I’m back to full speed in the BM newsroom and working on a wellness programme hack story. I need the best (even if it’s super niche like getting your lip waxed on a Thursday because the makeup lady goes to Zumba that day) tips and hacks to get the most out of whatever medical aid/life insurance adjacent wellness programme you’re on.
Like, have you noticed that the highest amount in the weekly Discovery Miles gameboard is always one square away from the main marketing background graphic???
This is probably a dull response, but I think the Vitality system is only worth it if you commit fully and bank with them, drive with them and exercise with them.
Yep. For years my standard response to questions about “what smartwatch should I get?” was to ask whether or not it could make them money (like Discovery Miles or Vida coffee vouchers). If the person asking wasn’t on vitality, it never really made sense.
I’m glad they fixed the UX disaster that meant you needed to have a discovery bank account to actually redeem the vouchers
My tip: you can actually upload the policy documents of your RA, life insurance etc even if you’re not signed on with Discovery. They take a bit of time to verify, but once done, you get the typical boosters/multipliers associated with having some sort of policy on your account. Not sure if it translates into Miles, but fairly sure it helps with good interest rates. #dulltips
Even though no DM readers or insiders have indicated positive sentiment towards this article (huge shout out to my colleagues who are endlessly supportive), I have still forged ahead sourcing the biggest brain in wellness programme value unlock outside of that tannie on instagram.
The person in question, let’s call him Branden - because that’s his actual government name - was one of the pioneers signing up crossfit gyms to the vitality system (yes, I used to do crossfit before it was cool) and has since expanded his knowledge to include the intricacies of Momentum Multiply. Coming soon to the DM site…
This is not a Vitality tip but thought worthy of mentioning (albeit a bit of a late reply) - I don’t have Vitality even though I have a hospital plan with Discovery. But I am now able to wrack up exercise and health points to a Personal Health fund. These you can chose to convert into Discovery Miles or some actual Rand value credit. I’ve used this credit to buy medication and for a doctor visit which obviously isn’t covered by a hospital plan.
The goals are pretty simple, although sometimes unachievable - like trying to hit a goal of going for a health check when you’re feeing totally fine. But the ones like, X-amount of steps per week, or visit the dentist by X-date are helpful for when you’ve been putting off that annual check-up.
Not much of a hack, but I’ve earned rewards, but failed to play the gameboard, and the rewards were then lost. I called to enquire, and apparently, they expire after two weeks. Earn + Redeem people!
By the way, we have DBank and DMed, with vitality, and the most benefit we derive (other than the smoothies and coffees, of course!) is the healthy food savings. More than offsets the vitality and bank charges, and we are (tricked?) into eating more veggies and fruit.