Pruhealth scrapping its free/discounted gym loophole in November. Discussion

[MSE Jenny]

If you’re one of many MoneySavers using the Pruhealth loophole to save £100s on Virgin, Cannons, LA Fitness gym membership saving £100s, bad news.

From November, its changing and the new deal doesn’t look worth it for most people; we’ll still confirming with Pruhealth whether the change is a fait accompli, so keep going for now, but prepare to ditch it in October (a reminder will appear in the weekly email (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/site/money-tips-email-faqs)).

Read the Half Price Gym Loophole (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/health/gym-discounts) guide
& Pruhealth’s guide to the changes (https://insurance.pruhealth.co.uk/uk/prudential/content/gym_changes_ind.html)

Click reply to discuss your feedback/thoughts.

PS We know this discussion has been started in a few other threads, the aim is to bring them all together here. Thanks to all those that have posted info.

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[Bargain Rzl]

From November, its changing and the new deal doesn’t look worth it for most people
Unless I have missed something, this is a needlessly sensationalist view of things, more so than I'm used to hearing from MSE :confused:

Pruhealth is NOT scrapping heavily discounted gym membership. It's just making some changes that will be beneficial to some and disadvantageous to others.

As I see it, Pruhealth customers and potential customers fall into one of three categories:
-Existing customers who are currently on Platinum status or who stand to reach Platinum status by the time the T&Cs change (that's me by the way)
-Existing customers who haven't yet reached Platinum status and who have no chance of doing so by the time the T&Cs change
-New customers.

There are two groups who will lose out from the upcoming changes:
-Those who are existing customers and have no chance of reaching Platinum status before November
-Those whose gyms were previously free but won't be any more.

New customers won't lose out because nobody's forcing them to sign up right this minute. They might as well wait till November and sign up then if it's still worth their while. Meanwhile they haven't lost a penny.

I have little sympathy with anybody who's been with Pruhealth for quite a while but has no chance of reaching Platinum by the end of October, because any true MSEr will have been trying to reach Platinum as fast as possible to knock their next year's premiums down. I say this as a fairly lazy gym-goer, 9 months into my first PruHealth year and due to reach Platinum in a couple of weeks' time.

I have some sympathy with those whose gym membership is currently free and now won't be - but it should still be very heavily discounted and cheaper than going elsewhere, especially if you're beyond the first year of your policy and are paying a Platinum discounted rate for your insurance premium.

The real losers under the new T&Cs will be those who have recently joined PruHealth and have no chance of making Platinum in time...

Personally, it's going to work out in my favour. I will keep the same rates I'm on now, but won't be tied into HAVING to keep my number of gym visits up as long as I continue to accumulate my Vitality points by whatever means I choose. What's more, with the new Vitality partners due to come on board with the scheme, there should be even more benefits.

[Bargain Rzl]

P.S. One point which isn't necessarily clear for existing customers (I had to phone up to ask, since which it's been discussed elsewhere on MSE): if your policy year is due to come to an end soon and you've reached Platinum, that status holds for the next year even though your points reset. So come November you'll automatically be paying the lowest applicable gym fees for the club you're signed up with.

[Pound]

This change is actually brilliant for people who have already achieved platinum status, especially if they're in the second year and enjoying a 100% discount. They'll continue paying the discounted premium of a couple of quid a month for gym membership and health insurance combined.

As well as that it actually gets easier to keep within the requirements to get free gym membership. You now need to get 2,000 vitality points to reach platinum the next year and carry on with free gym membership. IMO it's not difficult to hit 1,500 points in a year from other easy, mostly online activities. This leaves 50 gym visits to make in a year, so only once per week.

People who are platinum may be getting a better deal than they were before.

[melancholly]

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1017123&highlight=PruHealth

i don't use this, but read this thread the other day so thought i'd link to it here - i don't know the ins and outs, but thoughts there are a lot less positive than they have been on here. at any rate, it's both sides of the arguement!

[camaj]

Ok, I think I have this figured out. I found the table of the new charges. The bad news is for those of us in London who belong to LA Fitness or Cannons. Londoners on platinum will see their monthly fee go from £0 to £8 a month. It's impossible for any Londoner to get free gym membership now, no matter what chain they use or what vitality status they are. :mad:

If you're slightly outside the M25 but use a gym inside the M25 it might be worth switching to one outside, but since the difference is "only" £8/month you'll probably use that in petrol getting there if you're a regular visitor.

If you're in London and live near a Virgin gym, you may want to consider switching from LA/cannon since the price for a Tier1 gym is now the same price, under the current scheme Virgin is £5 a month more, so some might have opted for a different chain to save money.

The other change I notice is that only the first 15 gym visits in a month get counted towards your vitality points.

In a lot of ways this isn't as bad as it first seemed. If you were aiming for platinum status (which saves money on your premiums) then you probably won't be much worse off. I'd be surprised if many people here weren't aiming to be platinum members under the old scheme. If you live outside London you'll probably be no worse off. If you "only" go to the gym twice a week, you'd have silver status under the new scheme.Going three times a week would take you to gold and a few additional tasks would take you to platinum.

So what now? As I understand it, the best thing to do for existing members is get to platinum as fast as possible. Am I right in thinking that if you miss out on platinum, but get gold, you will lose most of your points (anyone got a link to the details?), I believe it's 10% the first time you renew, so a gold member could start year 2 with 150-199 points? If this is the case, wouldn't you be on Gold until you could earn the next 1800 or so points, which would take you 10 months (assuming you get the maximum 150 points per month from gym visits)?

That would mean 10 months at £22/month + 10 months at the higher premium, right?

[RUFFYONEVILLA]

Hi,
I am currently on 1170 pts and it looks like I need 2000 by November in order to keep my Gym membership at £20.
There seems to be some easy ones to get such as another fitness test thingy, I am a triathlete so any of this testing stuff is not an issue.
Can anyone confirm how easy it is to get any of the others as I've plenty to do in order to get these pts.
It does annoy me that they seem intent on making us jump through all these hoops, and it makes me think that they didn't really think it through in the first place.
Hopefully they'll now change the rule whereby I cannot swipe my card like everyone else at the gym and have to stand there like a muppett waiting for someone to let me in!!
I never went in to the gym for a sandwich to register a visit before but now they have moved the goalposts I might just start popping in there to use the toilets and get 10pts.

[Gambit]

It does annoy me that they seem intent on making us jump through all these hoops, and it makes me think that they didn't really think it through in the first place.

When I spoke to them about this they said they were doing this to help improve their members health and not just let their members go to the gym and do nothing else. But the cynical side of me thinks that this was TOO successfull for their liking and so had to think of a way to change it... :confused:

[adrian3221]

Im thinking about signing up to this Pruhealth scheme but not sure when I should do it. Should I sign up now and try to accumulate as many points as I can before November, or wait till Nov 1st?

[timbotambo]

I spent 40 (yes 40!) minutes on the phone yesterday. We go dilligently twice a week, are young, non smokers, would do all the tests and meal plans online etc and we discovered that we would still be 1160 points short of gaining platinum membership to get the gym to £8 a month (up from £5). The ONLY way to get it up is to pay over £100 (£400 on bronze) for a Nuffield Health Screening. This is still only worth 400 points. You only get 10 points for every guym visit btw. In fact, we would be short of even gold status by Nov 1st!!

So bascially, nearly everyone will be worse off unless you invest hundreds of pounds and start using their partner companies to earn vitality points! Sounds very much like blackmail to me.

The new vitality points thresholds, and costs (Virgin Active), are:

1) Bronze Vitality under 1499 points £50 a month
2) Silver Vitality 1500 points to 2249 points £38 a month
3) Gold Vitality 2250-2999 £22 a month
4) Platinum Vitality 3000+ points £8 a month

If you quit ON OR BEFORE 13TH NOVEMBER, you won't incur the extra premium, apparantly. This is really annoying as we have only joined recently and the twice a week incentive was a great stick approach to get us to go.

[timbotambo]

Im thinking about signing up to this Pruhealth scheme but not sure when I should do it. Should I sign up now and try to accumulate as many points as I can before November, or wait till Nov 1st?

No, it's impossible for you to gain enough to gain fiscal benefits.

[timbotambo]

This change is actually brilliant for people who have already achieved platinum status, especially if they're in the second year and enjoying a 100% discount. They'll continue paying the discounted premium of a couple of quid a month for gym membership and health insurance combined.

As well as that it actually gets easier to keep within the requirements to get free gym membership. You now need to get 2,000 vitality points to reach platinum the next year and carry on with free gym membership. IMO it's not difficult to hit 1,500 points in a year from other easy, mostly online activities. This leaves 50 gym visits to make in a year, so only once per week.

People who are platinum may be getting a better deal than they were before.

Platinum is now 3000 points!

[Bargain Rzl]

Platinum is now 3000 points!
Could you please clarify? Your earlier post ("We go dilligently twice a week, are young, non smokers, would do all the tests and meal plans online etc and we discovered that we would still be 1160 points short of gaining platinum membership to get the gym to £8 a month (up from £5).") suggests that your membership is a joint one with your partner, in which case Platinum always was 3000 points :confused:

If they are raising the bar to 3000 points for individuals, then the worst-case scenario for anybody already on Platinum by the time of the change is that they might start getting a poor deal in a year's time - they'll be OK for now...

[mark1024]

Are you sure he wasn't referring to the couples rate ? That is 3000

The changes are actually much better for us. We sometimes had a problem achieving enough points in a three month period to get the regular user rate for the next quarter. For example if we caught the flu or went on holiday it really mucked things up. I remember once forcing myself to go swimming when sick to ensure I would not face a hike from £15 to whatever the next level was for virgin membership. Our regular fee also goes down to £8 from £15. My girlfriend was planning to quit before the announcement simply due to this ; it is much easier to factor in a holiday or time away from the gym now as things are spread over the year. Of course it does help is you already have platinum status. Fifteen visits a month, on average over a year, almost gets you to platinum level on its own.

[siu99djd]

I'm also in my 10th month of membership and am due to reach Platimum in 2-3 weeks and with averaging 2 visits a week it means I'll still be paying £0 for my Cannon's gym membership per month come November. :-)
However, I thought having to go twice a week was a bit unfair to prove you're staying fit and active especailly when you can cheat by just scanning in and sitting in the cafe or even worse, just scanning and leaving.
Or for active people like me who enjoy participating in may other physically demanding activities outside of the gym, such as gymnastics, tennis, running, Pilates, all of which I do regularly, none of which give me any vitality points it seems down right unfair, when let's face it, going to the gym can be very boring.
So despite me also believing Pru Health are making this change for their own money saving benefit, (is going to the gym once a week and doing some reading really better then going twice?) come November, not having to keep up 2 visits a week is going to free up some of my time to do these and other acitivities. Just wish they could be counted for all of us who do find the monotony of gym going to much to take at times.

[Bargain Rzl]

Absolutely agree, siu99djd. And if I'm on holiday for a fortnight, nowhere near the gym but racking up 12.5k steps a day on my Fitbug while sightseeing (for example, exploring Versailles gardens last week gave me over 16k steps in a day), my gym discount won't be dependent on me then having to go to the gym every day whether I want to or not, just to make up for the time off...

[mark1024]

Well for me it can be bit of a chore, but I do find swimming very relaxing. I would always join a gym with a pool, and often do a couple of dozen lengths rather than face the ordeal of a room of pounding treadmills on full throttle.

I don't do any other sports, except hiking, so it works fine for me.

Another incentive is to sit in the cafe and eavesdrop on what the walk-in membership fees are for prospective members. At the end of the day I joined pru primarily for the cheap gym membership, and if I didn't go a couple of times a week, I wouldn't bother in the first place. It's still a great deal.

[Bargain Rzl]

Just noticed this:
The other change I notice is that only the first 15 gym visits in a month get counted towards your vitality points.
This isn't a change - it has always been the case. And the limit per annum is 1500 points, so if you've consistently been getting 150 a month from gym+Fitbug, you won't get any additional points in your 11th and 12th month. However, while at present you'd still need to keep up going to the gym regularly in order to keep the gym fees down (even if you'd already reached your limit of annual points) you could actually stop going to the gym for the final couple of months if you really wanted to... It's a useful change for somebody who, for example, is going travelling for a couple of months and won't be in a position to go to the gym regularly during that period.

[sparkzilla]

I am on 1140 points at the moment so want to get to platinum asap. Can you share ways of getting points through other means than visiting the gym (which i do at least twice a week).

Thanks

mark

[Bargain Rzl]

6-monthly free fitness assessment: 300 points, plus - if you've already had one six month ago - extra points for having maintained or improved your weight and fitness stats
Click-throughs on the Pruhealth site to self-help articles (10 points a time, max 20 points a month)
Filling in your nutrition profile and personal health review online, if you haven't done so already.

[the Otter]

Having received the letter from PruHealth regarding the changes in their gym membership scheme, i thoroughly read through the T's & C's of my policy and gym membership policy also.

It clearly states that I can cancel my membership of the gym, if PruHealth decide to change the fees etc - WITHIN 14 DAYS of receiving notification of fee change. Therefore i read it that i cannot carry on up until October 31 then cancel the membership, as by then i have agreed to carry on at the new rate.

I cancelled my membership immediately once i received the letter, after much persuasion otherwise from PruHealth staff, telling me that i could SAVE money should i reach Platinum status (out of the question to make 1300 points in 3 months.) I went to the gym easily twice a week, but unfortunately can't afford to bump up my vitality points by shelling out 200 odd sheets for a screening here and there.

Obviously PruHealth are now making a loss subsidising the gym memberships, hence the big changes. Based on my usage (and i am a healthy person who does do other active things that aren't linked to PruHealth - and why should i?), i would be paying £30 a month for policy, plus £58 a month for gym membership! No thanks.

[camaj]

So despite me also believing Pru Health are making this change for their own money saving benefit, (is going to the gym once a week and doing some reading really better then going twice?)

I don't believe "doing some reading" will make up for losing 520 points a week. If someone was only concerned about going twice a week but didn't care about their vitality status then they're going to have to go to the gym more as well as do other things to earn vitality points.

I think it's clearly a way of balancing the books. The biggest clue is the £8 per month surcharge for Londoners. Why has it suddenly become more expensive to use a London gym? My guess is they can use the money to cut costs and also dissuade Londoners, who probably make up a large part of their clientèle, from joining.

On the other hand, it means that people are more likely to go to the gym so it'll make gyms busier. This could cause members who pay full whack to look elsewhere and would end up costing the gyms more in lost revenue. I thought the current system was ideal for the gyms since they would probably get a fair bit of income for customers that may actually only be using the equipment a handful of times a month

Timbotambo, I don't believe you have to spend a lot of money, or any, to get your points up. It works, but only as a last resort. How many points do you have now? What vitality things have you done (outside exercise category)?

For a couple, it should be fairly easy to reach 3000 points by november
1) Go to the gym, or use fitbug, every day. 108 days left = 1080 x 2 = 2160
2) If you walk a fair amount in a day, get a fitbug for £15. 10 points for 12501 steps a day. You can't get points from fitbug the same day you go to the gym.
2) Activate your online account at pruhealth.co.uk
3) Declare your non-smoking status
4) Take the stress questionaire
5) Do a fitness test at the gym
6) Do a basic health screen at boots for £25 (free if you have boots health insurance)

I believe that will take you to 3000 points. If you have some points already then it'll be even easier.

The Otter, same thing applies, if you went every day and did some screening you could make up the 1300 points. From their recent announcement, it seems like they're waving the 14 day notice.

[Bargain Rzl]

Timbotambo, I don't believe you have to spend a lot of money, or any, to get your points up. It works, but only as a last resort. How many points do you have now? What vitality things have you done (outside exercise category)?

For a couple, it should be fairly easy to reach 3000 points by november
1) Go to the gym every day. 108 days left = 1080 x 2 = 2160
2) If you walk a fair amount in a day, get a fitbug for £15. 10 points for 12501 steps a day.
Doesn't work like that - the sum total of points you can get in the above 2 categories is 10 points per person per day, capped at 150 per person per month.

[Bargain Rzl]

On the other hand, it means that people are more likely to go to the gym so it'll make gyms busier. This could cause members who pay full whack to look elsewhere and would end up costing the gyms more in lost revenue. I thought the current system was ideal for the gyms since they would probably get a fair bit of income for customers that may actually only be using the equipment a handful of times a month.
Surely it's the other way around?

