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

[Spookie]

Thanks @ChrisF and @NotSoBigBen

Yeah I’m on coastal saver, zero MSA left (I mean, it is DH and it is October, so as expected…)

Look I did a proper job, broke my jaw so had to have surgery etc. But ironically looks like if my teeth had been rubbish and been knocked out entirely Discovery would have happily paid for the replacement. Which to me is a bit mind boggling tbh. 
 

i do also have gap cover but as it’s out of hospital I don’t think they’d cover, but will check. 
 

unreal. Like I do understand normal dental procedures they might not want to cover, but like as a direct result of a trauma/crash… seems a bit like a cop out considering how much we pay them monthly.

Thanks again both

[ChrisF]

2 hours ago, Spookie said:

Thanks @ChrisF and @NotSoBigBen

Yeah I’m on coastal saver, zero MSA left (I mean, it is DH and it is October, so as expected…)

Look I did a proper job, broke my jaw so had to have surgery etc. But ironically looks like if my teeth had been rubbish and been knocked out entirely Discovery would have happily paid for the replacement. Which to me is a bit mind boggling tbh. 
 

i do also have gap cover but as it’s out of hospital I don’t think they’d cover, but will check. 
 

unreal. Like I do understand normal dental procedures they might not want to cover, but like as a direct result of a trauma/crash… seems a bit like a cop out considering how much we pay them monthly.

Thanks again both

 

"Gap cover" is another animal that has morphed over the years .... way too many permutations, and very difficult to say with any certainty what it will and what it wont pay.  

[Rob K]

Hijack if I may - reading these recent posts, someone mentioned Chronic medicines and Hospital plan, which jolted my memory.

Does Discovery Hospital Plan pay for chronic medicines (Classic Core in our case)?

[ChrisF]

29 minutes ago, Rob K said:

Hijack if I may - reading these recent posts, someone mentioned Chronic medicines and Hospital plan, which jolted my memory.

Does Discovery Hospital Plan pay for chronic medicines (Classic Core in our case)?

 

ALL medical aids pay for the "basic 26" chronic conditions in accordance with the PMB benefit (prescribed minimum benefit).  Many do employ some "formula" to nudge clients use generics options.

 

So step one should be to ask your Dr if your particular condition falls within the definition of one of these.  Or just read here (as if mere mortals can wade their way through all this) -

 

https://www.discovery.co.za/wcm/discoverycoza/assets/medical-aid/benefit-information/2021/pmb-conditions-list-2021.pdf

 

This applies to ALL of Discovery Health's plans.

 

If you have Psoriatic arthtritis, as an example, then this is not covered under the PMB list.  You would then need to be on one of DH "comprehensive plans" to get access to their "extended chronic" cover.

 

Now your broker starts earning their keep as they guide you through this mine field.

 

Your final hail mary ..... do an "exgracia application" .... by now you are dealing with a specialist Dr, who have walked this road before and who should be able to assist with the paper work. 

Edited October 4, 2022 by ChrisF

[Rob K]

26 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

ALL medical aids pay for the "basic 26" chronic conditions in accordance with the PMB benefit (prescribed minimum benefit).  Many do employ some "formula" to nudge clients use generics options.

 

So step one should be to ask your Dr if your particular condition falls within the definition of one of these.  Or just read here (as if mere mortals can wade their way through all this) -

 

https://www.discovery.co.za/wcm/discoverycoza/assets/medical-aid/benefit-information/2021/pmb-conditions-list-2021.pdf

 

This applies to ALL of Discovery Health's plans.

 

If you have Psoriatic arthtritis, as an example, then this is not covered under the PMB list.  You would then need to be on one of DH "comprehensive plans" to get access to their "extended chronic" cover.

 

Now your broker starts earning their keep as they guide you through this mine field.

 

Your final hail mary ..... do an "exgracia application" .... by now you are dealing with a specialist Dr, who have walked this road before and who should be able to assist with the paper work. 

 

Thanks so much Chris,

 

I have scanned through that list but don't see what I am looking for.

It's Fibromyalgia - any ideas?

[ChrisF]

29 minutes ago, Rob K said:

 

Thanks so much Chris,

 

I have scanned through that list but don't see what I am looking for.

It's Fibromyalgia - any ideas?

 

Sorry bud, I dont know.

 

 

This is where your Dr and/or broker needs to help you ....  A good pharmacists may possibly be able to help.

 

[M L]

On 6/6/2022 at 8:46 AM, JohanDiv said:

I joined Vitality on Wednesday and it's been quite a steep learning curve to try and figure out how to get points..especially being a Wahoo user. I actually got some nice tips here on the hub on old threads to get around this issue.

Already changed to endurance category to get max 1200 pts per week.

Record activities on Wahoo Roam. This Syncs to Strava.

From Strava I donwload the fit file, then use Fit File Tools to change the device to Garmin.

Manually upload new file to Garmin Connect.

Garmin Connect syncs to Vitality app.

I see Christiaan from Wahoo said in 2019 that they are working with Vitality to get Wahoo as a recognized device, but the communication about this on the hub stopped around the time Covid hit in 2020.. Surely there must be an easier way by now?! I mean Vitality ran a Wahoo Kickr promo earlier this year.. I'm missing something, right??

 

 

For those wondering how to activate Vitality Endurance Athete Status:

Activate it here.

Few the points (now max of 600 per excercise) here.

[M L]

On 6/2/2022 at 3:01 PM, Bub Marley said:

Their system is extremely frustrating. They have the most complicated but by far the most rewarding product, but a system that cannot cope with it. The reason people put up with it is because of the rewards and they know that.

