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

[shaper]

3 hours ago, Andymann said:

I often have to remind myself of this - I'm not their target market.  Did the Prime View Sprint Triathlon this weekend - used the Multisport function on my Garmin because that's what a Triathlon watch is for right? 600m swim - 10mins. 12km MTB - 27mins. 3km run 14mins.  Total time - 53mins.  Total points - zero.  3 activities, high HR but all under 30mins.

Luckily I'm an old hand at this and cycled with my Bike Garmin which I left running in Transition for an hour to get 300 points.  Crazy that you should have to game the system, but yup - not their target market.

Crazy how you can do a sprint triathlon which is proper exercise and get Zero points, yet you can eat KFC sitting on the couch watching TV at a Virgin Active Gym and earn 100 points.....

You could have just logged it as an outdoor sporting event "triathlon" and uploaded your result to get the points. https://www.discovery.co.za/portal/individual/vit-partner-outdoor-sporting-events

No need to game the system, just know the system and know where to log a multisport event recorded as a multisport event.  I do it for all my triathlons and get the points a day or 2 after.

Quote

How can I earn fitness points for race events?
Discovery Vitality members are able to earn fitness points by taking part in any timed and verified race events locally or internationally in the disciplines of cycling, walking/running, swimming and major multisport events in line with our fitness points table. You will be able to submit your race event details manually on the race events capture form. Points for race events are allocated depending on the discipline and distance of the event.

https://www.discovery.co.za/vitality/help-points

 

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by shaper

[Andymann]

9 minutes ago, shaper said:

You could have just logged it as an outdoor sporting event "triathlon" and uploaded your result to get the points. https://www.discovery.co.za/portal/individual/vit-partner-outdoor-sporting-events

No need to game the system, just know the system and know where to log a multisport event recorded as a multisport event.  I do it for all my triathlons and get the points a day or 2 after.

 

Been down that road.  The minimum distance for the bike is 25km and the minimum distance for the run is 5km.

The Prime View Sprint Tri's are a 12km MTB and a 3km run which don't qualify according to Discovery as a Triathlon.

[Shebeen]

back on this.

(can;t believe I've become a slave to this system!!)

 

If the whole shebang misses a workout (uploads suunto=>strava, both connected to disco), is there a manual way for them to resync and look for activities?

 

did the whatsapp ting and while we got it done, the human on the otherside didn't really know how it worked. was not worth the effort for a coffee. googling gets you so many different links to their site, many of them legacy stuff, a direct link would be great

 

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

13 hours ago, Shebeen said:

back on this.

(can;t believe I've become a slave to this system!!)

 

If the whole shebang misses a workout (uploads suunto=>strava, both connected to disco), is there a manual way for them to resync and look for activities?

 

did the whatsapp ting and while we got it done, the human on the otherside didn't really know how it worked. was not worth the effort for a coffee. googling gets you so many different links to their site, many of them legacy stuff, a direct link would be great

 

Vitality Queries <Vitalityassist_cape@discovery.co.za>

[Shebeen]

so this whole vitality save money on flights thingymajig.

do you really have to join the bank first to get a discount, or is there another link that they hide??

[RobertWhitehead]

41 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

so this whole vitality save money on flights thingymajig.

do you really have to join the bank first to get a discount, or is there another link that they hide??

So I re-looked everything Discovery has to offer. To put things into context, I have: 

Insurance - structure, content and motor. 

Medical aid 

Vitality 

Bank - I just have a R5k limit on a CC for me to be able to convert the miles. 

Now let me give a rundown quickly: 

My medical aid is always depleted by around May, this year I am already there

The insurance has a new clause that they will only pay up to the amount of R10k for any claim less the excess regardless of the value of the item claimed. It never used to be like that. 

I had to open a cheque account on top of the cc cause I "saved money" by bundling and something else which I can't recall. 

 

Got a quote today on insurance for more cover, less excess and a lower premium of R1500pm. No more need to specify individual items either. 

