Vitality Active Rewards...or NOT

<p>I have been making use of the Active Rewards and Apple Watch program from day one. It started out well but after a couple of months Discovery made changes to the way points were allocated. I fully understood and agreed with the rationale with not recognizing dubious exercise data or Apps, and in fairness it was rather easy to achieve your target.</p> <p> </p> <p>However, considering some of these changes, I do not agree with the scientific basis of how point are allocated based on effort level. In example, Discovery only recognizes a training session to be worth allocating more than a 100 points if the intensity exceeds 80% of you average Max Heartrate for more than 90 minutes (in the case of cycling). It is common knowledge that there are various types of training - high intensity and steady state. The latter requires your heartrate to be at a much lower rate than 80% for an extended period of time to have the benefit of improving your level of endurance. Secondly, it is a known medical fact that any training exceeding 85% of your Max HR is not necessarily good for your health (when you are not that young anymore). A training program consist of a combination of different types of training, and to be awarded a 100 points for a steady state session (while wearing an approved device), compared to a gym member swiping his card and using the bathroom before going home, does not make sense.</p> <p> </p> <p>Another major gripe is the new way events are being recognized. Unless an event is on the Vitality Events calendar and the timing company submits your results in a specific format, a race is not recognized as an event and normal device specific points are allocated. Discovery’s official position is that they only award race points for events listed on the Vitality Race Event calendar. In example, I took part in the Momentum Knysna Cycle Tour (113km), one of the major events in road/mountain cycling every year, and completed in a time of 05hr16min. Since the race did not qualify in terms of the above, I was only allocated 300 points (opposed to 1,500) for wearing HR monitor. Well, I doubt any of the Discovery actuaries ever cycle such a distance, else they would have known/understood the level of intensity required to complete one. I have no control over race organizers nor timing companies and cannot force them to submit data or cooperate with Discovery. Are we now only to enter races endorsed by Discovery (which by the way is rather limited in road cycling)?</p> <p> </p> <p>So where does this leave us? For one, the perception created by Discovery is that of a “bait and hook” **** – now that Discovery (supported by FNB) have cashed in hundreds of thousands of Rand in book debt and most likely commissions (through the Apple Watch scheme), the rules are gradually changed to make it more difficult to achieve your target. There is also no turnaround since if you opt out of the program you are obliged to pay the monthly installments. It seems we have little choice but be bul**** into whatever Discovery decides is best for them. Make no mistake though, the next program would be met with much more skepticism and distrust.</p>