embarrassed to talk about it. And even after it was put on the market a year ago with overt government backing - including the imprimatur of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra - not even the government bodies responsible for the card want to talk about it now.

Launched with great fanfare ahead of Thailand's hosting of last October's Apec (Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation) summit, the card confers exclusive benefits such as discounts on spas, a fast-track line at airport check-in and business introductions for "VIP foreigners who have high purchasing power'' and want to buy into what promotional materials say is the world's first `countrywide country-club''.

Costing US$25,000 (HK$195,000) each, the Elite Card promised a whole new level of service and special perks, backed by powerful government support for self-identified "high-quality tourists'', in contrast, presumably, to the hordes of downmarket visitors already spending their vacation dollars in Thailand

But the golden bloom logo - the pat bok, or ceremonial palm-leaf fan which "has been reserved throughout Thai history to designate VIPs'', according to the Elite Card website - is already looking tarnished.

The reason, at first, appears to be an unpaid bill for Elite Card advertisements broadcast on CNN. Local news reports say this amounts to 140 million baht (HK$26.29 million). There's no problem in paying the bill, officials say, but it's a puzzle how the spending was authorised.

An investigation was launched. Three current and former directors of Thailand Privilege Card (TPC), the company set up by the government to run the Elite Card, are being questioned about the advertising expenditure in an inquiry expected to last several months. Six resignations from the board of the state-owned TPC have now left it temporarily without a quorum and Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Juttamas Siriwan has disclaimed responsibility.

After local papers claimed that "a minister'' had authorised the ads, it's become unclear whether an investigation is ongoing, or even if talks are under way about better management of TPC.

Requests to TPC for interviews and information went unanswered.

The professionally charming people answering the phones at the TPC office say: "We really can't answer this, maybe later''.

A quick peek behind the gauzy golden image used on its website and brochures shows the Elite Card concept faces bigger hurdles than a few unpaid bills.

Early targets of one million members have been revised downward; insiders suggest 10 per cent of that would be more realistic. The hope is that marketing agents for the card in Europe and East Asia - including Hong Kong - will collect at least 2,000 new members each over the next few years.

So far the website says that 660 people have signed up - and some of those members were given their cards free as a promotional gesture.

One person quoted as a satisfied backer of the card in promotional materials was contacted and said he had not said anything about the card recently and was unaware that his name was being used for promotion.

"I certainly wasn't so stupid as to buy one,'' he said when asked if he was an Elite Card holder.

It was an exciting idea at first, not least because it was widely seen as the brainchild of Prime Minister Thaksin, a leader who has shown that he is not scared to think outside the box. At one level, the reasoning seemed sound: Thailand is a massively popular destination for tourists not least because it is cheap, but the country wants to encourage and keep a higher net worth type of customer.

For many Thais, the country's image as a destination for sleazy sex tourists is demeaning. Changing the country's image and enhancing the brand that is Thailand was one reason for the card.

What better way to enhance the brand than to offer the extra-rich traveller membership in an exclusive club which promised all the benefits they could ever dream of?

For some potential card-buyers, these are tempting: Five-year tourist visas instead of the month or three offered at the airport to ordinary people; a special Immigration channel so that even baggage collection is taken out of your hands; access (often at a discount) to top golf courses, hotels, spas, restaurants, shows and more; and, the "right to own land'' in Thailand.

"For members combining business with pleasure, the call centre will assist in any way it can in co-ordinating with government departments, such as the Board of Investment and the Department of Export Promotion, as well as assist its members with arranging meetings with high-level government officials,'' states the Elite Card promotional material.

It continues: "Due to its strong ties to the Thai government, Thai Elite members have this unique edge over other visiting business people.''

Said one veteran foreign businessman in Thailand who asked not to be named: "Some of the offers are quite good if you're rich and you travel often to Thailand.

"Friends of mine liked the ease of getting through the airport. But the real thing was the right to own land.''

Not so. Thai law still prohibits the ownership of Thai land by foreigners, so this promise of the Elite Card was flawed from the first.

One business consultant involved in trying to sell the card explained that all the Elite Card could do was save on a tax bill. Thai law already allows foreigners to buy condominiums (that means an apartment, but not the land it is on), and many foreigners "buy land'' through a majority-Thai-owned company.

VIPs or not, Elite Card members have to follow the same laws in the end. The only difference is that when a card holder eventually chooses to sell the land, that sale will be seen as a sale by an individual rather than by a corporation, making it liable for lower tax.

The five-year tourist visa also sounds good too - except that again, Thai law interferes and requires Elite Card members, just like any other foreigner in Thailand, to report to an Immigration office every 90 days.

As for the golf courses, news reports say TPC has cancelled its golf course-building and expansion plans around the country. Card holders do get privileged access to some existing courses, however.

A key card benefit remains having just one number to call to arrange everything one wants in Thailand, from cars to roses to dinners and appointments.

Additional scepticism exists in some quarters about some of these promises because any rich person staying at a top hotel in Thailand can enjoy such benefits through the concierge and guest services. Even non-rich people can have their own cars and drivers, and can hire fixers of many kinds.

"I think you have to distinguish between the rich and the super-rich,'' said the businessman. "The idea I think is to reach those rich people who are not yet at the level where everything happens for them automatically.

"Initially, I thought it was a good deal. But then for golfers, I think they are going to play where they want to play with or without this card so that special access is not of any use.

"I know one guy who bought the card but I reckon he'd be embarrassed to talk to you about it.''

Tourism experts and company managers who have acted as agents for the Elite Card insist the idea was novel and exciting. Only one other precedent can be recalled. This is a privilege offered in China where, for about US$5,000, fast-track passage through the airport and Immigration in Beijing is offered, said one agent.

But opinion remains divided as to whether a market exists for the concept large enough to make it viable in the long term.

"I must admit, we haven't been selling them very hard,'' said one authorised agent for the cards. "We feel that because the concept of TPC is still new it has some bugs that need ironing out.'' An editorial in The Nation newspaper argued that the card should be dropped and the TPC wound up before any more time and money is wasted on an interesting idea which did not work.

"The whole episode [over unpaid advertising bills] has severely damaged the reputation and image of the Elite Card,'' it said.

"If the Elite Card scheme were a normal business, it would have been shelved a while ago, or at the very least its business plan would be radically revised for the company to stay competitive.

"But since this project was the brainchild of the Thaksin government, nobody seems willing to stand up and admit that both the concept and the execution have flopped,'' The Nation said on October 14.

Not everyone has written it off, though.

"Some people out there really do want a special membership status which tells them - and others - that they're rich and of high status,'' a card agent said.

"I'm sure everything will be all right. It will all carry on,'' added one cheerful worker at the TPC office.