Discovery Health - Vitality & Team Vitality plus everything else you need to know

[lechatnoir]

33 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

Life is to short to spend my time checking:

1. Did Vitality log my events correctly

2. Did I get all the points and rewards due to me

3. Did their system penalise my driving ...

100%, but if if have fuel rewards, iPhone benefits, boosters galore and daily drive a road that they have incorrect data for, then I'm whizzing lots of money away. And that's just me. What about the countless other customers with the same? Pretty certain I'm not alone

 

[ChrisF]

Just now, lechatnoir said:

100%, but if if have fuel rewards, iPhone benefits, boosters galore and daily drive a road that they have incorrect data for, then I'm whizzing lots of money away. And that's just me. What about the countless other customers with the same? Pretty certain I'm not alone

 

 

Their system is fundamentally flawed !!

 

The fact that users "need to" check all these items points to a broken system.

[Mike Mac]

59 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

Their system is fundamentally flawed !!

 

The fact that users "need to" check all these items points to a broken system.

I agree.

I don't know if I can go as far as call them a bunch of thieves, but sometimes I do feel like I have been robbed.

Like when they don't automaticall increase the savings rates across their accounts on the day the Reserve Bank increases the repo rate. Their credit rate goes up immediatelly though. 

Like, when I  get penalised for aggressive braking. If  didn’t brake to that extent, I would hit the car infront. Similarly when driving below the speed limit and a traffic light goes to orange. I slow to stop in time before the light changes to red. Points deducted for aggressive braking WTF!!!

Like, they couldn't make Vitality more complicated if they tried. One must question why is this needs to be so complicated. Definitely not in the interest of the consumer  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 2, 2022 by Mike Mac

[lechatnoir]

37 minutes ago, Mike Mac said:

I agree.

I don't know if I can go as far as call them a bunch of thieves, but sometimes I do feel like I have been robbed.

Like when they don't automaticall increase the savings rates across their accounts on the day the Reserve Bank increases the repo rate. There credit rate goes up immediatelly though. 

Like when I  get penalised for aggressive braking. If Ididn't brake that hard, I would hit the car infront. Similarly when driving below the speed limit and a traffic light goes to orange. I slow to stop in time before the light changes to red. Points deducted for aggressive braking WTF!!!

Like, they couldnt make Vitality more complicated if they tried. 

 

imagine the conversation...

customer: you took my money!

service provider: your money? i just saw it lying there and didn't know it was yours.

😄 you took my money!

SP: erm, i guess you'd better prove it then

C -  here's a picture of me holding the money

SP - aww shucks you're right. ok, have it back (mutters under breath - wait till next time sucker)

[M L]

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

There was a glitch in their system and has been fixed. It will be paid in this current month’s billing cycle.

 

Do you claim for all events or is there a list from which you know you can claim? The race calendar doesn't seem to work.

[shaper]

56 minutes ago, M L said:

Do you claim for all events or is there a list from which you know you can claim? The race calendar doesn't seem to work.

I claim for all races I do. Manually submit https://www.discovery.co.za/portal/individual/vit-partner-outdoor-sporting-events

[Zeffer]

I also had to claim manually and got the same message about it working going forward - will need to see.

As for the calendar.... it is working it is just not either updated or no races added since the list was last updated in March.

https://www.discovery.co.za/discovery_coza/web/linked_content/pdfs/vitality/team_vitality/vitality_race_events_calendar.pdf?sap-outbound-id=02C9F8EA464BA9D1AA02228E42FA7CB5DDA17F21&utm_source=SAPHybris&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=6538&utm_term=VITA_NL_FEB_FV_BankBlock_07022022_YS___race events calendar&utm_content=EN

 

[madmarc]

Vitality has become the biggest scam ever invented. Members are all led to believe they get rewarded with free stuff for being active. when the goal is to actually have healthier members to reduce their insurance risk.

Until they start offering reduced premiums on Med Aid and Life Insurance based on your Vitality status then it will remain a scam in my opinion. 

[ChrisF]

4 minutes ago, madmarc said:

Vitality has become the biggest scam ever invented. Members are all led to believe they get rewarded with free stuff for being active. when the goal is to actually have healthier members to reduce their insurance risk.

Until they start offering reduced premiums on Med Aid and Life Insurance based on your Vitality status then it will remain a scam in my opinion. 