Current system: PruHealth customers HAVE to go to the gym at least twice a week whether or not they have loads of Vitality points from other sources, because if they don't, their gym fees will go up.
New system: PruHealth customers can keep their gym fees down through gaining points by other means, so those for whom the gym membership is more of a "nice to have at that price" than a preferred fitness option will be LESS likely to use the gym as often as they do now, because Vitality points gained through their other activities will mean they don't have a direct financial incentive to go to the gym.

[sparkzilla]

Well, just called Pru about making sure I make up 820 points by November. Its possible if I,
1) go to the gym 15 times a month until November (don’t get issued points after 15 visits in any month)
2) have my second fitness assessment
3) read self help guides every month
4) develop nutrition plan
5) take stress centre

Everything else I have got points for.

Its going to be a exercise packed few months but on the bright side, I should look like Arnie by November :-)

[miaggi]

I would disagree that this change makes it a worse deal, i'm already a platinum member having only signed up 6 months ago and getting there was really easy.

Going twice a week to the gym gets you half way there (1050 pts), twice yearly free fitness assessments do the rest. (600 pts for the 2 assessments and 400 points for either maintaining or improving body fat/bmi/fitness rating - which shouldn't be too hard if you are going to the gym twice a week).

If this doesn't do the job there's also easy points on offer for reading (opening!) online self-help articles, creating on online healthy eating plan and doing an online stress test, even just for signing up online - none of which require any financial outlay.

Now that i'm up to platinum 25% of the points get carried over making it even easier next year! PLUS my monthly fees should go down to around £6 per month when I renew!!!!!

[radman]

Just to clarify - You get UPTO 25% of the points carried over to next year.

In your first year of membership, you get 10% carried over, then it goes up in 5% increments each year, until it's 25%.

Adam.

[Pound]

The ONLY way to get it up is to pay over £100 (£400 on bronze) for a Nuffield Health Screening. This is still only worth 400 points. You only get 10 points for every guym visit btw. In fact, we would be short of even gold status by Nov 1st!!

So bascially, nearly everyone will be worse off unless you invest hundreds of pounds and start using their partner companies to earn vitality points! Sounds very much like blackmail to me.

10% points rolled over from last year = 200
Healthy meal plan = 100
Non-smoker = 150
Fitness assessment = 600
Reading self-help articles = 200
Stress centre = 100
Health review = 100
55 gym visits = 100

There's 2,000 vitality points that don't cost a penny. Not sure how it works on a joint policy.

[Gambit]

1) Go to the gym, or use fitbug, every day. 108 days left = 1080 x 2 = 2160
2) If you walk a fair amount in a day, get a fitbug for £15. 10 points for 12501 steps a day. You can't get points from fitbug the same day you go to the gym.

That's great, forgot about the good old fitbug. I got it a while back but its been in my drawer for a few months gathering dust. Since this new policy came into effect, I've have taken it out of the drawer and am starting to use it again. That along with my gym visits and my second fitness assessment should make me a Platinum member! :j

I do feel sorry for people who have just joined as they dont have much of a chance to get to Platinum status in time!

[mach3blackbird]

Clearly for some people the new system will be advantageous, but I only signed up 2 months ago, and have been going to the gym religiously twice a week since then. However there is no possible way that i can see to achieve gold or platinum before november (in fact silver will be tought), so I will be worse off I believe.
It seems very unfair to me to do this to everyone, regardless of how long they have been with pruhealth.

[bachgammon]

I think I am in the same boat as mach3blackbird. I have 390 points, having done all the different assessments. If I get all my gym visits in, I will get 630 extra points. When I registered (last month), I was told on the telephone that it should be possible for me to reach 2,000 points by November. I dispute that. Anyone know how I can do it? "Education" as they call it is capped at 100 points by the way.
Richard

[Gambit]

As I said, I think this is very unfair for new members like you! Surely PruHealth had an idea they would be doing this before now and should have warned you! :(

Good luck to you both!!!!

[bachgammon]

Thanks Gambit. I think I joined less than 30 days ago so I may be able to cancel. But that means missing out on my web cashback (a cool £85). And I paid £50 to use the gym this month. I hope that PruHealth can justify telling me when I joined that I could make Platinum by November. It seems unlikely though.

[camaj]

Doesn't work like that - the sum total of points you can get in the above 2 categories is 10 points per person per day, capped at 150 per person per month.

I've seen that they're going to cap gym visits to 15/month from November 1st but I've never seen anything that mentions a 150 point limit on the exercise category per month. The only limit I can discern currently is the 1500 point annual limit on the exercise category and a 10point daily limit.

Can you please provide a source for the 150 points per month limit for the current system? I confess I don't think I've been to the gym more than 10 times in a single month. If they limit you to 150 points per month then I'd have next to no chance at getting platinum before november 1st

Surely it's the other way around?

I'm not sure that it is.

I imagine that most people were trying to get 2000 vitality points. If you're willing to go to the gym twice a week to save £40 then you'd probably go three times a week to save another £15 to £30, so those people are still going to be going for the 2000 points.

Yes, there are other ways of getting to the 2000 but going to the gym is by far the easiest way of doing it for a lot of people and now everyone is going to be more concerned about getting to platinum and therefore going to be making more gym visits.

For those who weren't previously concerned about reaching platinum, this change is probably a good thing, they'll end up saving more money (if they live outside london) and will possibly be fitter too.

[m277]

Can you please provide a source for the 150 points per month limit for the current system? I confess I don't think I've been to the gym more than 10 times in a single month. If they limit you to 150 points per month then I'd have next to no chance at getting platinum before november 1st

https://insurance.pruhealth.co.uk/uk/prudential/download/acrobat/Vitality_table.pdf

Have a scan down the "Max Activity Frequency" column

[Bargain Rzl]

https://insurance.pruhealth.co.uk/uk/prudential/download/acrobat/Vitality_table.pdf

Have a scan down the "Max Activity Frequency" column
I think you have to be logged in to your Pruhealth online account for the above link to work.

[Gambit]

https://insurance.pruhealth.co.uk/uk/prudential/download/acrobat/Vitality_table.pdf
Have a scan down the "Max Activity Frequency" column

But you can earn 10 points a day (on the days you dont go gym) using the fitbug if you walk more than 12,500 steps a day. That's what I'm planning to do as there is no monthly limit on the fitbug and I wont reach the annual limit before the end of the year. ;)

[Bargain Rzl]

MIght be worth checking with PruHealth that the monthly gym points limits aren't applicable to Fitbug points (given that all the other limits are the same or combined for gym+Fitbug). Wouldn't want you to put all that effort into your Fitbug idea and then find you stop being able to get points from it after a while...

[Gambit]

MIght be worth checking with PruHealth that the monthly gym points limits aren't applicable to Fitbug points (given that all the other limits are the same or combined for gym+Fitbug). Wouldn't want you to put all that effort into your Fitbug idea and then find you stop being able to get points from it after a while...

Yep, I just called before posting as wanted to check that. Was told that there were no monthly limits on fitbug and that I could get points for fitbug on the days that I dont go gym as long as I dont hit the yearly limit... which I wont! :D

[Bargain Rzl]

Oh, good - that's bound to be really useful to some people who would otherwise struggle to hit Platinum :) I've never exceeded 150 points a month on gym + Fitbug combined (partly because the days I score well on the bug currently tend to be the same days I'm at the gym, so they only count once for points) so have never been sure what would happen if you exceeded 150 on Fitbug alone...

[JonnyC]

Can someone clarify whether your Vitality status is retained after renewing policy？Upon renewing; your points accumulated over the first year are reset but do you keep your Vitality status? My first year policy is due for renewal in 2 weeks and will be on Gold status. Hoping I won't have to build up my status from scratch before Nov 1st!

[Bargain Rzl]

Yes, you keep your status.

Example - me: will be Platinum by next month and expect to have about 2,300 points when my policy renews at the end of September. As I'm going into my second policy year, I will start the year with 10% of my points carried over (230 points, so if I was a new customer with that many points I'd be Bronze) but because I have reached Platinum as at the policy anniversary, I will (a) get 100% of this year's premium off next year's premium, and (b) remain Platinum status until September 2009.

If you're on Gold when your policy renews, you'll get 75% of this year's premiums off next year's premiums, and will qualify for a year's worth of Gold-level discounts/gym rates. If you reach Platinum in your next policy year, your discounts will - as I understand it - increase to Platinum level from that point onwards, and obviously be carried forward to the year after that.

[SmileY]

hey everyone.

could someone list what changes they are making?

Myself and my partner have PruHealth insurance but as of yet not registered with a gym (it will be a cannons in Surbiton and therefore outside london?) - I was in fact thinking of doing this in the next week or so!

What difference would it make if I were to go ahead and join the gym to postponing it until the new amendments come into place?

[smileyfatchops]

Hi,
I had planned to cancel my current Gym (David Lloyd) subscription, ( £63 PM) and sign on for the Pru health deal earlier in the year. Unfortunatly I broke my Kneecap in April and have had my current membership on suspension and therefore couldn't give notice (3months) and start the Pru deal. My question is this. Is it still worth me signing up with the Pru Deal in the light of current info. now or waiting for October? I still can't currently drive but hoping that will change in next 4-6 weeks. If I give in my current gym 3 months notice I will be free by end of November, If I wish to rejoin I will face a £200 rejoining fee i think.
Any suggestions or info welcome,


Many thanks,
SFC

[ndmelgin75]

Hi everyone

I've recently signed up to the forums in light of the changes PRU Health are making. I recently joined, iterally just before they announced they would be altering the policy in November.

Having spoken to two or three different people it seems that unfortunately there is little chance of my reaching gold status by November. In fact i'll be breaking my back to get to Silver. Given that my health policy is £50, and that im in central London (using a Virgin Activ) I was told my gym membership on silver would be £45, and then reduced to £30 on Gold. The actual gym membership is £80.

I can see how it will be beneficial for existing policy holders (coming towards the end of their first year) but what im finding slightly disturbing is the way that on the Pru Health website they are updating the website, which will in effect wipe off your diet plans/stress tests etc etc.

Its almost as if they've rushed this through, not really planned it well, nor actually thought about it. Which leads me to wonder whether the current deal was just too much of a good thing and they lost money.

What further irritated me was that a week ago i was in an accident that required my going to see a chiropracter (referred by my GP) - my policy had been live for 3 weeks so i was gutted. however when trying to make a claim or enquire about making the claim i was fed a diatribe of "if you claim now you will lose your premiums etc etc" as well as being made to jump through hoops which by the end of i just went to see the chiropracter and paid up front. All in all im cancelling the policy as i dont feel i stand to get as much out of it than if i went ahead and joined the gym.

[camaj]

As mentioned earlier, it's possible to get to platinum before november if you join today but it's a lot of effort. Gold should be a little easier. The only difference is if you wait until november to join you won't reach platinum for a while, and you probably won't feel like going hell for leather. I guess it depends on how important it is to you to get up to speed.

https://insurance.pruhealth.co.uk/uk/prudential/download/acrobat/Vitality_table.pdf

Have a scan down the "Max Activity Frequency" column

I'm really sorry, I saw that last night (I was looking for something else) and also noticed that there was no limit on fitbug. So I edited my post to reflect those two things and what do you know, it's not there now!

One thing that I looked into before, and partially dismissed, is the "events", you can get 50 or 100 per sporting event you partake in via activeeurope.com. Your limited to 10 per year so you could earn 500-1000 just from 10 days of sport.

They tell you what events are eligable, basically endurance events (half marathons, cross-country bike rides) are worth 100 points and anything less is 50. I can't see any long distance runs but there are quite a few long-distance bike rides, sadly I don't have a bike. It costs £10 to register to active europe, and each event has its own cost. I saw 3km runs for £3, bike rides for £30 (including transport home)

[wickedgp26]

Actually you can read 3 articles per month and earn 10 points each, the maximum per month is 3 and for the year is 200 if you an individual or 400 for a family policy.

Doing the Stress management course and completing the first assessment as well as the feedback list of triggers gives you 50 points.

Doing the online Nutrition programme which is completing steps 1-5 and creating a meal plan earns you 50 points

If you a none smoker- do the nons smokers declaration online and earn 150 points

Complete a Personal Health review and earn 100 points.

If you female and had a pap smear in your current policy year submit the details through under screening points or call them to inform them and get 150 points

[Bargain Rzl]

One more thing: even for new customers, who have no chance of making Platinum in time, it should still be a worthwhile deal if are certain you're still going to be going to the gym in years to come.

PruHealth has always been more expensive to begin with, what with the £25 admin fee for setting up the gym membership, and higher gym fees during the initial 3-month "usage assessment period" (which presumably will expire when the new terms come in). Under the current (old) terms, you're paying through the nose for the first three months, then you start to benefit from the maximum discount on the gym membership (assuming you're going twice a week), then the real bonus comes a year into the policy if you've reached Platinum because your premiums go down.

So under the new terms it's just a case of the initial setup costs being a bit higher and lasting a bit longer (however long it takes you to get to Platinum, rather than a flat 3 months). As soon as you reach Platinum your costs will drop and all you have to do is maintain that status. If the initial costs work out really high for you, i.e. higher than just joining the gym direct, it should STILL be worth your while in the long run once you've hit Platinum and your ongoing costs drop. Of course it's your judgement call as to whether you're going to lose interest in the gym after only a few months, before the investment has become worthwhile.

Of course as a new customer you may now feel that you can't trust PruHealth not to move the goalposts again, but do try costing it up according to the model I've described above. If you're a long-term gym-goer and you can afford the extra hit for a few months until you hit Platinum, I am almost sure it'll be worth your while eventually.

The only direct, inescapably negative change is the rise from £0 to £8 for the lowest possible monthly fee at some gyms.

[cheeky]

I have started the stress and nutritional plans.... but stupid question, i cant see the "self help" articles anywhere!!?? Need to crack on if we are to make platinum!!!

[Gambit]

The only direct, inescapably negative change is the rise from £0 to £8 for the lowest possible monthly fee at some gyms.

That's the most annoying thing I find about the new changes. Even if I do get to Platinum status I will still be paying the extra £8 for living in London! :(

[Gambit]

I have started the stress and nutritional plans.... but stupid question, i cant see the "self help" articles anywhere!!?? Need to crack on if we are to make platinum!!!

Yeah, I had trouble finding that yesterday too! :p
Go to the 'Nutrition Centre' and then click on the 'Facts of Food' on the right hand side. That will take you to the various articles... hope that helps! :)

[cheeky]

very helpful thanks!!

[SmileY]

so from what i understand, theres none of this twice in a week to the gym malarky anymore but you get 10 points for going ... is there a max on this? say i went 3 times a week (unlikely in most cases) would i get more points? will still take a long time to get to 3,000 points!

to join the gym or not to join the gym ... that is the question!

[Bargain Rzl]

You can only get a maximum of 150 points per calendar month from going to the gym, up to an overall annual cap of 1,500.

You can, as established earlier in the thread, also earn up to 10 points a day by logging over 12,500 steps on your Fitbug (5 points for >10,000), but you can only get these points on days when you DON'T also earn points by going to the gym. The number of points you can build up on your Fitbug has no monthly cap, but the annual limit on number of gym point and number of Fitbug points ADDED TOGETHER is restricted to 1,500.

Edit: I note you mentioned needing to achieve 3,000 points - the points target for Platinum is 2,000 for an individual, not 3,000. Or are you talking about couple/family membership? If so, the caps are different but the same principle applies.

[Gambit]

The number of points you can build up on your Fitbug has no monthly cap, but the annual limit on number of gym point and number of Fitbug points ADDED TOGETHER is restricted to 1,500.

I spoke to PruHealth today and they confirmed that the annual cap for the gym visits and fitbug are not related ie. you can earn 1500 points a year for gym visits and a further 1500 points a year for fitbug steps.

[Bargain Rzl]

I'm honestly not sure you have been advised correctly there, Gambit :confused: On the Pruhealth member zone it seems to make it quite clear that the overall category limits are as follows:

Education: 400 (individual), 800 (family)
Exercise: 1500 (individual), 3000 (family)
General: 50 (individual), 100 (family)
Nutrition: 1000 (individual), 2000 (family)
Screening: 1200 (individual), 2400 (family)
No Smoking: 200 (individual), 400 (family)

To me, that categorically says that an individual member can't earn more than 1500 points through Exercise activities (which include gym and Fitbug). On the other hand, fitness assessments are part of the Exercise category too, and I'm certain they count separately from the 1500-point cap, so I think the website is inconsistent.

Might be worth phoning them again and seeing if you get the same story from a different customer service person...

