The cost of the Apple iPad2 is around about R4,399 but if you have attained Diamond status and have been on Discovery’s Vitality program for 5 years or more then you can get cash back to the value of 20%. So your iPad2 will cost you R3,519 instead of R4,399! That’s a saving of R880 :)
OK, OK, so if you aren’t already at Diamond status then you can’t get the 20% off immediately :( :( BUT, if you follow the steps in this article then at some point in the future you too can benefit from this scheme.
In fact, if you act now by getting the Discovery Credit Card and joining their Vitality program then your entry level status is ‘Blue’ which gets a 10% discount from partner stores (5% from Pick ‘n Pay) – please read the small print on how the discounts are calculated… also explained in another article and calculator.
See here for the official Discovery Card web page.
The partner stores for 2011 are: Altech AutoPage cellular, Altech Netstar, @Home, Reggies, ToysRus, BabiesRus, Cape Union Mart, Exclusive Books, Frasers, Look & Listen, Nando’s, Pick ‘n Pay, Tiger Wheel & Tyre (on Vitality Drive), Stuttafords, The Pro Shop, TotalSports, Apple iStore.
So, what do you need to do to get that 20% discount?
As a Vitality member, you can get up to 20% of the money you spend with your Visa DiscoveryCard at DiscoveryCard partner stores (and up to 10% at Pick n Pay) paid back into your DiscoveryCard every month. Your maximum discountable spend at partner stores is limited to 30% of your total DiscoveryCard spend in that statement period, with your total cash back calculated on a limit of R10,000 spend at all DiscoveryCard partner stores.
See HTT’s calculator to assist in the calculations: http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2009/01/heres-htts-latest-calculator-i-got-over.html
Steps to getting to the 20% cash back level:
1) Join Discovery Health or Discovery Life (or both)
2) Join the Discovery Vitality program at the same time: http://www.discovery.co.za/portal/loggedout-individual/how-to-join-vitality
3) Get a DiscoveryCard to start earning rewards (cash backs and miles to spend at the Vitality Mall). You will start earning at the ‘Blue’ Vitality level.
4) Start filling in the forms on the Discovery web site and start earning Vitality points. Follow more detailed instructions that can be found in the article: “It's easy to get to GOLD on Discovery Vitality”. Once you are on Gold, then attain Gold for 3 consecutive years to get to Diamond level… and start earning those 20% discounts on all partner stores. Remember, that 5 year clock doesn’t start ticking until you join the Vitality program!
5) Once you are at Diamond, then mozy over to the www.myistore.co.za web page and locate your nearest store – call them and reserve your iPad2, then go there and use your Discovery Credit Card to pay for it.
(Whisper): Seeing as you managed read to this point, here’s a tip: If the steps 1 thru 5 above are too much for you, then why not find a friend that has already attained Diamond level and convince them to make the purchase for you!
Note: I am in no way employed nor paid by Discovery to write these articles – I am a client of Discovery Health, Life and I have a Discovery Credit Card. I have Diamond status in the Vitality program. I am currently investigating the VitalityDrive short term insurance product.
Credit: thanks to @rcgmobi for the question which led to the writing of this article.


Great advice, thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHere's another post with more info regarding the monthly partner store limits on cashbacks on your Discovery Credit Card:
ReplyDeletehttp://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2011/07/discovery-credit-card-calculator.html
To get a US iTunes account for South Africans and other tips go here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.GetUSiTunesAccount.com
Did you know that you can get 1GB per month WiFi access from GConnect if you have purchased a iPad 2 Wi-Fi, Macbook/Macbook Pro/Macbook Air or iPod Touch from a participating Core Group channel within the territory of South Africa (eg: iStore).
ReplyDeleteSee here for more info:
https://gconnect.wirelessg.co.za/Promo_Macbook.aspx
I originally found this on the iStore web site:
http://www.myistore.co.za/iStore/Wi-Fi_deal.html
The R880 figure that you mention is not correct. For Look and Listen the maximum discount has always worked as follows:
ReplyDelete20% off the purchase to a maximum of 30% of the total monthly spend on the card which is also limited to the first R10000.
So in order for you to get the maximum discount you first have to spend R10000 in the billing cycle (not all that hard if you are purchasing an ipad). That then allows you to get up to 20% off each partner (Look and Listen in this case) on the first R3000 you spend with them.
Bottom line, you cannot get more than R600 discount per month at Look and Listen. So R4399 - R600 = R3799
Hi Anonymous
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment ;)
I assure you that the R800 calculation is correct (to be precise, it's R879.80) as long as your total spend on your Discovery credit card is 3x the spend at all partner stores.
I have the Discovery Card statement to prove it (I will post to MediaFire asap).
I think what you are misunderstanding is when the R3000 limit kicks in... if your total spend on your credit card is 3x the spend at all partner stores then your cashback isn't reduced - so it doesn't "kick in".
So, the cashback calculation can be done by just taking 20% of R4399 to give R879.80.
Please read this posting:
http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2011/07/discovery-credit-card-calculator.html
and analyse and use the HTT calculator that you can download from there
(or for your convenience, here's the link:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/2nc22i2jb4wd1qg/DiscoveryCardCalculator2011.xls)
I hope this clarifies?
If not, then pls ask more.
Thanks again for your comment
Regards
HTT ;)
See here for the screen shot of the cashback of R879.80 that I got back for my iPad:
Deletehttp://www.mediafire.com/i/?fj938m5fioc77o4
So what you are saying is this statement here: "Your maximum discountable spend at partner stores is limited to 30 % of your total DiscoveryCard spend in that statement period, with your total cash back calculated on a limit of R10 000 spend at all DiscoveryCard partner stores."
ReplyDeleteMeans that I could spend R8000 at Look and Listen and get R1600 discount as long as I have spent 3x that amount in total spend, i.e. R24000. Up to a maximum of R2000 discount with R10000 spent at partner stores if I manage to spend R30000 in the statement period?
Yes - correct.
ReplyDeleteAssuming you are on Diamond Vitality level.
It gets better - if you are on VitalityDrive you could get up to an additional 15% cashback! (Over and above the R2000 limit)
http://handytechtips.blogspot.com/2011/10/discovery-insure-and-vitalitydrive.html
Thanks for the info, my broker did not explain it to me that way... I'll be giving him a call :)
ReplyDeleteDo you happen to know if you get the discount via the Look and Listen Website or if it is only in store?
On Vitality Drive: I'm not sure I'm up to big brother monitoring my driving habits just yet :)
Re Look and Listen web site cashback: I wondered about the same question... I haven't purchased anything from the web site so I cannot say for sure.
DeleteI suggest that you send DiscoveryCard at discovery.co.za an email to confirm.
Please let us all know what the answer is
Thanks ;)