 

And this is the challange for all these medical aid rewards schemes ....

 

The medical aid council has a very rigid set of rules .... this prohibits "discounting" premiums.

 

 

I dont know how the rules impact potential rewards on the Life or Short term insurance sides ....

[M L]

36 minutes ago, shaper said:

I claim for all races I do. Manually submit https://www.discovery.co.za/portal/individual/vit-partner-outdoor-sporting-events

Wow nice - and do they pay 100% of the entry fee for most races?

[madmarc]

6 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

And this is the challange for all these medical aid rewards schemes ....

 

The medical aid council has a very rigid set of rules .... this prohibits "discounting" premiums.

 

 

I dont know how the rules impact potential rewards on the Life or Short term insurance sides ....

Then give me 10 or 15% cash back on my med aid prem at the end of the year and let me draw out leftover savings that i have left because i'm such an active healthy chap ( I have nearly 100K sitting there not earning interest) - Don't force me to go buy sh$t that i don't really need and then discount it telling me thats my reward - Or tell me i have to visit a restaurant i don't particularly like to get my free coffee 

[ChrisF]

Just now, madmarc said:

Then give me 10 or 15% cash back on my med aid prem at the end of the year and let me draw out leftover savings that i have left because i'm such an active healthy chap ( I have nearly 100K sitting there not earning interest) - Don't force me to go buy sh$t that i don't really need and then discount it telling me thats my reward - Or tell me i have to visit a restaurant i don't particularly like to get my free coffee 

 

In 1996/7 Discovery Health was doing interesting things with their medical aid savings account .... nice tax free pouch to allow movement of large sums of money .... at very good interest rates ....

 

Took ONE tax year for SARS to pick up on this ... few months later the medical aid council clamped down hard on this .... we still have those rules in play today.

 

So discounted coffee and a discount on an overpriced item at a select store is as good as it is going to get .... how many vitality members will ever get to use a slow lounge ....

 

 

Agreed .... the current set of rewards are far removed from the initial concept to reward healthy living

[Frosty]

1 hour ago, M L said:

Do you claim for all events or is there a list from which you know you can claim? The race calendar doesn't seem to work.

In this case I queried every race I did (3).

The calendar is a waste of time.
As long as I get back more than I pay, it's a win (admin and all).

Speaking of admin, I have to follow up with suppliers, service providers, work colleagues and more. It's frustrating as hell, but if I don't do it, I don't get results. Increases/bonuses are based on results, so any pending items affects me anyway "ensure the deliverables are on time". Maybe I'm too "paraat".

[Frosty]

31 minutes ago, madmarc said:

Vitality has become the biggest scam ever invented. Members are all led to believe they get rewarded with free stuff for being active. when the goal is to actually have healthier members to reduce their insurance risk.

Until they start offering reduced premiums on Med Aid and Life Insurance based on your Vitality status then it will remain a scam in my opinion. 

Life policies with Discovery are based on your Vitality status, and amount of Health spend.

There's a new benefit where instead of 50% of premiums back after 5 years, you can get double after 10 years. I'm still waiting for the definition of double, if it's double every year from years 6-10, or something else. My brokers weren't able to answer that question in front of me.

[shaper]

27 minutes ago, M L said:

Wow nice - and do they pay 100% of the entry fee for most races?

Only on vitality sponsored races do you generally get money back if you have signed up to cycling and/or running for the year.  Often the vitality races will have more points awarded than for other races.

I do every race for the points, any money back is a bonus as I make more with the Discovery miles.

[Michael S]

1 hour ago, madmarc said:

Then give me 10 or 15% cash back on my med aid prem at the end of the year and let me draw out leftover savings that i have left because i'm such an active healthy chap ( I have nearly 100K sitting there not earning interest) - Don't force me to go buy sh$t that i don't really need and then discount it telling me thats my reward - Or tell me i have to visit a restaurant i don't particularly like to get my free coffee 

Then don't spend you miles/rewards on things you don't need? 

Spend it on things you would be buying anyways. 

I get about R1.5k of toiletries, cleaning supplies ect.(things I would be buying regardless) Every month on the 15th from Dischem paid with my months miles. Never coffees and things (sometimes the odd bike bits from sportsmans, but thats more important than toilet paper)

I then spend the extra R1.5k I have each month to supplement my medial aid, which I need regardless of rewards because you know, RSA public health care.