On top of the vitality of R349 and the bank fees of around R250 I am starting to look pretty. Next step is to cancel and move the medical. It's all hogwash with no real benefit, do the math on your end and see if what I am saying holds water

[ChrisF]

8 minutes ago, RobertWhitehead said:

So I re-looked everything Discovery has to offer. To put things into context, I have: 

Insurance - structure, content and motor. 

Medical aid 

Vitality 

Bank - I just have a R5k limit on a CC for me to be able to convert the miles. 

Now let me give a rundown quickly: 

My medical aid is always depleted by around May, this year I am already there

The insurance has a new clause that they will only pay up to the amount of R10k for any claim less the excess regardless of the value of the item claimed. It never used to be like that. 

I had to open a cheque account on top of the cc cause I "saved money" by bundling and something else which I can't recall. 

 

Got a quote today on insurance for more cover, less excess and a lower premium of R1500pm. No more need to specify individual items either. 

On top of the vitality of R349 and the bank fees of around R250 I am starting to look pretty. Next step is to cancel and move the medical. It's all hogwash with no real benefit, do the math on your end and see if what I am saying holds water

 

Discovery medical savings plans have gone backwards the last few years.

 

For 2024 the savings was dropped another 5% on all plans.  Thats why you are out of savings so early this year.

 

 

Compare the Core to the Savings and a few thousand rand of your premium for the year  goes to "admin".

 

We switched to a Core plan for 2024.  The savings amount goes into separate banking account.  Account and transaction fees in the order of R15 per month.

 

 

Well worth the effort to do the maths.

[Sandro]

They're trying to corner everyone into signing up for their banking. Slowly but surely all the benefits are becoming redundant if you don't have it.

[Bub Marley]

12 hours ago, Shebeen said:

so this whole vitality save money on flights thingymajig.

do you really have to join the bank first to get a discount, or is there another link that they hide??

When Kulula folded, they needed an alternative so they created their own platform which is now part of Bank. You need to have a bank account to get access to the platform.

 

They do have a free account though. So you can just open the free account to access the miles and book flights. 

[Bub Marley]

11 hours ago, RobertWhitehead said:

So I re-looked everything Discovery has to offer. To put things into context, I have: 

Insurance - structure, content and motor. 

Medical aid 

Vitality 

Bank - I just have a R5k limit on a CC for me to be able to convert the miles. 

Now let me give a rundown quickly: 

My medical aid is always depleted by around May, this year I am already there

The insurance has a new clause that they will only pay up to the amount of R10k for any claim less the excess regardless of the value of the item claimed. It never used to be like that. 

I had to open a cheque account on top of the cc cause I "saved money" by bundling and something else which I can't recall. 

 

Got a quote today on insurance for more cover, less excess and a lower premium of R1500pm. No more need to specify individual items either. 

On top of the vitality of R349 and the bank fees of around R250 I am starting to look pretty. Next step is to cancel and move the medical. It's all hogwash with no real benefit, do the math on your end and see if what I am saying holds water

Medical Aid depleted means you’ve used up your savings. If you move to a different medical aid, the structure is going to be the same.

 

There is no new clause that only pays upto 10k. You get paid for what you are insured for. If you are only insured for 10k, that’s what you’ll get out. Im pretty certain you are not understanding the policy.

 

You did not need to open a cheque account. There are options available. You could have just gone for the credit card only and pay less fees.

 

Discovery is not for everyone. If you don’t understand the product correctly and how the benefits work together, then it will be frustrating. Also, if you don’t want to go through all this hassles, then you’re better off with another insurer where they don’t have all this nonsense. 

[Vaultboy]

40 minutes ago, Bub Marley said:

Medical Aid depleted means you’ve used up your savings. If you move to a different medical aid, the structure is going to be the same.

 

Yup. They are all slowly but sure migrating to Discovery's structure. I used to be with Bonitas, who offered superior cover, for far less. But now its pretty much the same as Discovery, without the benefit of Vitality. So it was a no-brainer to move. (I did the math on Vitality long before I joined). Bestmed still looks like a good alternative, but they're also offering less cover for more fees than last year. They will get to parity with Discovery soon enough. 

