
Discovery announced at the end of 2019, that Vitality members and Discovery Bank clients will be able to earn Discovery Miles.
Similar to programmes such as eBucks, Discovery Miles is a rewards currency that members can earn for getting healthy, driving well and spending responsibly.
The group said that members will also earn Discovery Miles when they achieve their personalised health goals – such as health checks and mental wellbeing assessments that are specifically tailored to their unique health profiles.
However, Vitality chief executive officer Dinesh Govender says that this is not the end of Vitality points.
“Vitality points – the points you need to earn to increase your Vitality status – are not going away. You will still earn Vitality points when you exercise, eat healthily and go for relevant health checks,” he said.
He added that members will be able to continue to earn points annually and they will continue to reset to zero at the beginning of each year.
“Vitality Reward Points, which have previously been exclusively earned by playing the Vitality Active Rewards gameboard, have been enhanced in terms of the rewards currency,” said Govender.
“Members will now earn Discovery Miles. When you reach your health, drive or money goals on Vitality Active Rewards, your Discovery Miles can be spent on the things you love – like coffees, smoothies, gifts, gadgets, travel rewards and more.”
Govender said that Discovery Miles will give consumers more spending power than before because they can accumulate them across the various Discovery products.
“If you are a Discovery Bank client, you can spend them at a larger network of Discovery Miles-accepting partners.
“Unlike Vitality Reward Points which expire after a few weeks, Discovery Miles are valid for up to five years, so members can spend them at their own convenience,” he said.
“In addition, if you’re a Vitality Health or Discovery Insure client and have a Discovery Bank account, all the Discovery Miles you earn across these products will go into a single account – so you can accumulate them and use them on significant rewards.”
Govender said that Discovery Bank clients can also exchange their Discovery Miles and even convert them to cash.
How to earn points
Discovery said that members will be able to earn miles in a number of different ways from mid-January 2020.
Some of the ways that members will be able to earn miles include:
- Achieve Vitality Active Rewards goals – Members will earn hundreds of Discovery Miles each week by achieving their weekly exercise goal with Vitality Health, driving safely with Vitality Drive and spending responsibly with Vitality Money. They’ll also earn Discovery Miles when they achieve their personalised health goals, tailored to each member’s unique health profile;
- Make healthier lifestyle choices – From early 2020, Vitality members with Discovery Bank products will earn up to 75% back in Discovery Miles when buying HealthyFood, instead of cashback. The same will apply to HealthyCare (up to 50% back) and HealthyGear (up to 50% back). The cashbacks for Vitality members who do not have a Discovery Bank product remain unchanged;
- Use a Discovery Bank credit card – Discovery Bank members can already earn Discovery Miles for qualifying purchases – in store or online – using a Discovery Bank credit card. Members can earn up to 1 Discovery Mile for every R15 spent;
- Drive better – Discovery Insure clients continue to get up to 50% back on their fuel spend and up to 25% back on Uber rides in 2020. Discovery Bank clients can earn (an additional)up to 20%, which will be paid in Discovery Miles from February 2020.
You can read more about the changes being made to the Vitality points system here.
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