[SmileY]

thanks bargain ... yes sorry for a couple membership :)
we took the membership a couple of months ago but havnt joined a gym yet ... so its unlikely we will accumulate enough points for even silver membership by november.
so from the sounds of it i may as well go ahead and get gym membership as it only applies for a small amount of points anyway!

[Bargain Rzl]

Well, actually - if what Gambit's been told is correct about gym and Fitbug not being capped jointly - if you and your OH both joined the gym now, and got a Fitbug each, you could be getting up to 150 points a month each for the gym, and the same again from Fitbug on all the days when you don't go to the gym (so let's say 150+150 each per month, for three months) that'd be 900 points each, 1,800 points between you. A free fitness assessment each would give you another 300 points each, giving you a total of 2,400. You could get another 300 points for both making the non smoking declaration... then there's the Nutrition and Education points and you'd be well on your way!

I STRONGLY recommend that you contact Pruhealth customer services and make sure you have it explained to you in black and white what your points limits are per day and per month, as a couple. Because I'm not sure I understand it any more, after what Gambit said.

[SmileY]

you make it sound so easy bargain!!
as the main policy holder is my OH ill make her suffer the call :)
hopefully gambit is right though!

[JonnyC]

Yes, you keep your status.

Example - me: will be Platinum by next month and expect to have about 2,300 points when my policy renews at the end of September. As I'm going into my second policy year, I will start the year with 10% of my points carried over (230 points, so if I was a new customer with that many points I'd be Bronze) but because I have reached Platinum as at the policy anniversary, I will (a) get 100% of this year's premium off next year's premium, and (b) remain Platinum status until September 2009.

If you're on Gold when your policy renews, you'll get 75% of this year's premiums off next year's premiums, and will qualify for a year's worth of Gold-level discounts/gym rates. If you reach Platinum in your next policy year, your discounts will - as I understand it - increase to Platinum level from that point onwards, and obviously be carried forward to the year after that.

Thanks for clearing that up. So say I reach Platinum status by Jan 2009 will my platinum discount for gym take effect in the next billing month i.e. Feb 2009 onwards?

[Gambit]

To me, that categorically says that an individual member can't earn more than 1500 points through Exercise activities (which include gym and Fitbug). On the other hand, fitness assessments are part of the Exercise category too, and I'm certain they count separately from the 1500-point cap, so I think the website is inconsistent.

Might be worth phoning them again and seeing if you get the same story from a different customer service person...

That is weird... I will def call them tomorrow and ask about that as if that's the case it may not be as easy for me to get to Platinum as I first thought! :(

[Gambit]

you make it sound so easy bargain!!
as the main policy holder is my OH ill make her suffer the call :)
hopefully gambit is right though!

I'm gonna make the call tomorrow too so will let you guys know what they say...

Let me know what they say to the OH too SmileY as I'm hoping we will both get an answer of yes... fingers crossed! :huh:

[Gambit]

It seems you were right Bargain Rzl - the maximum number of points you can receive for the category of exercise is 1500 (for an individual) :(

I was surprised at this especially as when I look at my points statement it looks like the maximum of gym workouts is 1500 and the maximum for fitbug is also 1500. I told them that the statement made this unclear and they told me that this was being addressed and would be changed when the website was updated.

But that doesnt help me get to a Platinum status... grrr!! :mad:

Sorry to creating confusion on the forum as I did not mean to misinform!! :confused:

[cheeky]

thanks bargain ... yes sorry for a couple membership :)
we took the membership a couple of months ago but havnt joined a gym yet ... so its unlikely we will accumulate enough points for even silver membership by november.
so from the sounds of it i may as well go ahead and get gym membership as it only applies for a small amount of points anyway!

we joined the gym around 22nd June, between us we have 100 points for June, 200 for july so far (we both try to go every day). On top of this we have lots of the "easy points" - eg login, stress assess, diet assess, etc. This comes to 700ish, or 1000+ so far.

I have constructed a elaborate (to say the least!!!) excel spreadsheet with target and achieved columns for each area by month (gym, sainsburys, ebay etc.) and we should hit 2770 points by 31st oct - onto that i can add 2 fitness assessments (600) and 2 basic health screens if desperate @ £25 (400) We should clear 3700 points, as platinum is 3000, we should make it quite easily. There are other health screenings you could add too.

If you crack on NOW/TODAY you could make platinum by 31st oct. BTW, i have lost weight and am feeling really good! Swimming every morning is excellent!

[Bargain Rzl]

I've just had a lengthy conversation with customer services too, and been told that:

Fitbug and gym visits contribute to a COMBINED cap of 1,500 points.

I pointed out that this wasn't clear, and was referred to the summary table of category limits where it states that the cap for the entire exercise category is 1,500 points.

In which case, I said, that must mean that the points available through Fitness Assessments - also part of the Exercise category - must also be subject to this combined cap (which I know is not the case). "Oh no, fitness assessments definitely count in addition to the 1,500 point Exercise cap". So why do they come under the Exercise category, which the website clearly states is capped overall at 1,500? And if they are separate, how is anybody to guess that Fitbug isn't also separate from the gym?

I also queried whether the combined cap applied monthly, too, so a 150-point limit for both combined. Advisor said he thought it did. I again pointed out that there was absolutely no indication on the website that this was the case. Advisor admitted that his understanding that a combined monthly cap applied was just that - an understanding - and he didn't actually know.

This conversation went round in circles for some time :mad: and I think my best course of action will be to put my concerns in writing and hope my letter gets dealt with by somebody with slightly more brain cells to rub together than this one had.

[SmileY]

thanks for clarifying this for me guys ... what a shame! again cheeky makes it sound so easy so if OH and I get on with accumulating points ... so long as we reach even Silver we will be saving on the gym (which I think was the original reason for joining Pru in the 1st place - obv with additional benefit of having health insurance!).

So for the ease of understanding (as we are just about sure whats going on):

- a MAXIMUM of 30 visits to the gym/fitbug between me and OH in each month
- a MAXIMUM of 3,000 points available in gym/fitbug category in each year (from taking out the insurance I presume?)
- fitness assessments give ADDITIONAL points
- we will only retain 5% of our points at the end of the first year of the insurance term
- we will pay pru £50 in first month to join gym (if we joined today), then 2 months of £25, then we will pay £0 (provided we go twice a week) then will revert to £42 a month as we will be on bronze (or less if silver etc) until end of first year of insurance

thanks

[Bargain Rzl]

OK - in an attempt at getting some clarification in writing both for now and the future, I have just sent the following message to Customer Services via the website:
Dear PruHealth,

I would like to draw your attention to some confusing and misleading information on your website with regard to Vitality points.

I have already raised these issues via a phone call, but the customer service advisor who dealt with my enquiry did not seem to understand fully why I considered the information misleading. Furthermore, I have sought advice from customer services in the past on some of my individual points, and have been given contradictory answers depending on which advisor I have spoken to!

In the PDF document outlining the Vitality points available in the various categories, the activities making up the EXERCISE category are listed as follows, with maximum points per annum on an individual membership:

Maintaining fitness rating over 6-month period (max 400)
Improving fitness rating over 6-month period (max 600)
Gym workout (max 1,500)
Fitness assessment (max 600)
Organised fitness event (1 star) (max 500)
Organised fitness event (2 stars) (max 1,000)
Fitbug (pedometer) (max 1,500)
Purchasing eligible goods from eBay (max 120)

In the top right-hand corner of the same page, it states that the overall maximum per annum for points within the Exercise category is 1,500.

It is my understanding that this ‘Exercise category limit’ of 1,500 points is incorrect, because while 1,500 is the limit for points from gym visits, it’s still possible (if I have been advised correctly when I queried it by phone in the past) to gain up to the maximum IN ADDITION for some of the other categories within the Exercise category, namely the 600 points available for fitness assessments and up to 600 points available for an improvement in fitness rating. So if I got 1,500 points from gym visits and 300+300 points by having two fitness assessments, I would end up with 2,100 points, not 1,500.

In summary, if the points I can get from Fitness Assessments and for maintaining/improving fitness levels are not included in the 1,500-point limit for the Exercise category, then they should not be listed in the Exercise category at all, but should have a category to themselves. Either this, or the points limit for the overall Exercise category should be changed to reflect the fact that it allows 1,500 gym/Fitbug points PLUS the points available from fitness assessments.

There is also no indication of whether gym and Fitbug limits are separate or combined (except for the daily limit of 10 points on the two together), or of whether Fitbug is subject to a 150-point monthly limit such as applies to gym visits. It is my understanding that points cannot exceed 1,500 per annum for gym and Fitbug activities combined, but nowhere on your site is this confirmed, except in the table stating that the points limit for the Exercise category is 1,500 (which, because of the additional points I know are available on top of this for Fitness Assessments, is clearly incorrect, so I do not consider that I can make any assumption on the basis of this figure).

Please also make clear whether the points available from gym visits and Fitbug are subject to separate or combined maximums, on (a) a monthly basis, and (b) an annual basis.

I look forward to your response, as I am asking these questions not only on my own behalf but on behalf of a number of confused members!

Regards

Will share the reply when it comes...

[Gambit]

In which case, I said, that must mean that the points available through Fitness Assessments - also part of the Exercise category - must also be subject to this combined cap (which I know is not the case). "Oh no, fitness assessments definitely count in addition to the 1,500 point Exercise cap". So why do they come under the Exercise category, which the website clearly states is capped overall at 1,500? And if they are separate, how is anybody to guess that Fitbug isn't also separate from the gym?

I just called again and asked them about this. After saying that the fitness assessment was definitely NOT in the exercise limit of 1500 the customer service staff went to ask his manager. He came back and apologised saying he was wrong and that the exercise limit of 1500 included the fitness assessments.

This conversation went round in circles for some time :mad: and I think my best course of action will be to put my concerns in writing and hope my letter gets dealt with by somebody with slightly more brain cells to rub together than this one had.

Sounds like my conversation!!! :rotfl: They really dont know what's going on do they? You would have thought that they would get their stories straight as they must have known people would be calling in with all these questions about vitality points...

[Bargain Rzl]

Gambit - I'm almost certain the fitness assessments are in addition! There must be loads of MSErs who've already rolled over into their second policy year and for whom those fitness assessments would have made the difference between silver and platinum I'm sure we'd have heard plenty about it on these forums if they hadn't got all the points they expected...

[Gambit]

Gambit - I'm almost certain the fitness assessments are in addition! There must be loads of MSErs who've already rolled over into their second policy year and for whom those fitness assessments would have made the difference between silver and platinum I'm sure we'd have heard plenty about it on these forums if they hadn't got all the points they expected...

Well I think I'm going to assume he's wrong and keep going to the gym and using fitbug (which I do anyways) and see what happens when I hit 900 for the gym/fitbug (ie. the 'limit' if what I was told today was true) :confused:

[Bargain Rzl]

If the fitness assessments ARE part of the 1,500 limit, I'm going to have to pay for a screening of some kind - I'm on 1,845 points at the moment, of which 1,455 are from Exercise (including fitness assessments), so (given that my policy anniversary is 29th September) if I can only make another 55 points from gymgoing/fitness assessments/Fitbug, and if I click on 2 self help articles in August and another 2 in September I will still be a few points short...

...on the other hand, if it's additional, my second fitness assessment (next Thursday) will tip me nicely into the Platinum.

I'm just CONVINCED that we'd have heard about it by now if the fitness assessments didn't count in addition to the 1,500 exercise limit.

[SmileY]

sounds like a right royal bloody mess!!!

hopefully bargain can get some reply ... im not holding my breath though!

[Bargain Rzl]

I'll post the reply if and when I get it... as it's Friday afternoon I wouldn't think I'd hear until at least Monday (plus it was my work email I gave as the return address).

(Having revisited my stats I don't think I'll need to pay for anything to make it to Platinum regardless of whether I'm about to hit my limit for Exercise. I haven't done a nutritional plan yet, which would be 50 points in the Nutrition category, so I'd just have to hope that my fitness assessment next week tells me my blood pressure hasn't gone up, which would give me another 50 points in Screening and would make up my very small shortfall...)

[camaj]

I'm not sure why there's confusion, the website is pretty clear.
There's a 1500 point cap on exercise category events, IIRC that includes fitness assessments
There is 150 monthly cap on gym visits.
You can't claim points for gym and fitbug on the same day. If you've reached your monthly gym cap then you'll automatically get points from fitbug, otherwise you'll get points from the gym
I'm not sure what happens if you go to the gym and do a sporting event on the same day. I can't see why you wouldn't get both.

It's a shame more people didn't sign up via boots, you get a free basic screen and eye test (25 points every other year). Some of the screening things are good unless your a male between 12 and 34. If you're not with boots, and have gold status you can get the screen for £15 (£10 cheaper than boots) in London, Cambridge or Reading from The Diagnostic Clinic (see here (http://www.thediagnosticclinic.com/the%20diagnostic%20clinic%20locations.htm))

Now if the website is wrong, I don't know. I'm not sure the pru-health CS reps are 100% sure on how things work, some seem to be confused. It would be great if someone could check their statement and see what points they've received from exercise category's in months where they've been to the gym 15 times.

The other thing I'm not yet clear on is whether they're going to reflect a change in vitality status in the following months premium, i.e if you reach gold in February will you have to wait until May to get the discount or will it start on the next months bill?

[Bargain Rzl]

I'm not sure why there's confusion, the website is pretty clear.

...

Now if the website is wrong, I don't know. I'm not sure the pru-health CS reps are 100% sure on how things work, some seem to be confused.
You've answered your own question there.

If, when seeking clarification on the seemingly relatively straightforward info on the website, so many of us hadn't been given completely contradictory information by members of the call centre staff, there wouldn't be any confusion and we'd all be assuming the website was right...

[Bargain Rzl]

The other thing I'm not yet clear on is whether they're going to reflect a change in vitality status in the following months premium, i.e if you reach gold in February will you have to wait until May to get the discount or will it start on the next months bill?
I'm not sure why there would be a three month timelag - as far as I can see, removing the quarterly targets for gym visits means they don't have to calculate anything on a quarterly basis any more...

[camaj]

You've answered your own question there.

In that case I would say that the website overrides what you're told by them. I imagine they make sure everything on there is triple checked.You would think so anyway!

[lindsaygalaxy]

Me & OH have both joined, but if we change it to joint membership, would we have better chance of reaching Plantinum level?

[camaj]

Me & OH have both joined, but if we change it to joint membership, would we have better chance of reaching Plantinum level?

Yes. Joint members only have to get to 3000 points. For two separate people to get platinum would be 4000 points (2000 per person). You might get cheaper premiums on the joint plan, I haven't looked into that.

[Redfearn]

What exactly are the rules on canceling both the gym membership and the health insurance?

By my calculations I will not be platinum by November (I joined in May) and need to consider my options.

Thanks in advance!

[alitarbegshe]

I have just joined a little while ago and for one, am not that distraught by the changes.

By the time my 1st months gym membership will be taken out on the 1st of August, I will comfortably be on silver status, with gold membership by November and Platinum by the end of the year.

I've done all the calculations and will be stung with a 28 pound excess over what would normally be the case if I was a platinum status before the change.

Also, taking into account the 100% platinum no claims discount, works out half the price of joining a gym through the door over 2 years. With health insurance to boot. Call that a result in anyone's book.

PruHealth are here to provide health insurance and not cheap gym membership. We all knew this offer was too good to last.

Even for the people who have seen theeir gym membership go from 0 to 8 pounds. How can you verociously argue when you would compare that to what you'd pay for the gym membership if you had joined straight up.

Taking into account the eurostar promotion that will kick in, the I will actually be better off!

But I am an exception rather then the norm, being an athlete, with freinds living in brussells.

[Gambit]

Taking into account the eurostar promotion that will kick in, the I will actually be better off!

What is the Eurostar promotion?

[mark1024]

I just looked through my paperwork, and last year I received 300 points for a fitness assessment, as well as 500 for improving fitness, BMI and blood pressure. So 800 from one assessment, and definitely added to my gym points. Seems to have worked like this from the start (I'm coming up to my fifth year of membership). So it it possible to make quite a tally from a twenty minute assessment if you do actually work out regularly.
Good luck to everyone going for Platinum.

[benmail]

I've just been looking at the Pruhealth website (and spoke to one of their sales team to confirm this) and, from November 1 (new pricing is now on the Pru website), it will actually cost me MORE to use the gym using the Pru scheme than if I got membership directly from the gym. OK, I'm using an expensive club (one of the Virgin Classic clubs in London) but under the terms of the old deal, I saved a lot of money with Prudential. From November the only way to get a cheaper membership is if I hit the Platinum level of vitality points and if I do that I would save - wait for it - £1.69 a month on the normal membership fee. As I don't need the health cover, I'll be parting company with Prudential at the end of October.