[RobertWhitehead]

36 minutes ago, Bub Marley said:

Medical Aid depleted means you’ve used up your savings. If you move to a different medical aid, the structure is going to be the same - I know that, but not all funds allow everything to come from your MSA but have structures in place to allow items to be deducted from you PMB or whatever other abbreviation you want to use.

 

There is no new clause that only pays upto 10k. You get paid for what you are insured for. If you are only insured for 10k, that’s what you’ll get out. Im pretty certain you are not understanding the policy - And yet when my Kickr V5 packed up and I had them come to collect it for assessment they did not pay out the value amount of R21k but rather R8k which was R10k minus the excess. When I questioned this that was the statement that was given to me telephonically. I do have a pretty good understanding of policies and the way they're structured. Thinking that I don't is somewhat condescending, but let me guess you're most likely in the industry and know everything there's to know about all policies and schemes - good for you. 

 

You did not need to open a cheque account. There are options available. You could have just gone for the credit card only and pay less fees. - Again, this is what was told to me when I applied in the first place. This is my personal findings 

 

 

[ChrisF]

10 minutes ago, RobertWhitehead said:

 

 

PMB is a whole different discussion, especially with Discovery Health

 

ALL medical aids MUST provide cover the list of PMB conditions .... BUT, they may apply some requirements, such as using generic equivalents or using network or state pharmacies, etc.

 

There IS a difference between how the different plans cover PMB conditions.

 

 

PS - some high level discussions at the moment about Discovery Health and how it deals with Rheumatoid arthritis as a listed condition on PMB.  Even rumours this may head to court ....

[Jono]

1 hour ago, Bub Marley said:

When Kulula folded, they needed an alternative so they created their own platform which is now part of Bank. You need to have a bank account to get access to the platform.

 

They do have a free account though. So you can just open the free account to access the miles and book flights. 

Which is the free account? When I go to pay as you transact, the lowest option is R25 per month. Is it a savings account? I see the savings accounts have no monthly fee. Do you get access to miles and flight discounts with the savings account?

[Bub Marley]

22 minutes ago, RobertWhitehead said:

 

If your machine packed up then im assuming you’re claiming under Accidental/Machanical benefit. With this benefit, the standard sum insured is 10K. You can choose to increase this if you want and pay an additional premium. It’s not a new thing though so they wouldn’t have just restricted the cover amount just like that. It would have been there from the start of the policy.

 

Wrt what was told to you, I get that. But I am just pointing out that it’s not true. You can just open a credit card if you wish. The additional benefits you get with opening the full suite pertains to more cashback at PNP, Clicks etc for healthy foods etc. If you’re not interested in this then I would just downgrade to the credit card alone.

4 minutes ago, Jono said:

Which is the free account? When I go to pay as you transact, the lowest option is R25 per month. Is it a savings account? I see the savings accounts have no monthly fee. Do you get access to miles and flight discounts with the savings account?

I’m not 100% sure tbh if it is the savings account. But every vitality member gets a free account with no charges specifically to be used for miles and flights. Your best bet is to call them.

[Jono]

4 minutes ago, Bub Marley said:

If your machine packed up then im assuming you’re claiming under Accidental/Machanical benefit. With this benefit, the standard sum insured is 10K. You can choose to increase this if you want and pay an additional premium. It’s not a new thing though so they wouldn’t have just restricted the cover amount just like that. It would have been there from the start of the policy.

 

Wrt what was told to you, I get that. But I am just pointing out that it’s not true. You can just open a credit card if you wish. The additional benefits you get with opening the full suite pertains to more cashback at PNP, Clicks etc for healthy foods etc. If you’re not interested in this then I would just downgrade to the credit card alone.

I’m not 100% sure tbh if it is the savings account. But every vitality member gets a free account with no charges specifically to be used for miles and flights. Your best bet is to call them.

I did phone last year and was told I needed the R25 account for the benefits/discounts. Def need to change my account. Thanks