Of course their goal is to reduce their risk. They’re a business at the end of the day and they need to be profitable.

No one is forcing you to buy anything. You can covert your miles to cash if you want to as well. I get so much miles every month, sometimes i dont even know where it’s coming from. As frustrating as they are, I can put up with it just based on how much back i get every month.

Besides the miles at pnp and clicks which account for so much cash back, I get money back at Nandos, i get money back from petrol. Last month I got so much miles back, i could use everything on a car seat for my baby. 

This month im gonna get the same plus my cash back on the 2 races i did.

So im willing to put up with the **** mainly because they giving me money for nothing.

I'm interested to know what your top 3 revenue streams are for earning D-Miles?

And then, on what status are you? (trying to understand how to best make use of the system to earn max rewards for the least amount of effort).

Edited November 3, 2022 by M L

[M L]

On 6/25/2022 at 3:45 PM, ChrisF said:

 

I know what you mean ... 

 

 

I am having similar misgivings about FNB ebucks at the moment ...

 

 

These packages all have a similar "core approach" ... use carrots to get the client to buy into the bio.sphere of packages that the group offers.   And as the group grows and addapts, the rewards program changes to get the clients to buy into the new products ....

 

 

It may work for a younger generation .... if you stil need a bond, insurance, life insurance, investments, medical ....   easy to lure their full business package into your stable of companies with an effective rewards program.

 

 

Slightly irritating if you already have most of these at different companies .... you cant ever get decent rewards without moving half your business around ....

 

 

 

It is what it is ....

 

Enter with eyes wide open, knowing they want all your business if you want to see decent rewards .... far cry from a few health steps for max benefits of yesteryear ...

eBucks feels like a breeze to understand compared to Vitality.

With eBucks you have to:

- Have a credit and fusion account.

- Use your virtual bank cards (fusion or credit) for all your expenses (especially debit orders).

- On the app, open the 'track my rewards', 'nav>money' pages each month.

- Don't withdraw cash from an ATM.

Those things should put you on tier 5 each month. I get around R700 a month back from shopping at Checkers, Engen and then Clicks (in that order).
 

[Frosty]

1 hour ago, M L said:

eBucks feels like a breeze to understand compared to Vitality.

With eBucks you have to:

- Have a credit and fusion account.

- Use your virtual bank cards (fusion or credit) for all your expenses (especially debit orders).

- On the app, open the 'track my rewards', 'nav>money' pages each month.

- Don't withdraw cash from an ATM.

Those things should put you on tier 5 each month. I get around R700 a month back from shopping at Checkers, Engen and then Clicks (in that order).
 

I don't have FNB, probably because they won't give me a bond at prime -2%, so I can comment on their side. Vitality is not that complicated, once you understand it.

• Workout 900 points per week; I do much more than that, even in recovery weeks)
• Drive nicely (don't use phone and don't speed, accelerate, corner or brake too harshly)
• Take the car for an annual inspection (keep in a roadworthy condition)
• Spend a bit on the card... 1 point week
• Do some annual health checks
• Check some stuff online
• Do some eye-test (this is a friggen pain) once per year

The rest is minimal, and linked to the basket of products.

Cashback on fuel is R200-R600 per month depending on how much the wife pays for fuel (50% cash back). I have a company fuel card, so my fuel spend is not applicable. Woolies is minimal cash back. Points to miles and card spend gets me about 120,000 miles (R12000) per annum (its a guess based on my spend this year.

[Bub Marley]

3 hours ago, M L said:

I'm interested to know what your top 3 revenue streams are for earning D-Miles?

And then, on what status are you? (trying to understand how to best make use of the system to earn max rewards for the least amount of effort).

Healthy food at PNP gives me the most back. Im on Gold Vitality status.

[milky4130]

Anyone recently done the Vitality Fitness Assessment, what did it all entail?

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

9 hours ago, milky4130 said:

Anyone recently done the Vitality Fitness Assessment, what did it all entail?

We did ours 2 weeks ago.
We did the health check, usual measurements for blood pressure, cholestrol, etc.

The fitness assessment we only did a session with a Biokinetist (charged to our medical aid) and they made us do a brisk walk on a treadmill for 7mins or so. Was expecting a lot worse tbh. They also let us use our watches to track HR and mine seemed to be a bit iffy on the day, barely got above my average resting HR. 
Seemed a pointless exercise but doing it got us to Diamond so who knows. 
Also did it while considering cancelling Vitality, but it was offered free of charge by our broker.

[Frosty]

I haven’t done the Fitness test in a number of years (30,000 fitness points is easily achieved by mid-year). 

When I did it, it was a step test and some stretching/flexibility.

[TheoG]

12 minutes ago, Frosty said:

I haven’t done the Fitness test in a number of years (30,000 fitness points is easily achieved by mid-year). 

When I did it, it was a step test and some stretching/flexibility.

Same here got 30 000 points months ago, no point in doing the fitness assessment.  Health assessment YES, thats an easy crap load of points .... 🙂

[Bub Marley]

3 hours ago, Steven Knoetze (sk27) said:

We did ours 2 weeks ago.
We did the health check, usual measurements for blood pressure, cholestrol, etc.

The fitness assessment we only did a session with a Biokinetist (charged to our medical aid) and they made us do a brisk walk on a treadmill for 7mins or so. Was expecting a lot worse tbh. They also let us use our watches to track HR and mine seemed to be a bit iffy on the day, barely got above my average resting HR. 
Seemed a pointless exercise but doing it got us to Diamond so who knows. 
Also did it while considering cancelling Vitality, but it was offered free of charge by our broker.

I did mine early this year and it involved riding a bike. Was right up my alley.