[benmail]

In a quick update to my previous post, I've spoken to Virgin Active and found that paying them directly for membership at the gym I use will give me access to their full network of clubs, which I'd have to pay more for under the Pruhealth scheme. So from November I can pay less and use more gyms by paying Virgin directly and giving up the Prudential health cover.

Btw, I do realise that if I got to Platinum level my premium should go to £0 per month/year. However that doesn't happen until the second year of the policy and as I'm not long into my first year, I don't think it is worth it, especially as there is no guarantee that the terms won't change again.

[jtcowie]

All I can say is a big thank you to moneysavingexpert.com for alerting me to the PruHealth deal a year ago - I would never have worked it all out myself.

It took me 8 months to get to Platinum status and I got a total of 3200 points over the whole year, so my premiums are down to just over £5 a month. Even during the first year, my premium was only two-thirds of what the gym alone would have cost. And I got £155 cashback when I joined PruHealth. I only went to the gym twice a week, but also got points from all the easy online stuff which other people have mentioned.

To answer the queries regarding maximum points in the Exercise category, I have just looked at last year's Vitality statement and I got a total of 1500 points in that category - made up of 200 for maintaining fitness rating; 690 for gym visits; 600 for two fitness assessments and 10 for the guide to routinetics (online I think). So, I think that the 1500 max for Exercise is right as I should have got 1040 points for gym visits (2 per week x 52 weeks x 10 points), but didn't get any more credited points past 690 points as I had reached the 1500 Exercise maximum by other means.

Once I got to Platinum status, I chose to spend £25 on a two-hour health screening at the Nuffield hospital in Cambridge. I think it was well worth the time and money - quite extensive and the opportunity to discuss any concerns with a doctor without feeling that there is a time pressure was great. The screening would normally have cost £400, so I thought it a bargain and very useful.

I also took the opportunity to visit Champneys at Henlow Grange with a friend at a big saving for both of us (I paid £35 she paid £95). You get a 25 minute massage included and, as we didn't take any additional treatments, it was a cheap 24 hour break. We found it very enjoyable - lots of classes to do if you wish, lovely pool and jacuzzi, excellent food and very relaxing environment. In fact, I now have friends queuing up to go as my guests!

So if you can get to Platinum status by November, I'd say go for it!

[mark1024]

Looked over my statement again for last year, and under exercise: 820 gym visits, 300 fitness assessment, 300 improving fitness, and 10 routinetics.

Despite being measured at the fitness assessment, I received 100 for improving BMI under nutrition, and 100 for improving blood pressure, under screening. Guess I didn't quite hit the 1500 max for exercise. There is no way I would pay the normal monthly rates for the local virgin club myself without Pru. Around £75 compared to around £20. Be sure to do the calculations over at least a couple of years membership.

[Redknapp]

I've just had a lengthy conversation with customer services too, and been told that:

Fitbug and gym visits contribute to a COMBINED cap of 1,500 points.

From what I was told when I was thinking of signing Gym and Fitbug are both separate. Max points for each are 150points per month.

Lady on the phone even told me in detail how to get to Platinum in 4months and that was with getting 150pts each for Gym and Fitbug per month.

[JonnyC]

Does anyone have a defintive answer on whether your billing is adjusted instantly/next billing month if you hit platinum after Nov 1st? If so, then in the whole scheme of things what's the big fuss about paying a bit extra until you do?

[QQuaver]

Gambit - I'm almost certain the fitness assessments are in addition! There must be loads of MSErs who've already rolled over into their second policy year and for whom those fitness assessments would have made the difference between silver and platinum I'm sure we'd have heard plenty about it on these forums if they hadn't got all the points they expected...
1500 max for exercise includes fitness assessments. For my first assessment I got 300 points, but for my second, only got 150 (otherwise it will go over 1500). But I got 200 points for improving blood pressure 2 levels for another category called screening. Maintaining fitness rating was also included in exercise category (200 points). Maintaining BMI was on Nutrition category (50 points).

[QQuaver]

What exactly are the rules on canceling both the gym membership and the health insurance?

By my calculations I will not be platinum by November (I joined in May) and need to consider my options.

Thanks in advance!
It used to be, you can cancel the policy anytime, but you can't cancel just the gym part (12 month minimum contract?). Now, you can cancel just the gym part if you want, or cancel the whole lot as usual.

[Flib]

Hmmm, I was just about to recommend PruHealth as the provider for our company PMI. I thought that if people wanted to join the gym, this was a great deal. The nearest gym to the office (in central London) is a Virgin Active and it costs £71 per month on PAYG or £64.95 on a 12 month contract. The company pays our premiums which is a taxable benefit. It seems that it's still possible to get some money off, just not the same kind of discounts as before??

[brownbabygirl]

All I can say is a big thank you to moneysavingexpert.com for alerting me to the PruHealth deal a year ago - I would never have worked it all out myself.

It took me 8 months to get to Platinum status and I got a total of 3200 points over the whole year, so my premiums are down to just over £5 a month. Even during the first year, my premium was only two-thirds of what the gym alone would have cost. And I got £155 cashback when I joined PruHealth. I only went to the gym twice a week, but also got points from all the easy online stuff which other people have mentioned.

To answer the queries regarding maximum points in the Exercise category, I have just looked at last year's Vitality statement and I got a total of 1500 points in that category - made up of 200 for maintaining fitness rating; 690 for gym visits; 600 for two fitness assessments and 10 for the guide to routinetics (online I think). So, I think that the 1500 max for Exercise is right as I should have got 1040 points for gym visits (2 per week x 52 weeks x 10 points), but didn't get any more credited points past 690 points as I had reached the 1500 Exercise maximum by other means.

Once I got to Platinum status, I chose to spend £25 on a two-hour health screening at the Nuffield hospital in Cambridge. I think it was well worth the time and money - quite extensive and the opportunity to discuss any concerns with a doctor without feeling that there is a time pressure was great. The screening would normally have cost £400, so I thought it a bargain and very useful.

I also took the opportunity to visit Champneys at Henlow Grange with a friend at a big saving for both of us (I paid £35 she paid £95). You get a 25 minute massage included and, as we didn't take any additional treatments, it was a cheap 24 hour break. We found it very enjoyable - lots of classes to do if you wish, lovely pool and jacuzzi, excellent food and very relaxing environment. In fact, I now have friends queuing up to go as my guests!

So if you can get to Platinum status by November, I'd say go for it!

How does it work with bringing guests to Champneys. What percentage of the full price do they pay?

[JonnyC]

Does anyone have a defintive answer on whether your billing is adjusted instantly/next billing month if you hit platinum after Nov 1st? If so, then in the whole scheme of things what's the big fuss about paying a bit extra until you do?

FYI - I spoke to Pruhealth and they confirmed that if you reach Platinum status after Nov 1st your platinum gym fee comes into effect in the next billing month.. no quarterly rubbish!

[camaj]

Lady on the phone even told me in detail how to get to Platinum in 4months and that was with getting 150pts each for Gym and Fitbug per month.

I don't think you have a 150 point limit with fitbug. In theory you could get 10points every day on fitbug alone. However if you go to the maximum 15 times, you'd only be left with 16 days at most to use the fitbug since you can't use it on the same day as you go to the gym.

[digispacedesigner]

I'm off! Ditch the healthcare and find a better gym will work for me!

[jtcowie]

In reply to Brownbabygirl, the deal with Champneys is that a standard twin room is normally £219.95. If you are a Platinum member you get it for £35 and your guest pays £95. You can take up to three guests and go as often as you wish.

There are different rates if you are a Bronze, Silver or Gold member. It's also a bit more expensive if you go on a Saturday night and/or go to the Tring spa.

By the way, I also got points for having the Health Screening - 400 just for going and then some extra for having good blood pressure, etc.

Hope this helps.

[brownbabygirl]

In reply to Brownbabygirl, the deal with Champneys is that a standard twin room is normally £219.95. If you are a Platinum member you get it for £35 and your guest pays £95. You can take up to three guests and go as often as you wish.

There are different rates if you are a Bronze, Silver or Gold member. It's also a bit more expensive if you go on a Saturday night and/or go to the Tring spa.

By the way, I also got points for having the Health Screening - 400 just for going and then some extra for having good blood pressure, etc.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for that! You had the health screening AT Champneys?

I am 500 points from Platinum and yet to take my 2nd fitness test so this is something I look fwd to!:T

[Money~Bunny]

This isn't looking so good. I joined recently and even if I get maximum gym points and the screenings/assessments that I can reasonably do, I'm 400 points off Platinum. And I still have to pay £8 a month for the gym.

Ugh, I'm getting married in October and (with the confusing discrepancies and other stuff) I don't need all this hassle!

Maybe you have to be logged in to see this, but here's a PDF of the policy terms. https://insurance.pruhealth.co.uk/uk/prudential/download/acrobat/indiv_member_policy_doc.pdf
Under paragraph 6.6 on page 12, it says you can cancel at any time by writing, and they will cancel your policy 30 days after receipt of the letter. So I will need to send a letter at the end of September to cancel in time. I would send it recorded and follow up with a phone call.

I'm going to have to take up jogging :(

[brownbabygirl]

This isn't looking so good. I joined recently and even if I get maximum gym points and the screenings/assessments that I can reasonably do, I'm 400 points off Platinum. And I still have to pay £8 a month for the gym.

Ugh, I'm getting married in October and (with the confusing discrepancies and other stuff) I don't need all this hassle!

Maybe you have to be logged in to see this, but here's a PDF of the policy terms. https://insurance.pruhealth.co.uk/uk/prudential/download/acrobat/indiv_member_policy_doc.pdf
Under paragraph 6.6 on page 12, it says you can cancel at any time by writing, and they will cancel your policy 30 days after receipt of the letter. So I will need to send a letter at the end of September to cancel in time. I would send it recorded and follow up with a phone call.

I'm going to have to take up jogging :(

if you will be taking up jogging anyway why not keep the health insurance membership and get fitbug as well. you can then cancel your gym membership and not have to pay the £8. i think the vitality partners (eurostar, champneys) may make it worthwhile. i guess it all depends...:D

[Bargain Rzl]

Money~Bunny,

Have you had a look at how long it will take you to get to Platinum after November? As you say you joined recently I'm assuming your policy anniversary is at least six months away. If you have already had your first fitness assessment, completed your first stress questionnaire and meal plan (etc etc etc), then by November it'll only be a couple of months till you can do it all again (what with the "once per half year" limits on various activities).

If you are 400 points off platinum by the start of November, you'll obviously be on Gold at that point, and I'd expect it should only take you another couple of months to make up those 400 points and move into the Platinum bracket.

If you can afford those couple of months paying for the gym at Gold rate (and if the £8 a month thereafter is also affordable for you) I think you should find it's worth your while to stick with it :confused:

[Bargain Rzl]

By the way, I got an answer to the email I sent them the other day - hope this is helpful to somebody. It doesn't answer every question I asked, but it is very clear. (Which means our collective complaint is with the call centre staff who in many cases don't seem to know what they are talking about. The bit at the bottom of the message where it says, "If you have any questions or require further information, please call us on 0800 092 7333" made me :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: :rolleyes:)


Dear Miss *******

Thank you for contacting us through our website on 18 July 2008 about the limits on Vitality activities.

All Vitality activities are grouped within categories. There is a limit per category which overrides all other activity limits.

The activities in the Exercise category are all subject to an annual individual limit of 1 500 Vitality points. In addition to this, we apply sub-limits to these activities.

For example: if you have one Fitness Assessment in your policy year, you earn 300 Vitality points for this activity. Therefore, you can only earn 1 200 points in the Exercise category for other activities in the remainder of your policy year.

The categories are determined by the activity and its bearing on a specific part of your health. Since Fitness Assessments affect and / or measure your physical activity, it is taken into account in the Exercise category and is subject to the same annual limit as gym visits and Fitbug steps.

Using your example of completing 150 gym visits and two Fitness Assessments in a policy year: this would give you a total of 1 500 points since the Exercise category limit would have been reached.

However, it is always good to have two Fitness Assessments per policy year, as this will include a blood pressure test. If you have maintained your blood pressure, you will earn 50 points or 100 points for improving it. Blood pressure falls within the Screening category.

All the activities in the programme are significant to achieving a healthier lifestyle. Applying sub-limits to specific tasks encourages engaging in the programme holistically.

Your understanding that gym visits and Fitbug steps accumulate to a combined limit, is correct. When we add Polar heart rate monitors as a partner later this year, these events will also accumulate to this combined workout limit. That is: you can, for any of these activities, earn a maximum of 10 Vitality points a day, up to 150 points a month and 1 500 points a year.

Please let me know if you have any questions about my explanation.

If you have any questions or require further information, please call us on 0800 092 7333. Alternatively, you can send us a secure message from our website www.pruhealth.co.uk (https://insurance.pruhealth.co.uk/notification-viewer/www.pruhealth.co.uk). Also, find out how to increase your Vitality rewards by visiting www.pruvitality.co.uk (http://www.pruvitality.co.uk/).

Yours sincerely

******
Correspondence Consultant
PruHealth

[harbinger13]

Actually you can read 3 articles per month and earn 10 points each, the maximum per month is 3 and for the year is 200 if you an individual or 400 for a family policy.



Where does one read articles - which counts as points?
Sorry there is no clear indication in the home page or probably I am not reading it right.:o

[Bargain Rzl]

Took me ages to work that out too, harbinger!

I think they are at various points on the site, but one location is under Nutrition Centre. Log in to PruHealth. From the menu down the left, click on Vitality then Nutrition Centre. Then from the menu on the right, choose Facts of Food. When you select one of the articles in the drop-down box under "Nutrition News" it will track to your account that you have read the article. It will initially show on your Vitality statement as 0 points but the 10 points should track the next day. There's a similar list in the Stress section (which I assume are the same thing, i.e. articles which track for points, though I haven't tried them yet).

[camaj]

you can, for any of these activities, earn a maximum of 10 Vitality points a day, up to 150 points a month and 1 500 points a year.


That's worrying if true. It makes no mention of that on the pruhealth website. They only state three limits: 1500 points a year for exercise, 15 gym visits a month and you can't get fitbug points on the same day as you go to the gym, which is understandable.

The polar heart monitor thing is good, will be useful to people who do things that aren't really measured well via fitbug like football, Tennis or cycling.

[harbinger13]

Took me ages to work that out too, harbinger!

I think they are at various points on the site, but one location is under Nutrition Centre. Log in to PruHealth. From the menu down the left, click on Vitality then Nutrition Centre. Then from the menu on the right, choose Facts of Food. When you select one of the articles in the drop-down box under "Nutrition News" it will track to your account that you have read the article. It will initially show on your Vitality statement as 0 points but the 10 points should track the next day. There's a similar list in the Stress section (which I assume are the same thing, i.e. articles which track for points, though I haven't tried them yet).

Thanks for this info Rzl!http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/images/smilies/beerchug.gif

Another question which if you could kindly help me with - I have a Fitness Assessment with my Gym today. Now what is the procedure for the Gym to send it PruHealth? Should I be faxing it - how does it work to gain 300 points. I guess it is 300 for the first check up and 300 for another 6 months later - is this true?

[Bargain Rzl]

Thanks for this info Rzl!http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/images/smilies/beerchug.gif

Another question which if you could kindly help me with - I have a Fitness Assessment with my Gym today. Now what is the procedure for the Gym to send it PruHealth? Should I be faxing it - how does it work to gain 300 points. I guess it is 300 for the first check up and 300 for another 6 months later - is this true?
The gym faxes it to PruHealth, and you'll get your points appearing on your statement a few days later.

You will get 300 points for it, as long as you haven't already hit the 1,500- point limit in the Exercise category (as discussed in the last few posts on this thread). In six months' time you can have another one and get another 300 points (assuming you're still far enough below the Exercise category limit) plus various other points for having maintained or improved your BMI, blood pressure and fitness level. Points for improvement or maintenance of fitness level come under the Exercise category, so will also be counting towards a maximum of 1,500 for all Exercise activities, but blood pressure and BMI are in different categories (Screening and Nutrition respectively) so will be helping you increase your points even if you're now stuck on 1,500 in the Exercise category.

Hope this makes sense :D (I am now certain I understand this better than Customer Services do :rolleyes:)

[Bargain Rzl]

Right, I've got a question that I don't think has been asked or answered yet:

When PruHealth says points are available for something at the rate of "once a month" or "once per half year", does the clock start ticking at the policy start date or at the time of the first activity in that category? AND, related question, on "monthly" points limits (such as reading articles, maximum 3 a month) does the month start from the first of the calendar month or from the policy start date?

HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE 1: let's say I start my PruHealth policy on 1st January, but don't get round to doing a meal plan for some Nutrition points until the middle of June. That'll give me 50 points. To get the other 50 available points for meal planning within the current policy year, do I have to wait six months after the first one, or would it work if I did the second one in July, only a few weeks after the first but falling into the other half of the policy year?

HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE 2: let's say I start my PruHealth policy on 15th January, and I immediately (on 15th January) go and read 3 self-help articles and get 30 points. Does that mean I could read another 3 on 1st February for another 30 points (because it's a different calendar month) or would I have to wait until 15th February to do it (because I'm now a month into the policy?)

[camaj]

With the monthly ones, I believe you can do 3 on the last week of jan and 3 in the first week of feb.

With half-year ones, I believe they have to be at least 6 months apart, otherwise they'd say twice a year.

Those are just my interpretations I could be completely wrong on that. I'd love to be wrong because I haven't done one yet and I'm running out of time. I would be able to do another one before renewal in october.

[jtcowie]

Sorry to confuse brownbabygirl - no, I didn't have the health screening at Champneys but I added that bit at the end because I forgot to mention it in my original post. I actually had the screening at the Nuffield hospital in Cambridge.

Also, someone asked about whether the gym faxes the results of a fitness assessment to PruHealth...well they are meant to, but mine failed to do so the first time so now I ask them for a photocopy and scan & email a copy to PruHealth myself. Belt and braces!

[SmileY]

hey maybe not the best place to ask this but where on the menu do i find the "self-help" articles!
just registered with partner, i got health review and declared non-smoker (she should do the same) that means were already on 600 points!!
so im gonna do the nutrition/self help/stress things... but cant find the self-help articles!

anyone that can help me ... much appreciatos! :)

[Bargain Rzl]

SmileY

Have a look at my recent post, #104 on this thread :)

[QQuaver]

What's a 'polar heart rate monitor'?

[camaj]

What's a 'polar heart rate monitor'?

Polar is a company that makes heart rate monitors, which strap to your chest and measure your heart rate and send the data to a receiver such as a watch. Measuring your heart rate is a way of making sure your working out at an optimal rate. Supposedly more fat burns in a particular range of heart rats.

It seems that Pruhealth will let you use a monitor that transfers data to a computer and use it to measure your activity, much in the same way as fitbug

[Rukomo]

There is no way I can reach platinum having joined in May. I go to the gym 3 times a week and live a healthy lifestyle (as reflected in my health insurance premium), I can't believe how much my gym premiums are going to jump. I didn't jump through all those online hoops when I joined as I know I live a healthy life, eat well etc, no need. All I had to do was go to the gym as normal, my status didn't matter, because my gym membership didn't depend on it. The deal they advertised.

THey aren't rewarding you for being fit and healthy at all if you already are, eg without trying to be gross, smear tests get you 150 points, but only if you had it during your policy, mine was 2 weeks before I signed up so it doesn't count. How is that rewarding people for taking care of their health? I am up to date. Should I waste NHS money and get another, pay privately to have another completely unecessarily (and lets face it it is hardly fun)?

I signed up while they were still heavily advertising the deal and I have more than kept my end of the bargain, I was mis sold my policy and gym deal and will be financially worse off than I was before even if I leave, as I will have to pay a joining fee, even to go back to my old gym, the one i left to join the Pru deal. I think they should have to honour the agreement we made, I have. I appreciate it is better for some people if you have been with it long enough and that is great. But it is impossible for those of us they deliberately reeled in more recently to get there.

I didn't sign up to be told where to do my food shopping (Sainsburys a further 20 mins from home), to jump through hoops, read articles about salt/sugar/fat levels that I already know, you can't get any 6 month check ups as they only gave us 4 months notice of the changes and I have wasted I don't know how many hours fillng in my weight and waist measurements/stress tests/bloody meal plans to get the points all of which come back, "you are doing great" which tells me absolutely nothing and still will still not get me to the points I need.

I am massively disappointed, they were still advertising this deal when they were planning the change in terms and conditions.

I hope the advertising standards agency, consumers association and Watchdog are onto this, because I'm pretty sure that more people who signed up during their heavy (and apparently misleading) advertising campaign will loose out than gain. I know 3 of us who did it this year and we will all lose financially whether we stay or go. Hurrumph

[Lornie]

Hi
My partner joined the scheme in April, he goes to LA Fitness in London 5 times per week (Seriously!!!) yet he's still not going to reach Platinum status by November.

As a genuine gym user, he feels cheated by the change of terms, especially as this was not the deal he originally signed up for and the whole point of the scheme for him was to save money (We are on a tight budget!) not to pay an over the odds memberbership of £50 per month!

Are there any ways of boosting his vitality points without wasting money on health checks or Fitbugs? He only has 750 points so far despite training 5 days per week!!!!

Are Pru Health able to change their terms so dramatically AFTER a customer has signed up to the deal?

£50 per month isn't even competitive especially as Fitness First can offer him membership for £35 per month.

[QQuaver]

Are there any ways of boosting his vitality points without wasting money on health checks or Fitbugs?
Has he done the free fitness test at his gym? That's 300 points.
Also has he done stuff on the PruHealth website?
See this post:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=12839015&postcount=778
Going to the gym 5 times a week = 150 points (should be 200, but there's a monthly cap). He'll gain 450 points for Aug, Sept, Oct.
That'll be 750 + 450 = 1200. He needs 800 extra points.

Fitness test = 300
Stress centre = 50
Meal plan = 50
Reading self help articles 30 points X 3 month = 90
Not smoking = 150
Personal Health review = 100
Online activation = 50
Guide to routinetics = 10
That's 800 points...? Unless he has already done some...
Do you shop at Sainsburys?

He could cancel his gym come Nov, and re-join once he has reached Platinum.

[brownbabygirl]

Guide to routinetics = 10



I cannot find this. Please point me in the right direction. I must say the pruhealth website is not very good for finding stuff unless you know. Thanks

[QQuaver]

I cannot find this. Please point me in the right direction. I must say the pruhealth website is not very good for finding stuff unless you know. Thanks
Can't find it either:think: It was there when I last checked back in Jan. I think it was somewhere right on the Nutrition page... Perhaps something went wrong when they revamped the site?

[Bargain Rzl]

With the monthly ones, I believe you can do 3 on the last week of jan and 3 in the first week of feb.

With half-year ones, I believe they have to be at least 6 months apart, otherwise they'd say twice a year.
Hi camaj,

Thanks for answering my question - just to add to this, I've been on the phone to PruHealth today about something else, and I asked about the 6-monthly activities and was told the following:

Within any given policy year, the two activities have to be six months apart, but crossing into a new policy year you can do the first of the two activities as early as you like. So if my policy anniversary is 29th September (which it is), I could theoretically have a fitness assessment in September and another in October and they would both count. But if instead of having one in October I were to wait until January, I'd then have to wait till July for the next one.

Hope that clarifies things for somebody :)

Oh, and in response to the more recent question: I don't know where the Routinetics thingy's gone, either.

[dottigirl]

Thank you for all the tips picked up above.

Does anyone know if it's worth joining now at all? Or would it be a waste of time/money? I'd be a very frequent user from now on.

I gave them a call but it looks like it'd be cheaper to join my local (luxurious) gym at £58pm than Pru!

(I live near Cannon's Richmond.)

(I tried to join back in February but they sent me an additional medical questionnaire which I didn't chase up. Have been trying to do stuff independently but it always fizzles out whereas I know gyms work for me for the long term.)

[QQuaver]

Thank you for all the tips picked up above.

Does anyone know if it's worth joining now at all? Or would it be a waste of time/money? I'd be a very frequent user from now on.

I gave them a call but it looks like it'd be cheaper to join my local (luxurious) gym at £58pm than Pru!

(I live near Cannon's Richmond.)

(I tried to join back in February but they sent me an additional medical questionnaire which I didn't chase up. Have been trying to do stuff independently but it always fizzles out whereas I know gyms work for me for the long term.)
Perhaps the cheapest way would be to join Pru now without the gym, and join the gym after you reach Platinum. You need to do your sums. If you are going to join a gym anyway, then in the long run, it might be worth joining the Pru Gym. It takes 6 month to get to Platinum;)

Cannons Richmond, isn't that within M25? It's not free after Nov 1st.

[dottigirl]

Perhaps the cheapest way would be to join Pru now without the gym, and join the gym after you reach Platinum. You need to do your sums. If you are going to join a gym anyway, then in the long run, it might be worth joining the Pru Gym. It takes 6 month to get to Platinum;)

Cannons Richmond, isn't that within M25? It's not free after Nov 1st.

I've got several health concerns so I'll probably never be able to claim anyway, besides I have Benenden through work. Not that I can ever claim through that either.:(

I think it's £8 for Platinum & £22-50 for the rest. WOuld be an expensive couple of months.

Thanks.

[Bargain Rzl]

Hurrah, I hit Platinum today! Well, in fact I did so a week ago, but it took them a while to process it and allocate the points.

I can now vouch for the fact that Fitness Assessments are included in the 1,500-point Exercise category limit, as the day I had my Fitness Assessment the actual act of swiping in to the gym turnstile took me up to 1,500 points in the category so I didn't gain any points at all for the Fitness Assessment itself. Gained points for improving blood pressure, though (I wasn't expecting that - I thought I'd just maintained the same level for 50 points rather than improved for 100) so tipped into Platinum without needing to make any more effort in other areas.

Because I have hit the limit, my gym visits are now clocking up 0 points each, too - I'm going to be so glad when the new rules come in and I no longer have to clock up 26 visits a quarter, because July/August is my busiest time of the year and I wish I could opt to go more sporadically!

A word of advice, reiterating a point which somebody has already mentioned earlier in this thread: when you have a Fitness Assessment, always request a photocopy of the completed form. PruHealth claimed not to have received the fax copy the gym sent them, but when I put a covering note on the photocopy and faxed it through myself, it was processed within 24 hours.

[harbinger13]

Hurrah, I hit Platinum today! Well, in fact I did so a week ago, but it took them a while to process it and allocate the points.

I can now vouch for the fact that Fitness Assessments are included in the 1,500-point Exercise category limit, as the day I had my Fitness Assessment the actual act of swiping in to the gym turnstile took me up to 1,500 points in the category so I didn't gain any points at all for the Fitness Assessment itself. Gained points for improving blood pressure, though (I wasn't expecting that - I thought I'd just maintained the same level for 50 points rather than improved for 100) so tipped into Platinum without needing to make any more effort in other areas.

Because I have hit the limit, my gym visits are now clocking up 0 points each, too - I'm going to be so glad when the new rules come in and I no longer have to clock up 26 visits a quarter, because July/August is my busiest time of the year and I wish I could opt to go more sporadically!

A word of advice, reiterating a point which somebody has already mentioned earlier in this thread: when you have a Fitness Assessment, always request a photocopy of the completed form. PruHealth claimed not to have received the fax copy the gym sent them, but when I put a covering note on the photocopy and faxed it through myself, it was processed within 24 hours.

Good job on hitting Plats :T

[aliharris]

Hey people,

I came home from university in May, and after looking around for a cheap student deal at a gym, I came across this scheme. I got my health insurance quote (£20.13/month) and was told that as long as I went to the gym more than twice each week, my membership would be free. This sounded great, Cannons is at the end of my road, and as I row for a few clubs, I would be going to the gym 5-6 times each week. I got off to a slow start due to a couple of holidays abroad, but apart from that I have attended the gym at least 4 times a week. On days I don’t go to the gym/pool, I run 8-10 kilometers to keep fit, with one day rest a week. ;)

My problem is this: I am currently on 790 points having, to the best of my knowledge, completed every aspect of the vitality scheme to get as many points as possible. Unless I am on platinum status by November, I will have no choice but to cancel my policy. I have created a healthy meal plan, confirmed that I’ve never smoked, been working out, done my first fitness assessment, read self help articles (many of which apply to children, women (menopause), the obese, or are generally common sense based, so seem to be somewhat pointless) done a personal health review, and activated online. I have also invested in a fitbug, which arrived a couple of days ago. Just looked on one of the many pru sites (confusion!) and found this:

Can I earn points for the gym and Fitbug at the same time?

“No. As both Fitbug and gym membership form part of the exercise category, you can only earn up to the maximum category limits – which is up to 10 Vitality points a day, 150 a month and 1500 a year.”

So buying a fitbug has been a waste of money. :mad: Is it possible for me to reach platinum status by Nov 1st? Does anyone know of any plan in place to ensure that recently joined members are not penalised for joining more recently than members who have had months to build up points? I can appreciate that these changes have to take place, but even though I am probably in a far better state of health and fitness than the majority on this plan, I am being penalised for joining only a couple of months ago, and although the gym will still be cheap on platinum status, I feel I have little chance of getting there, and being a student (on placement for a year, hence the membership) money is too tight to be throwing it away because pru have moved he goalposts.
Sorry this is rather long-winded, but the website simply does not answer every question.

Cheers, Ali :D

[brownbabygirl]

Hey people,

I came home from university in May, and after looking around for a cheap student deal at a gym, I came across this scheme. I got my health insurance quote (£20.13/month) and was told that as long as I went to the gym more than twice each week, my membership would be free. This sounded great, Cannons is at the end of my road, and as I row for a few clubs, I would be going to the gym 5-6 times each week. I got off to a slow start due to a couple of holidays abroad, but apart from that I have attended the gym at least 4 times a week. On days I don’t go to the gym/pool, I run 8-10 kilometers to keep fit, with one day rest a week. ;)

My problem is this: I am currently on 790 points having, to the best of my knowledge, completed every aspect of the vitality scheme to get as many points as possible. Unless I am on platinum status by November, I will have no choice but to cancel my policy. I have created a healthy meal plan, confirmed that I’ve never smoked, been working out, done my first fitness assessment, read self help articles (many of which apply to children, women (menopause), the obese, or are generally common sense based, so seem to be somewhat pointless) done a personal health review, and activated online. I have also invested in a fitbug, which arrived a couple of days ago. Just looked on one of the many pru sites (confusion!) and found this:

Can I earn points for the gym and Fitbug at the same time?

“No. As both Fitbug and gym membership form part of the exercise category, you can only earn up to the maximum category limits – which is up to 10 Vitality points a day, 150 a month and 1500 a year.”

So buying a fitbug has been a waste of money. :mad: Is it possible for me to reach platinum status by Nov 1st? Does anyone know of any plan in place to ensure that recently joined members are not penalised for joining more recently than members who have had months to build up points? I can appreciate that these changes have to take place, but even though I am probably in a far better state of health and fitness than the majority on this plan, I am being penalised for joining only a couple of months ago, and although the gym will still be cheap on platinum status, I feel I have little chance of getting there, and being a student (on placement for a year, hence the membership) money is too tight to be throwing it away because pru have moved he goalposts.
Sorry this is rather long-winded, but the website simply does not answer every question.

Cheers, Ali :D

I have calculated that you will probably only be able to hit platinum in December or January (I am assuming your second fitness test is due end of the year). I would cancel the gym membership for now (you can since they changed the terms and conditions) and use the fitbug to build up points since you are active outside the gym anyway. THEN join the gym once you hit platinum and you can go for free (given that your gym is not within M25).

[aliharris]

Hey, thanks for the reply!

I don't really want to cancel, as I need the rowing machines and weights, so I need some kind of gym facility. Also, if I was to cancel, I wouldn't want to carry on with the health insurance, as I am covered by bupa through my dads work, my pru plan's sole purpose was to get the gym for free.

I can't re-join in Jan/Feb, as I'm back at uni next September, so If I get into a 12 month contract, I have to do it now and no later, so that I can transfer it to Plymouth (where i'm at uni) or cancel it once the contract is up.

I'm gutted this isn't going to work out for me, it's frustrating that it's literally just the fact that I joined so close to the contract change that has meant it can't work, argh!

Any more ideas? Thanks in advance ;)

I think I may end up cancelling and joining cannons without anything to do with pru if it's cheaper, however the pru way may end up cheaper in the long run.. argh! confusion! :confused:

Ali :D

[alitarbegshe]

Hey, thanks for the reply!

I don't really want to cancel, as I need the rowing machines and weights, so I need some kind of gym facility. Also, if I was to cancel, I wouldn't want to carry on with the health insurance, as I am covered by bupa through my dads work, my pru plan's sole purpose was to get the gym for free.

