Comparing two of South Africa’s leading Medical Aid rewards programmes

Most Medical Aid and Medical Insurance plans come with an option to join a rewards programme, and it's easy to see why you might want to sign up. Get active, eat a bit better, have regular health screenings, and you're rewarded with real discounts on things you're probably already spending money on, like groceries, gym memberships, flights, even certain electronic devices. Done well, a rewards programme can turn your healthy habits into genuine monthly savings.

But "get healthy, save money" looks different depending on which programme you join, and that's exactly why you should consider comparing before you commit. Discovery Vitality and Momentum Multiply are two of the biggest names in this space and, while they're chasing the same goal, they're structured differently. 

One rewards you out in Discovery Miles and discounts. The other rewards you for every healthy step you take with cashbacks, discounts and HealthReturns. Pick the one that matches how you live, and it can save you a meaningful amount each month.

Here's a quick overview, read further in the article for more information:

Vitality, Multiply Engage and Multiply Inspire are structured differently

You can access a free and simple version of Vitality through Personal Health Pathways which is available to members of Discovery Health medical scheme. In addition, if you have a Discovery Health or Discovery Life policy, you can get Vitality Premium for R429pm. If you'd rather a more affordable alternative, Vitality Active is available through Discovery Bank at only R159 per member per month, so all you need is a Discovery Bank account to join. You earn Vitality points by completing health screenings, getting active, eating healthy and sleeping well. Choose your preferred partners, both online and in-store, to maximise your rewards. Your points accumulate to a Vitality status that unlocks richer benefits.

If you're with Momentum, you'll find your offering split into two products: Multiply Engage and Multiply Inspire (eligibility based on the scheme you’re on). Both give you a free base product and a paid product. Multiply Engage rewards your healthy habits with partner discounts and cashbacks. You get basic discounts and cashbacks from selected partners, while upgrading to Multiply Engage Plus, at R195 for the main member, can lift those discounts by up to 75%. On Multiply Engage Plus, you also get partner vouchers for achieving your activity and recharge goals. Multiply Inspire rewards your healthy behaviour with partner discounts and cashbacks, but adds a cash element: HealthReturns, paid into your HealthSaver account for every healthy step you take. On Multiply Inspire you can earn up to R250 in HealthReturns each month. Upgrading to Multiply Inspire Plus, at R219 for the main member, raises both your partner discounts and cashbacks to up to 75% and you can get up to R1 000 per adult per month in HealthReturns for completing your health and fitness assessment and achieving your weekly and monthly activity and recharge goals.

With both products, your rewards start from day one with no waiting period. All you need is a Healthy Heart Score which you can get in minutes on the Multiply app.

What each programme costs you

Multiply Engage and Multiply Inspire are both free products. Multiply Engage gives you base-level partner rewards only. Multiply Inspire includes that plus up to R250 a month in HealthReturns for you, capped at 10% of your Medical Aid contribution.

Personal Health Pathways, available to all members of Discovery Health medical scheme, allows you to access a free and simplified version of Vitality. The free version includes HealthyCare rewards, discounts on Oura Ring and points plus rewards for getting active, completing health screenings and sleeping well. 

Rewards levels

Vitality's points system works as follows: as a single adult member, you'll need 7,500 points for Bronze, 25,000 for Silver, 40,000 for Gold and 50,000 for Diamond, with higher thresholds if you're covering two adults and additional dependants. Your points reset at the start of each year, though you keep the status you earned the year before. While you can unlock some additional benefits from reaching a higher status, your main rewards don’t depend on your status. Members can unlock all their main rewards by simply completing their Vitality Health Check and Vitality Age Assessment each year. 

Multiply Inspire Plus and Multiply Engage Plus work differently: your rewards level comes from a matrix combining your Healthy Heart Score (from a health assessment) with your fitness level (from a fitness assessment). A Green Healthy Heart Score paired with Level 5 fitness gets you to rewards level 5. If you skip both assessments, you'll be capped at level 1, no matter how active you are day-to-day. It’s quick and easy to do these assessments. They’re available on the Multiply app and takes just 15 minutes to complete. Members get one free digital health and fitness assessment per year.  

Do you get cash back?

As a Multiply Inspire Plus member, you can earn up to R1 000 a month in HealthReturns, capped at 40% of your Medical Aid contribution, paid into your HealthSaver account. How much you actually earn depends on your rewards level (1 to 5), which comes from your Healthy Heart Score and fitness level rather than a running points count, as covered above. Based on your rewards level and the activities you choose to gauge and improve your health, you can get up to that R1 000 a month. That money isn't locked into one single use. You can put it toward healthcare providers, your Medical Aid contribution, gym membership fees or selected Multiply partners. Once a year, you're also able to redirect it toward education costs or a contribution to your Momentum retirement fund instead. R1 000 in HealthReturns gives you a R1 000 to spend. If you're not ready to commit to a paid product, the free version, Multiply Inspire, still earns you up to R250 a month in HealthReturns, capped at 10% of your Medical Aid contribution, plus you get cashbacks and discounts. It's a low-commitment way for you to see whether the cashbacks model suits you before upgrading. 

With Multiply Engage, you get cashbacks and discounts from Multiply partners.

If you choose to convert your Discovery Miles to cash, you'll redeem 10 Miles for R1. However, your Miles are much more valuable when you spend them at Discovery's partners. You get up to 15% off every day when you spend your Miles with Vitality Mall partners, on prepaid products in the Discovery Bank app, and on flights, accommodation and car hire through Vitality Travel. On Miles D-Day, the 15th of every month, that discount doubles to between 10% and 30% at selected partners. Discovery states that your Miles don't constitute currency or any other medium of exchange in South Africa, so they work as a spending reward rather than a cash equivalent.

Partner discounts side by side

Choosing between the programmes comes down to what you value

So sit down, evaluate where you spend the bulk of your bucks, and see if any rewards partners align with that. Alternatively, pull out your "new year, new me" goals and see if there's anything that will help you achieve those:

• Do you want to travel more and take more flights?

• Do you want to try out new fitness classes and get out of your comfort zone?

• Do you want to save more cash or set up a fund?

• Do you want to get rewarded for looking after your health?

There's no single "best" rewards programme here. It really comes down to what would make the biggest difference to your lifestyle.

Our take? Both rewards programmes are strong and vary slightly, so start by comparing the actual products themselves and go from there. Compare Medical Aid and Life Insurance with Hippo, to find the best cover and provider for you.

NB: Before you sign up, check the eligibility and the latest terms directly with Discovery Vitality or Momentum Multiply. Partner lists and benefit levels can shift during the year, and both brochures note their figures were correct only at the time of publishing.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, medical or insurance advice. Hippo is a comparison site helping you evaluate quotes from trusted South African insurers. Always review policy details before making changes. Quotes are risk profile dependent and subject to annual review. No fees are charged for using Hippo’s comparison service. HAS (Pty) Ltd and HCS (Pty) Ltd are authorised FSPs. Terms and conditions apply.