Discovery miles are *******

I feel like Discovery is just a big ripoff. For years I have been a member and contributed a fortune every month to medical aid, accumulating points or miles. Now I come to buy something on Takealot and find I can't ... because I don't have a Discovery bank account. Call the Discovery number for just about any reason, and you will wait forever to speak to someone. But call Discovery to open an account, you get to speak to someone in seconds. Amazing isn't it! Of course it costs to have a Discovery account, the minimum is R30/ month. Ok that's not a lot of money (although it is over 4 times more than some banks), but I have a principle issue with this and I'm sure I'm not alone in this. They advertise that you can use your Discovery miles to buy just about anything, but of course there is a catch, and it is not free. They also advertise that you can get back half your fuel spend, and 25% of what you spend on healthy foods bought from Woolworths or Checkers .... but I suppose I need a Discovery bank account for that too? Smacks of a **** to me. After having a heart attack, there was so much support offered, some of which was helpful. But then they only pay a tiny fraction of the chronic meds I now need, despite the fortune I pay them every month. Unbelievable! To anyone considering joining Discovery because they offer so many value adds, look into it very closely and ignore those carrots, they are not easily accessible and all come with cables attached.