I can't re-join in Jan/Feb, as I'm back at uni next September, so If I get into a 12 month contract, I have to do it now and no later, so that I can transfer it to Plymouth (where i'm at uni) or cancel it once the contract is up.

I'm gutted this isn't going to work out for me, it's frustrating that it's literally just the fact that I joined so close to the contract change that has meant it can't work, argh!

Any more ideas? Thanks in advance ;)

I think I may end up cancelling and joining cannons without anything to do with pru if it's cheaper, however the pru way may end up cheaper in the long run.. argh! confusion! :confused:

Ali :D
You look in exactly the same situation to me. I joined at end of may, and need to be in gym for trainig, going 4 times a week.

As mentioned before, the best status you can get for November is Gold with the earliest you would go on platinum would be for jan.

So for the period of Nov and dec, you'd be paying approx £34 per month for gym and insurance. I reckon that would still be cheaper then joining Canon upfront.

From Jan onwards your payments would be £20 pounds per month in total.

But the best is from may next year accounting for inflation and no claimsdiscount, it'll be roughly £2 per month from may 2009 to may 2010 without you having to do anything else!

So the actual added cost to you personally will be £28 more than if you went platinum in Nov, but if you look at it over 2 years still a good deal and still way better then joining upfront.

Shame you spent the money on fitbug. Try shifting it on ebay and I reckon you'll get that money back.

Hope this helps.

edit: Figures changed due to me realising your moving to plymouth in Nov, but that works out even better!!

[brownbabygirl]

You look in exactly the same situation to me. I joined at end of may, and need to be in gym for trainig, going 4 times a week.

As mentioned before, the best status you can get for November is Gold with the earliest you would go on platinum would be for jan.

So for the period of Nov and dec, you'd be paying approx £44 per month for gym and insurance. I reckon that would still be cheaper then joining Canon upfront.

From Jan onwards your payments would be 28 pounds per month in total.

But the best is from may next year accounting for inflation and no claimsdiscount, it'll be roughly £10 from jan 2009 to may 2010 without you having to do anything else!

So the actual added cost to you personally will be £28 more than if you went platinum in Nov, but if you look at it over 2 years still a good deal and still way better then joining upfront.

Shame you spent the money on fitbug. Try shifting it on ebay and I reckon you'll get that money back.

Hope this helps.

Excellent post. And of you applied via Quidco the cashback makes up for the extra cost. My £80 just got validated.:j

[aliharris]

Hey, thanks for your reply _party_

How do you suggest I get to gold by Nov? This is where I am so far..

Activity Total points to date.
Created a healthy meal plan 50
Confirmed that I’ve never smoked 150
Worked out 110 (40 owed)
First fitness assessment 300
Self help articles 30
Personal health review 100
Activated online. 50
TOTAL: 790 (830)

I think I can only max the gym and read a few more self helps before the new system comes in, therefore making me short of the points for gold.

Money that's left my bank account so far has been:

Date Healthcare / Gym
12/6 £20.13 & £25.00
1/7 £20.13 & £25.00
1/8 £20.13 & £25.00

Thats about £135 in total, £9/gym sesh.. pretty steep - another reason I don't really want to cancel, It will work out cheaper in the long-run. Will I have any more lots of £25 to come out? It was for the first 3 months only wasn't it? Or does the gym now cost £25/month until Nov, regardless of how often you go? If I do stick with it (which may be the sensible solution in the long run) I'd want to move clubs for 9 months, does anyone know if this is possible/has done it before? Alternatively, could I suspend membership and just join the uni gym (£60/year, haha) for the time i'm away?

Sorry to be a pain and keep asking questions, tell me to shut up when you've all had enough and i'll stop! :p

Cheers,

Alistair

[alitarbegshe]

One more lot of £25 on 1st oct, then £0 on 1st nov, then £14 on 1/12 and 1/1.

Is possible to change local club if moving, dunno how many times allowed.

I'd query the 1st payment of £20.13. Should be lower since you are only paying for part of month.

Yeah, suspending payment and joining uni gym will be cheaper. But then you would have useless insurace (for you anyway) so better to cancel. Have to weigh up facilities and decide.

[aliharris]

alitarbegshe,

for the record, I agree with what you've said in your previous posts, the scheme was 'too good to be true' and I would not be b*tching if it was an extra £8 i'd have to pay, like some people are! As long as it averages at under £40/month for the year overall, i'm happy. I think my cannons is £70/month otherwise(!)

Cheers for all your words of wisdom :-) If and when I get a reply, I'll post it on here in the hope it can help others - I just got an email from someone at pru saying they are researching what i've asked for me, and should be in contact again soon, so sounds promising!

Ali

[Bargain Rzl]

Hey, thanks for your reply _party_

How do you suggest I get to gold by Nov? This is where I am so far..

Activity Total points to date.
Created a healthy meal plan 50
Confirmed that I’ve never smoked 150
Worked out 110 (40 owed)
First fitness assessment 300
Self help articles 30
Personal health review 100
Activated online. 50
TOTAL: 790 (830)
You don't seem to have done the stress questionnaire yet (50 points) :)

[alitarbegshe]

alitarbegshe,

for the record, I agree with what you've said in your previous posts, the scheme was 'too good to be true' and I would not be b*tching if it was an extra £8 i'd have to pay, like some people are! As long as it averages at under £40/month for the year overall, i'm happy. I think my cannons is £70/month otherwise(!)

Cheers for all your words of wisdom :-) If and when I get a reply, I'll post it on here in the hope it can help others - I just got an email from someone at pru saying they are researching what i've asked for me, and should be in contact again soon, so sounds promising!

Ali

I've done the sums, and over a year, your 1st year its £30.80, and in second its £2. So over 2 years it's about £16 !!

[aliharris]

Thanks for that, I think i'm just going to carry on, the next few months will be expensive but its a means to an end I guess! The fact is I'm not going to reach platinum in time, but I assume as soon as I do, the gym cost will fall to £8?

Thanks again :)

[aliharris]

Bargain, you're right - I've just set it up :-) Hope they have a module on 'Stress caused by Pruhealth changes' - experiencing a lot of that at the moment :-P

Thanks!

Ali

[alitarbegshe]

Thanks for that, I think i'm just going to carry on, the next few months will be expensive but its a means to an end I guess! The fact is I'm not going to reach platinum in time, but I assume as soon as I do, the gym cost will fall to £8?

Thanks again :)

Yes and no. When you move to plymouth and during your time there, it will be free (thats how I've done the sums), being out of M25 circle. It's only during your time in London that the payments would be £8. Now if your wanting multi-club membership, which pruhealth may suggest if you tell them your a student and flicking between the 2 places. It's £20.

But yeah, once you hit platinum, you stay at that level for the rest of that policy year and the next.

[whowants2brich]

I'm just coming up to the end of my second year of Pru Health membership, has been great for me. Initially signed up to get 6 months free gym membership instead of any cashback, but that was a great way to get to silver/gold status in the 6 months, I think I was on platinum after 8 months of membership, without really trying too hard.

The following things will help over the next 3 months (ie until end of October):

- 30 points x 3 months = 90 points for reading self-help stuff online, even if you don't actually need to read them, you'll still get the points

- when you're at gold/silver status, have the cheapest health scan, and get 200 points, that will speed things up. the money you spend on the health scan will push you up a level and save some money on the gym membership one or two months early.

- gym visits: 3 a week, 13 weeks = 39 visits, 390 points

I just worked out for my partner to join asap, if she can get to silver status before the end of October, gold status within 3 months, and platinum within 3 months, she'd have the last 3 months of the year's gym membership for free...

£25 activation fee
3 months at £25 (before they change the pricing)
3 months at £30 (silver status LA fitness outside of London)
3 months at £14 (gold status LA fitness)
3 months at £0 (platinum status at LA fitness)

Following year: max £5 per month for health insurance policy, and £0 for gym membership...

I remember reading that people must never calculate this Pru Health deal on the basis of the first year - which will always work out expensive. Think always of the second year, which will cost virtually nothing - assuming that there is no claim on the policy - and that's when the savings kick in!

[hasil]

Hey

I started in april-may time. I have 400 points. Just doen first fitness assessment yesterday. Do i have to wait six montsh to do the second one or can i do it in october when my six months with pru/virgin complete.

Secondly, is there any way i can reach platinum by novermber (cant get the numbers straight), and if there are any health screens that i can pay for (if they are coniderably cheap) given that i get 200-400 points.

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks

[Bargain Rzl]

Hi hasil,

The fitness assessments must be at least 6 months apart within any policy year. So if your policy started in April and you had a FA in April, you could have another in October, but as you waited until yesterday for your first one you won't be able to do another until on or after 3rd February.

I checked this very question with PruHealth a couple of days ago so what I've said should be correct.

The prices for health screenings depend on your Vitality status (I'm guessing you're probably Silver at the moment?) and can be found on the PruHealth website under Our Vitality Partners. You will probably find that anything other than the Basic screens (for 200 points) are pretty expensive unless you are on Platinum.

Hope this helps...

[hasil]

Hey i was getin a bit confused with reagards to one thing...........


I started in april/may. Was a frequest user for the 1st Quarter, is my premium now going to be £15/month for virgin active (tier2).

[aliharris]

I'm back :P

Can anyone explain how you can earn points buying fresh fruit & veg using your nectar card in Sainsburys? It's really badly worded on the website.. the example is rubbish:

***Each week we’ll add up the total spend on fresh fruit and veg and calculate how many Vitality points you’ll be awarded. For example, if there are two Nectar cards on a policy and the weekly spend for both is £1.99 and £3.99, the weekly total would be £5.98. This would give you 2 Vitality points. You can earn up to 10 Vitality points per week as an individual with an annual limit of 520 points and 20 points for families per week with an annual limit of 1040 points.***

So, do you get 1 point each time you use your card? Is there a minimum spend? Can I go and buy a carrot for 4p 10 times in a week to get 10 points? Can I queue up at the checkout and pay for each individual carrot separately with my nectar card and get my 10 points?!

Very confused... I think monkeys have written what's on pru's website, nothing is clear.

Cheers, Ali

[aliharris]

a quick go on google, and i've found the answer...;)

"Policyholders will get one Vitality point for every £2 they spent on fresh fruit and vegetables but benefits will be capped at 10 points per week. Families will be limited to 20 points per week per family policy." http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?d=pnd2&f=pndf2&h=pndh2&id=149041

Now I understand. Why can't pru make things clearer on their own website? The example they give means nothing, all they need to say is 'We will add up what you spend on fruit and veg over each week, and give you 1 point per £2 spent, up to a maximum of 10 points'

Why oh why are they so incompetant :mad:

So to get the maximum points, people, you need to spend £20/week on fresh fruit & veg.. I feel that vegetarians and people doing big family shops are at somewhat of an advantage! Meh..

[whowants2brich]

Isn't it 1 point for every £2 spent on fruit and veg at Sainsburys? If you by a 4p carrot 10 times in one week, that's only 40p so no points. But 5 lots of 40p worth of fruit and veg in one week = £2 = 1 point.

You don't get 1 point for spending anything on fruit and veg, there is a minimum spend of £2 for each point, and £2 for each additional point.

[whowants2brich]

I feel that vegetarians and people doing big family shops are at somewhat of an advantage! Meh..

Yep, but is there a correlation between being a veggie and being healthier? More fruit and veg apparently helps people to fight loads of medical issues. At least, that's what Pru Health would like us to believe! :)

[stellastar]

Can anyone help me understand the costs? I cant get any sense out of the website and the pages are taking forever to load, needing to hit refresh over and over before I might maybe if I'm lucky get to read one page...

I joined in June and joined Cannons in July so for the gym I've only paid two months at £25 each (July and August) as it's £25 for three months and £25 to register I still have 2 months of paying £25, which covers September and October.
According to Pru my gym membership with be £45 from November 1st

Does that mean as of November 1st I'm paying my £24 premium and £45 for the gym? so £70 a month for gym membership really (only reason I joined)?

What happens when I improve my vitality status? I worked out I can reach silver by November but not quite gold until another month or two - does that mean my gym membership will go down a bit but I'll still pay the £24 on top of it?

I cant find anything on the site (or the page wont load) to tell me how much I'll pay in total, premium and gym membership. They emailed me a link to a new website which was supposed to make the costs clear, but apparently the website does not exist so i cant acces it!

If I can't get my gym membership down below £25 a month, which it doesn't look like I can, I'm wasting my time with pru (and wasted a fair amount of cash :( ) and better off just joining a gym direct.

[aliharris]

Hey Stella,

I'm by no means a pro on this.. i've had to ask a load of questions and contact pru loads... but this is my take on it:

Year 1 (June-June in your case) you pay £24/month health insurance. The gym you say is £45... once you get your vitality points up this will drop. I would assume that as soon as you get to the next tier, it would drop but I think up until now this has only been possible after each block of 3 months (where they averaged out gym visits, which is how it's been worked out in the past). Once you've done a year, you will hopefully be on platinum status. This will make your £24 health insurance drop, and you're £45 gym membership will be lower too from the vitality points.

Someone made a good point earlier: The first year will work out a bit pricey (probably still cheaper than the gym without pru - I think mine is meant to be £70/month or something stupid) It's years 2,3 and onwards that will get really cheap, given that you don't claim on the insurance.

My insurance is £20.13/month, my last 3 payments have been £25 for gym.. I don't know what the next one will be, i'm about 10 gym visits shy of silver and hope to be platinum by Jan..

Hope this helps a bit.. i've digressed a little.. :p

Ali

[Bargain Rzl]

Someone made a good point earlier: The first year will work out a bit pricey (probably still cheaper than the gym without pru - I think mine is meant to be £70/month or something stupid) It's years 2,3 and onwards that will get really cheap, given that you don't claim on the insurance.
Absolutely. The way I decided to go with PruHealth was to work out roughly how cheap it was going to be in the long run, then work out where the money was going to come from for the initial higher outlay (the Quidco cashback, which was £110 at the time, covered the £25 set-up fee and the initial 3 months of higher fees, so effectively cost me nothing). I'm now paying £25 for the gym as I'm a frequent user of the highest-tier Cannons membership (including City club which is my usual branch) and £33.53 for the insurance premium, so OK I'm paying £58.33 a month in total at the moment, but the standard fees for Cannons City club are getting on for £100 a month, so it's still a very good deal. I'm now on Platinum with my policy anniversary coming up at the end of September, so with the premium going down to a few pounds and the gym fee remaining the same for me as a Platinum member, it should be costing me only a shade over £30 a month in total thereafter. £30 a month for use of Cannons lovely flagship club and spa... it's these longer-term figures that mattered most to me when I was trying to work out whether or not to sign up, and for me it was a no-brainer.

[brownbabygirl]

I agree that especially with the changes, you need to look at things from a LONG TERM perspective.

[stellastar]

Hey Stella,

I'm by no means a pro on this.. i've had to ask a load of questions and contact pru loads... but this is my take on it:

Hope this helps a bit.. i've digressed a little.. :p

Ali

Thank you! I think I'm getting somewhere with this now!

I've managed to get onto the bit of the site that tells me what the gym costs for each status, I'm with Cannons outside of London so
Bronze £42
Silver £30
Gold £14
Platinum £0

i think I'm going to have to get a Fitbug to get th points up quick enough, but by the time I get it I'll be a month down... anyway if all goes to plan By the time November comes I should be silver anf able to get to Gold for December and Platinum by Jan or Feb
Which means only one month, November I'll be paying £55ish in total which is what the gym charge anyway, before and after November I'll still be cheaper than any of the gyms around here

So overall if I sort out the points I'm only worse off under the new rules for 2 months and the £15 for a fit bug - assuming that if I get to say gold by the end of November I get charged Gold rates for December under the new rules?

What happens to my premium next July if I am at platinum status? I'm not quite sure how the first year discount and the status discounts work out - it kind of looks like platinum status gives you the gym at £0 and 100% discount on premiums... which cant be right!


I've done hardly any work all today trying to work this out! Have to say It's looking better than what I initally thought whe I got the email - £70 a month!

If I just join a gym normally I'd be paying about £50 a month but my work would pay half so maybe I'm just as well doing that and saving the complications of meeting vitality points deadlines

[aliharris]

BEWARE!

The curse of the fitbug... Each month you can earn 150pts through fitness.. This is 15 trips to the gym, OR 15 days using your fitbug (no gym on these days and over 12,500 steps) or a mixture of the two.. so basically, if you use your fitbug 15 days in a month, gym for the remaining days of the month, whatever happens, you'll only ever get a maximum of 150 points a month, as fitbug use and gym visits come under the same catagory which is capped at 150points/month.

