Arbitrary lending criteria???

If it wasn't for Vitality, I wouldn't be using Discovery Bank. Sadly, looks like I have no choice for now.

With a good credit record and existing credit facilities elsewhere, while other banks have offered/pre-approved me for additional credit, I kept on turning down offers hoping that once I wrapped my head around the idea of having another credit card it would be with Discovery, since, in order to benefit certain Vitality perks, a credit facility or bundled account is required.

To my dismay, Discovery declined my credit card application, citing reasons unheard of from traditional banks. Despite my motivation that ultimately I was not looking for "money" per se (they could even give me R1 credit, i.e., the lowest credit possible), considering that I just wanted to reap the Vitality benefits derived from the “credit requirement”, it turned out to be a rather humiliating experience.

I thought that a forward thinking bank would apply more holistic lending criteria, but looks like they are pushing away clients.

It is what it is!