I bought a fitbug a few weeks ago, but just as I registered it, someone posted about the above conditions.. as I go to the gym 5/6 times a week, it's now useless too me. To be fair, i'm 19, male and the prospect of carrying round a pedometer makes me cringe, i'll probably give it to my mum!? or attach it to the dog somehow.... hmm?

So.. don't bother with one if you're going to go to the gym 15 times a month!

[Bargain Rzl]

What happens to my premium next July if I am at platinum status? I'm not quite sure how the first year discount and the status discounts work out - it kind of looks like platinum status gives you the gym at £0 and 100% discount on premiums... which cant be right!
That is basically right. The premium won't ever be £0.00, though, because the 100% discount is the cost of the new year's basic premium minus the previous year's basic premium. When I say basic premium, that's the amount that you're automatically only paying 75% of in your first year.

The new year's basic premium will be more expensive than the current year's, to take account of inflation and the fact that you're a year older. So you subtract the old one from the new one and you'll still be left with a few quid.

Example:

Current year's premium = £40 a month (of which you're paying £30, because of the automatic 25% discount in Year 1)
New Year's premium = £40 a month + (for the sake of argument) 10% = £44
So if you end year 1 on platinum, you'll be paying £44 - £40 = £4 a month.

Plus whatever your gym fee works out at, which could be £0.00 if you're Platinum.

Hope this makes sense!

[aliharris]

What happens to my premium next July if I am at platinum status? I'm not quite sure how the first year discount and the status discounts work out - it kind of looks like platinum status gives you the gym at £0 and 100% discount on premiums... which cant be right!

I have heard of people ending up paying nothing, so that might be the case? I'm sure someone else on here will have the answer.

My Cannons is in Cheam, Surrey, but within the M25... so my gym will be £8 more than yours on whatever status i'm on.. it's at bit cheeky really.. they should charge this extra premium for clubs in London, which have London postcodes, though I'm in the London borough of Sutton... hmm.. i'm going to stop my !!!!!ing, it's still cheap :p

[stellastar]

BEWARE!

The curse of the fitbug... Each month you can earn 150pts through fitness.. This is 15 trips to the gym, OR 15 days using your fitbug (no gym on these days and over 12,500 steps) or a mixture of the two.. so basically, if you use your fitbug 15 days in a month, gym for the remaining days of the month, whatever happens, you'll only ever get a maximum of 150 points a month, as fitbug use and gym visits come under the same catagory which is capped at 150points/month.

I bought a fitbug a few weeks ago, but just as I registered it, someone posted about the above conditions.. as I go to the gym 5/6 times a week, it's now useless too me. To be fair, i'm 19, male and the prospect of carrying round a pedometer makes me cringe, i'll probably give it to my mum!? or attach it to the dog somehow.... hmm?

So.. don't bother with one if you're going to go to the gym 15 times a month!

Ah! Thank you! I knew they each had a monthly limit but for some reason thought they were only combined for the anual limit, so I'm probalby looking at March maybe Feb until platinum status, unless I can bump it up with sainsburys and ebay and however many points you get with the boots health check - if it's worth enough points to justify £25!

Plus I keep forgetting I signe dup through Quidco so muct be due that in the next month or two which should make up for the two more expensive months.

Even for someone quite new to PruHealth the new rules aren't looking too bad at all now I've spent a whole day sussing it out:rotfl:

[aliharris]

Haha, it's taken me ages to make sense of it too.. I've just been working out how to get more points using Sainsburys and Ebay, even if i max them both out, i'll still be 350 points short come Nov 1st.. I'm going to look into these health checks, they may be worth the money to boost points and be good too... bit worried to find out how many ailments i've got though! All this pru stuff has caused a major lax in my work..

[stellastar]

That is basically right. The premium won't ever be £0.00, though, because the 100% discount is the cost of the new year's basic premium minus the previous year's basic premium. When I say basic premium, that's the amount that you're automatically only paying 75% of in your first year.

The new year's basic premium will be more expensive than the current year's, to take account of inflation and the fact that you're a year older. So you subtract the old one from the new one and you'll still be left with a few quid.

Example:

Current year's premium = £40 a month (of which you're paying £30, because of the automatic 25% discount in Year 1)
New Year's premium = £40 a month + (for the sake of argument) 10% = £44
So if you end year 1 on platinum, you'll be paying £44 - £40 = £4 a month.

Plus whatever your gym fee works out at, which could be £0.00 if you're Platinum.

Hope this makes sense!

It does! Thank you!

Assuming I make platinum by next June I could potentially just be paying the £4 part or whatever that amount happens to be! Or even if I was still at gold There's still the 75% discount plus only £14 for gym so still miles cheaper overall.
It's a good thing I came on here I was just going to cancel in disgust!

[brownbabygirl]

It does! Thank you!

Assuming I make platinum by next June I could potentially just be paying the £4 part or whatever that amount happens to be! Or even if I was still at gold There's still the 75% discount plus only £14 for gym so still miles cheaper overall.
It's a good thing I came on here I was just going to cancel in disgust!

Yes, def stick with it if you intend to keep fit in the long term. I am up for renewal in January and I expect my insurance will not be more than £5. Coupled with the £8 (rip-off) fee for the gym this totals no more than a measly £13 per month for the gym plus extra benefits for reaching platinum as outlined in my siggy! I can't wait!:D

[aliharris]

I almost cancelled too... It's worth it though if you plan to stick with it for at least a couple of years (as long as pru don't change the t's&c's again..:rolleyes:)

[whowants2brich]

I remember reading that people must never calculate this Pru Health deal on the basis of the first year - which will always work out expensive. Think always of the second year, which will cost virtually nothing - assuming that there is no claim on the policy - and that's when the savings kick in!

It's me who wrote that... :)

In year one, I paid £18 a month for the premium, 6 months free gym membership and free activation, then 6 months at £25. Then they started messing around with the gym prices, so that... Average £30.50 per month!

In year two, I paid £3.50 a month for the premium, 3 months at £25, 3 months at £40, 3 months at £15 then cancelled the gym membership in anticipation for November. Average £23.50 for 12 months, though gym for only 8 months would be £35.25 per month, which is still not bad! Didn't want to pay £40 (occasional usage). However, if I join the LA fitness now, I'd pay £25 per month + £25 activation = £100 for 3 months (regardless of frequency), vs £160 at Virgin Active for the 4 months at £40 that I would've had to pay...

July / Aug / Sept / Oct, I may not have gym membership, but I've got platinum status secure for my next policy year, so I will pay £0 for the LA fitness near to home, as opposed to £15 for the tier 2 Virgin Active near to where I work (and where I have been a member for the past 18 months).

Therefore in year three, I'll pay somewhere around £4 per month as I'll be a platinum member again for the health policy, and £0 per month for the gym. Average of £4 per month! Beat that! :)

[whowants2brich]

PS I wonder if we could organise a MSE Platinum Pru Health Reunion at a Champneys near us soon... Maybe on the Sunday of a bank holiday weekend... I wouldn't be surprised if we'd all go along without knowing who else was there, not knowing that we're all reading the same threads here on MSE... ;)

[brownbabygirl]

PS I wonder if we could organise a MSE Platinum Pru Health Reunion at a Champneys near us soon... Maybe on the Sunday of a bank holiday weekend... I wouldn't be surprised if we'd all go along without knowing who else was there, not knowing that we're all reading the same threads here on MSE... ;)


I would love that as well! I am aiming to hit platinum later this year and first thing would be to book a nice time at Champneys! I plan to go alone so meeting other MSEers would be great!

[whowants2brich]

I I plan to go alone so meeting other MSEers would be great!

Nothing better than sitting alone at dinner, sharing the lovely relaxing environment and a lettuce leaf with a glass of water (or fruit juice).... I can imagine by day it'd be heavenly to be alone, but meals and relaxing after dinner might get a bit boring when spent alone...

[whowants2brich]

For those needing some extra points, the following may help but may not be suitable for all ;)

Flu jab - 100 points
Pap smear - 150 points
Read the self-help sites, 30 points per month
Stress zone - 50 points
Meal plan - 50 points
Basic health assessment - 200 points (may cost £25-£45 but if it reduces your gym membership faster then it'll be worth it ;))
I'm looking forward to turning 35, I can then get a cholesterol screening once every 5 years and get 150 points per year... hopefully the screening won't show up anything worrying! :)

PS If anyone can join the Vitality Med programme, not that you would want to - I'd rather be fit and healthy than suffer from asthma etc - but if you can, then join, cos you get 50% more points for whatever you do...

[brownbabygirl]

Nothing better than sitting alone at dinner, sharing the lovely relaxing environment and a lettuce leaf with a glass of water (or fruit juice).... I can imagine by day it'd be heavenly to be alone, but meals and relaxing after dinner might get a bit boring when spent alone...

Def agree with you. Should we start a thread.....?

[aliharris]

Can a 19yo Male get a pap screen? If not, i'm suing them for sexism.. :p

What's the deal with taking guests to Champneys? The prices on pru website are 'per person when sharing' which I'm guessing means two pruhealth members. Theres a number to call to get prices on guests.. has anyone done it before/have any idea what kind of price a guest should expect to pay? Don't want to phone them, as only going to go after November sort of time, once i'm on at least gold.

I may stop going out drinking at weekends and spend the £50 on an over-night stay at Champneys to pamper myself! :D

[Bargain Rzl]

I think I read (either on this thread or the other PruHealth thread) something about a £90 rate for guests, though I don't know whether it varies between Champney's locations or whether it is more if the member taking the guest is less than Platinum.

[harbinger13]

Question on Meal plan.
Max we can score 100 - but I recently did one meal plan for 50 and another one after a week - I expected another 50 - but it did not show up - what is the minimum 'wait' period before preparing the second plan so as to gain the full 100 points.

Thanks in Advance

[Bargain Rzl]

The Vitality Points guide (pdf doc on PruHealth website) states that the meal plan is a once per half year activity - you can do the meal plan as often as you like, but after getting points for the first one it'll be six months before you can do another which counts for points.

[whowants2brich]

The Pru Health website page for the Champneys deal says that there is a specific price for guests, and that Pru Health members can take up to 3 guests at a time and pay a set rate.

http://www.pruhealth.co.uk/insurance/vitality/vitality_partners/champneys_health_resorts

Click on the link in the middle of the page for "guest prices".

[mark36]

Hi, just made Platinum - so am I correct a 3 night stay at Champneys would be £120 for a single room with all meals? That's better than a Travelodge deal if it is.

Anyone been? What's the food like and do they have a bar, I deserve a drink after hitting platinum !:beer:

I'm nearly 38 and my new premium is £35.75 total for the year. On top of my all London Virgin gyms membership (but not the real fancy ones) at £25 that's £28.75 per month. A friend of mine with the same gym membership at Virgin is paying £70 per month.

It has been expensive tis first year, fortunately I joined at the right time, need to keep up the gym and vitality stuff to keep the price low. Shame the Quidco payment doesn't appear to have materialised.

Mark

[aliharris]

whowants... genius! Cheers for that..! ;) Don't know why I couldn't find it earlier :o

[Bargain Rzl]

Because it seems to be available only on the public part of the site, with no link to it from the members' area - and I'm guessing, like me, you log straight in when you visit the site ;)

[aliharris]

you guess correctly.. and what member wouldn't automatically do that? Pru really are a bunch of window lickers.. althogh i'm going to stick (even though it's not what I signed up for, and its going to cost me more) their general idiocy is enough to make me want to tell them to shove it up their :mad:rse..!

meh.. :p

[harbinger13]

Where do I find this article on the website - Guide to routinetics. I need 10 free points according my calculations to reach 2000 by Oct - rest of the points like gym-ing, fitness assessment etc are calculated.

It was mentioned in a post before but the actual location was not.

Thanks in Advance.

[Bargain Rzl]

It doesn't seem to be on the site any more, harbinger - whether they've withdrawn it deliberately or just lost it by accident when updating the site, I don't know. Why not phone them and ask?

[troublesome51]

Is making Platinum possible for me?

Nutrition 50
Non Smoker 150
Exercise 540
(300 Fitness Assesment on 29/07/08 not shown up yet?? )
Reading 30
Stress Centre 50
Personal Health Review 100
Registering Online 50

Total to Date 970 (Bronze)

+ 300 Fitness
+ 420 Max Gym Points
+ 90 Self Help Articles

Gained by Oct 31 - 1780

Anyone tell me anyway to earn anymore points with limited cost?? :confused:

Thanks very much!!!:rolleyes:

[Bargain Rzl]

Assuming from your figures that you're only a few months into your policy year, the cheapest way to do it is probably to grin and bear it until you reach Platinum naturally by making gym visits in November and December plus a couple of self help articles if you're not going to be going to the gym enough in those months. You'll be on Gold by Oct 31st after all - how much more would 2 months at Gold rates cost you than 2 months at Platinum rates?

Because you're over 200 points short, a basic health screen won't make up the difference, so the only way I can see that you could make Platinum earlier is by having a full health screen, which if you wait till you're on Gold would cost you £100.

Therefore I'm guessing your best option is to swallow the additional cost of Gold-level gym membership for November and December, and you should be Platinum by the end of the year at which time your gym rate will go down to the lowest available cost.

(And I'd chase up the fitness assessment points if I were you. It shouldn't take over a week. My last one did, and when I chased it they said they hadn't received it. I faxed them a copy, and the points were credited the next day.)

[brownbabygirl]

Is making Platinum possible for me?

Nutrition 50
Non Smoker 150
Exercise 540
(300 Fitness Assesment on 29/07/08 not shown up yet?? )
Reading 30
Stress Centre 50
Personal Health Review 100
Registering Online 50

Total to Date 970 (Bronze)

+ 300 Fitness
+ 420 Max Gym Points
+ 90 Self Help Articles

Gained by Oct 31 - 1780

Anyone tell me anyway to earn anymore points with limited cost?? :confused:

Thanks very much!!!:rolleyes:

if you have improved your BMI or blood pressure I a told u can get extra points and that cld put u close to platinum at least

[Bargain Rzl]

But looking at troublesome's figures, it looks like (s)he's in his/her first six months, which would mean the fitness assessment (s)he's just had was the first one of the year. If it's his/her first one ever, and (s)he had it on 29th July, (s)he can't do another one until January and there won't be any "improvement or maintenance" points available at this stage as you can't start getting those until your second one...

[troublesome51]

Assuming from your figures that you're only a few months into your policy year, the cheapest way to do it is probably to grin and bear it until you reach Platinum naturally by making gym visits in November and December plus a couple of self help articles if you're not going to be going to the gym enough in those months. You'll be on Gold by Oct 31st after all - how much more would 2 months at Gold rates cost you than 2 months at Platinum rates?

Because you're over 200 points short, a basic health screen won't make up the difference, so the only way I can see that you could make Platinum earlier is by having a full health screen, which if you wait till you're on Gold would cost you £100.

Therefore I'm guessing your best option is to swallow the additional cost of Gold-level gym membership for November and December, and you should be Platinum by the end of the year at which time your gym rate will go down to the lowest available cost.

(And I'd chase up the fitness assessment points if I were you. It shouldn't take over a week. My last one did, and when I chased it they said they hadn't received it. I faxed them a copy, and the points were credited the next day.)

Cheers i thought this would be the case, i think i'll give them a call about the fitness assesment as well.

its only £21 a month when i'm on gold membership, so i suppose its not too bad.

Thanks once again :T

[troublesome51]

But looking at troublesome's figures, it looks like (s)he's in his/her first six months, which would mean the fitness assessment (s)he's just had was the first one of the year. If it's his/her first one ever, and (s)he had it on 29th July, (s)he can't do another one until January and there won't be any "improvement or maintenance" points available at this stage as you can't start getting those until your second one...

Correct Detective ;)

[Bargain Rzl]

Oh, I've just thought! What dates did you do your Nutrition meal plan and your Stress questionnaire? Because if you did them earlier than mid-May, you'll be able to gain your second set of points for doing them again before the end of November (50+50) which would mean you could just make 12 gym visits during November and you'd be on Platinum by the end of November, which would mean you'd only be stuck on Gold for one month instead of two.

[harbinger13]

2008/07/01 - 10 2008/07/02 - 10 2008/07/03 - 10 2008/07/04 - 10 2008/07/11 - 10 2008/07/14 - 10 2008/07/15 - 10 2008/07/16 - 10 2008/07/17 - 10 2008/07/18 - 10 2008/07/22 - 0 2008/07/23 - 0 2008/07/24 - 0 2008/07/28 - 10 2008/07/29 - 10 2008/07/30 - 10

In the month suddenly they have not awarded me points for 2 visits - I have got 13 out of 15 - not sure why they did not. Written to them. But would any one of you - our diligent specialists - have an idea :confused:.

Sorry, I have had to count/search points using a comb! Need every point before Nov1 to reach plats :).

Thanks for your help

[Bargain Rzl]

harbinger, that does look strange. Normally the only times you'd be awarded 0 for something would be if you'd hit the points limit for the category (which you clearly haven't as you've got points for later visits).

Fitbug can show up as 0 if you've been to the gym the same day, but as far as I know, it's always prioritised that way round - if you'd been to the gym and got 12,500+ Fitbug steps on the same day, it would always be the gym that would show 10 and the Fitbug that would show 0.

Definitely query it, I can't think why it wouldn't have given you all your points.

oh, and by the way, "diligent specialists" my ar5e - it doesn't take that much intelligence to know more about PruHealth's rules than their CS advisors do :D :rotfl:

[Bargain Rzl]

Oh hang on, harbinger, I think I know what's happened...

Did you by any chance start your policy around the 25th of the month?

In which case, your 150-points-a-month limit will apply from 25th-24th of each month, not from 1st-31st ;) The fact that all your zeroes are in a block leading up to the 25th-ish of the month leads me to that conclusion ;)

(Not to be confused with the gym fees, which always run from 1st of the month.)

[MikeDaveRoss]

My first year with Pruhealth was up end of July & in an attept to increase my vitality status next year to Platinum (upon hearing of the changes come Nov) I went to the gym every day in July...

Now looking at the my online vitality points statement, the visits are registered but with 0 points next to the last ones...

I phoned Pruhealth who informed me you can only claim for 15 visits per month!?!

I told them I was never informed of this & they're 'looking into it'...its the different between me paying £8 in Nov or £22!

Anyone else heard of this? I cant see or was aware of anything other than one visit per day, 1500 points per year limit...

EDIT: Caught up with the news on previous pages RE 15/150 monthly points limit but Pruhealth asked me how I activated my gym membership. Seems if it was online you may have agreed to the terms (if they were in place?) but I had to active by phone when the offer first started for Virgin...will update when I get a response from Pru.

[whowants2brich]

if you have improved your BMI or blood pressure I a told u can get extra points and that cld put u close to platinum at least

As you're female (I'd be scared if you were male with a name like that ;)) then you can have a pap smear at your GP for free - and a flu jab while you're at it - 250 points in total, and would push you over to platinum!

If you can have both of these before the end of October, you'll be platinum in time...

Good luck!

[Scumbag]

I'm sure there is a faster way for people to rack up points in a short time:

There is a 1500 point limit on the Exercise category
There is a 15 visit/150 point per month limit on the Gym category
There is a 10 point per day limit on combination of fitbug & gym visits

....however I see nothing that says there is any specific limit on the number of points per month that you can get via fitbug (regardless of what the muppets on the helpdesk might be telling people!)

Hence ** As long as you have not reached the 1500 per annum exercise limit ** in a 30 day month, you could visit the gym 10 times (100 points), and use fitbug for 12500+ steps on the remaining 20 days (200 points). Giving a grand total of 300 points in that month

This could be the best way to get up to that all important platinum level by renewal time for anyone who is struggling. It obviously doesnt help for those who are already maxing out on the Exercise limit (ie have been going to the gym religiously all year), but there are plenty of people (like me) for whom the change of terms has come as a surprise, and therefore need to rack up some points swiftly

If anyone can point out the point on the .pdf where I've missed something, then I'll engage in a bit of hat-eating ;)

Good luck to all
SB

[xssc32x]

Hi, could somebody please help me understand a few things about the changes to Pruhealth/gym membership. My current situation is that i've had pruhealth insurance via Boots since Sept 17th 2007. My premium is £16.33 per month and I pay £0 for the use of Cannons Gym in Warwick. My current vitality points are 1840 (up to max number of 1500 for Gym visits, and have also done all I can online) what happens to these points when i renew my policy on Sept 17th, will they carry on rolling over? and as long as I get the platinum status (2000 points) by Nov 1st I will still not have to pay for gym membership? Or is it advisable to do boots health check (around £25) and ensure I am at Platinum status before Sept 17th when I am due to renew policy? Any help would be appreciated.

[QQuaver]

what happens to these points when i renew my policy on Sept 17th, will they carry on rolling over?
The points will be reset, you will retain 10% of the current points.
Your status (Gold?) is valid until Sept 2009.
Or is it advisable to do boots health check (around £25) and ensure I am at Platinum status before Sept 17th when I am due to renew policy?Yes, if you can't get it elsewhere.
If you joined via Boots, then the health check is free. Order a voucher on the website. It will be delivered by post, but is in your inbox as well to print out.

[whowants2brich]

Hi, could somebody please help me understand a few things about the changes to Pruhealth/gym membership. My current situation is that i've had pruhealth insurance via Boots since Sept 17th 2007. My premium is £16.33 per month and I pay £0 for the use of Cannons Gym in Warwick. My current vitality points are 1840 (up to max number of 1500 for Gym visits, and have also done all I can online) what happens to these points when i renew my policy on Sept 17th, will they carry on rolling over? and as long as I get the platinum status (2000 points) by Nov 1st I will still not have to pay for gym membership? Or is it advisable to do boots health check (around £25) and ensure I am at Platinum status before Sept 17th when I am due to renew policy? Any help would be appreciated.

Your points will be reset and you'll need to get a whole new 2000 points to become platinum. You will therefore not hit platinum status for the next membership year, and your gym fees will be gold for the next 12 months.

I'd strongly suggest that you pay for a health test (or get a free one as you're with boots and I think it's free for boots health club members). You'll get the 200 points, be platinum, and keep that membership level (and virtually free gym membership) for the next 12 months.

[whowants2brich]

I just worked out for my partner to join asap, if she can get to silver status before the end of October, gold status within 3 months, and platinum within 3 months, she'd have the last 3 months of the year's gym membership for free...

£25 activation fee
3 months at £25 (before they change the pricing)
3 months at £30 (silver status LA fitness outside of London)
3 months at £14 (gold status LA fitness)
3 months at £0 (platinum status at LA fitness)

Following year: max £5 per month for health insurance policy, and £0 for gym membership...

I remember reading that people must never calculate this Pru Health deal on the basis of the first year - which will always work out expensive. Think always of the second year, which will cost virtually nothing - assuming that there is no claim on the policy - and that's when the savings kick in!

An update: My partner signed up, went to the gym to have a look, and cancelled pretty quickly. The only local gym that's covered by the Pru Health policy was a dump, dirty, the car park was suffering from subsidence and so there were not enough places to park, it was in need of a major overhaul and so she would never use the gym.

If it's that bad, I don't think even I'd want to sign up for it, even if it is free because I'd be platinum and it's outside of the M25.

I wonder what Pru Health would say if they were losing customers because of the state of some of the gyms.......

[QQuaver]

I wonder what Pru Health would say if they were losing customers because of the state of some of the gyms.......
The gym (Cannons) I joined is great, clean and friendly. Good air conditioning and, not too busy. I love my gym, and don't want to move, ever:cool:

[brownbabygirl]

The gym (Cannons) I joined is great, clean and friendly. Good air conditioning and, not too busy. I love my gym, and don't want to move, ever:cool:

yeah me too, I am with Cannons as well. Great gym in Wimbledon just around the corner from my work and home. Being within M25 I will have to pay £8 per month come November but it is worth it and still a cracking deal!:D

[Redknapp]

The new look site is active now. Eurostar, Cineworld are on their as rewards. Plus you can get 100points extra by completing a review.

[aliharris]

Is it just me or is anyone else having probles with this new website?

Things are taking ages to load, not loading at all, had to do the vitality assessment 3 times as the first two didn't finish properly... Whenever I open emails within the site, they all say 'Please click on the attachements to view'.. there are no attachments! Confusion!

Just teething problems I hope, looking forward to the 100 bonus points being credited ;)

[Redknapp]

Loading on the site is very slow at present.

[Bargain Rzl]

Seems to be working a lot better now than it was earlier this morning, except for the fact that I couldn't get into my inbox.

I like the look of the new site - and the 100 points for the Vitality assessment should be very useful to some people who are struggling to hit Platinum (what category are they in - General?). I'll leave off doing mine until the end of September when my policy anniversary has passed, cos it's a waste of points for me otherwise.

[Redknapp]

Looks like you can earn points for meeting goals you set yourself within a certain period of time. 50pts a goal. 2 goal annual limit though.

[camaj]

....however I see nothing that says there is any specific limit on the number of points per month that you can get via fitbug (regardless of what the muppets on the helpdesk might be telling people!)

That's right. There has never been anything on the website about this, which makes me suspicious! The only limit was 1500 a year and 10 points a day and 15 gym visits a month. If they limited you to 150 points per month, how would you be able to get 300 points from an fitness assessment?

You will therefore not hit platinum status for the next membership year, and your gym fees will be gold for the next 12 months.

AIUI, you'll only be gold until you reach 2000 points. I'm in a similar position, I might miss out on platinum by a whisker meaning I'll have to start all over again but I can't see them forcing you to pay for a "gold" rate if you get to platinum.

Had a look at the new site, very interesting. Eurostar for £10 (3 times a year) and very cheap unlimited cineworld cards!!!

[cafecreme]

The £10 Eurostar if you're on platinum is definitely v exciting. I wanted to book some Eurostar tickets today, but the stupid over-flashy confusing new site was down. So I had to ring PruHealth to get the number. When the guy at Eurostar eventually found my ID he said that I wasn't eligible for anything! Have been on Platinum for quite a while now... :mad: So had to ring PruHealth, poor lady at the other end of phone sounded v confused when I told her what the problem was but rang Eurostar and a supervisor and apparently it'll be sorted out within 48 hours.. I'll get excited again when it's done and I have the tickets...

Overall, though, v impressed with pruhealth. I've been to Champneys for not v much at all (esp when you consider the yummy food included) As of our renewal tomorrow we'll still be on Platinum which will benefit us come November because we won't have the ridiculous thing of having to go to the gym every day in the last month of the quarter to keep our costs down because there's been more to life than the gym. But I really feel for anyone caught out by the scheme, I'm sure it'll definitely put people off who are just signing up because that makes the first year really hard.

[love potion]

I've just signed up with pruhealth- possibly not the best timing in the world, but have been getting bored with my very small gym...

I've been reading through the messages on this thread which have been really helpful in getting started with vitality points, etc. However, I am really stuck trying to find the non smokers declaration on the website. Please could someone let me know where I can find it? Thanks!

[nickmack]

However, I am really stuck trying to find the non smokers declaration on the website. Please could someone let me know where I can find it? Thanks!

https://www.pruhealth.co.uk/medical/health/insurance/vi/non_smokers

My Zones>Vitality>Allen Carrs Easyway to stop smoking>Rewards>Non smokers declaration

[love potion]

https://www.pruhealth.co.uk/medical/health/insurance/vi/non_smokers

My Zones>Vitality>Allen Carrs Easyway to stop smoking>Rewards>Non smokers declaration

Well that's not the easiest thing in the world to find! Thanks very much nickmack- it was doing my head in!

[harbinger13]

The new look site is active now. Eurostar, Cineworld are on their as rewards. Plus you can get 100points extra by completing a review.

Under what heading do these points show up in the vitalities statement. Would some one have an idea. It is Godsend for me - needing 10 points more (after all calculations) to reach plats!

Also do they give these 100 points for those who have completed their review as well under the previous website structure?

Tx

[camaj]

If you do a "vitality review" it's the same as a "personal health review" and you can only do one. If you've done one already since renewal, then it won't count

I've just signed up with pruhealth- possibly not the best timing in the world, but have been getting bored with my very small gym...

Better to sign up now than in november! I believe you only pay £25/month now for gym, but it could be much higher for people who join in November

[cafecreme]

The booking eurostar saga continues.. having got it booked with eurostar you have log onto the website to pay... but the website isn't working properly at the moment so just had to ring pruhealth... more confusion, my payment had to be passed onto another team to be taken, whom I didn't speak to. So hopefully it'll get done. I'll believe it all when I see the tickets rather than just another reference number.

Has anyone else been having hideous problems with the website?

The vitality review thing is sneaky... I thought it was a different thing too from the health review, there was me thinking, yay, 100 more points! harbinger13, have you tried reading some articles? I think you can get up to 30 points per month for reading about why you shouldn't eat salt etc etc. :rolleyes:

[Elspeth]

I'm finding the new website a nightmare too... Immensely slow and unreliable, even on super-speed work connection.

If anyone else is finding their fitbug points aren't tracking, I've been told that there is a 'technical problem' and provided you upload to fitbug the points should transfer (eventually). I'm just hoping that this, and the glitch that prevents me getting points from eBay are fixed before my renewal is due in October...

[camaj]

They just gave me some fitbug points from last week, but not the week before!

[SZB]

Hi there,
Just been reading all of the helpful posts, I've been doing some calculations which would be for me and my OH, does the following look like we might hit 3000 come November?

Education: 400 (individual), 800 (family)
Personal health review = 200
Stress Zone Assessment = 100
Read 3 self help articles/ mth x 2 = 120

Exercise: 1500 (individual), 3000 (family)
Fitness assessment at gym x 2 = 600
Gym workout x 30/ mth x 2 = 600
Fitbug, 12500 steps x 36 days = 360

General: 50 (individual), 100 (family)
Pru log on x 2 = 100

Nutrition: 1000 (individual), 2000 (family)
Create healthy meal plan = 100

Screening: 1200 (individual), 2400 (family)
Eyes Tested (mine needs checking!) = 150
Basic Health Screen x 2f = 400

No Smoking: 200 (individual), 400 (family)
Declare not smoking x 2 = 300

TOTAL = 3030

[sensar]

DON’T DELAY IF YOU WANT STILL WANT CHEAP GYM MEMBERSHIP!!!
If you’re keen in joining a GYM then Pruhealth it’s still the BEST option. Even better through Boots Health Insurance I recon (Boots Health Insurance is still Pruhealth insurance – same premium prices – Free Health Screen & Eye test with Boots).

I have been reading the forum of some time now and just been lazy at calculating the benefits.
Today I would like to share with all those considering in joining NOW! NOW! WOW! (My date is 1st September)

I DEVISED A SIMPLE CLEAR PLAN FOR ALL NEWBIES INCLUDING MYSELF.

The target is to reach PLATNIUM by Nov/Dec hopefully…
I intend to join the Pruhealth through Boots on the 1st Sep 2008.

Just to make it easier (I have talked my Brother into Joining… So my overall TRAGET is to get 3000 points ;-)…
For those individuals TRY convince someone to join with you, family member or even a friend or work colleague. DON’T HAVE ONE ITS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD…

Here is the CHEAPEST way we could get PLATNIUM status in 3 MONTHS!!!

VITALITY POINTS CHART (BOLD 2+)…

LIMIT VITALITY POINTS FOR 1 PERSON (NEED 2000 POINTS)
LIMIT VITALITY POINTS 2+ PEOPLE (NEED 3000 POINTS)

1. Boots Health Check
200 Points
400 Points

2. Boots Eyes Exam
25 Points
50 Points

3. Complete non-smoker Declaration OR Stop Smoking Declaration
150 Points
300 Points

4. Creating Healthy Meal
50 Points
100 Points

5. Fitness Assessment (Free at Gym even if you don’t join.)
300 Points
600 Points

6. Complete Personal Health Review OR Vitality Review
100 Points
100 Points

7. Complete Stress Management
50 Points
100 Points

8. Read Self Help Articles
90 Points (30 Points each month)
180 Points (60 each month for 2 people)

9. Log in Online at Start of Policy
50 Points
100 Points

10. Points for joining Boots Health Club
30 Points
60 Points for 2 people (No Limit on Family)

11. Join GYM (£25 join fee + £25 each month for 3 months.)
450 Points
900 Points

12. Buy something from Ebay – Sporting goods Category.
3 per year for individuals 6 per year for families.
40 Points each (£5 or over) Limit 120 Points.
We add 40 Points to the Total.
40 Points each item (£5 or over) Limit 240 Points.
We add 80 Points to the Total.

TOTAL VITALITY POINTS::::kisses:

1535 Points for 1 PERSON – And still Plenty more ways to INCREASE you Vitality Points. (IMPRESSIVE GOLD STATUS…):j

3070 Points for 2 PEOPLE in 3 Months – And still can earn more (WOW!! PLATNIUM STATUS ACHIEVED…):j:j:j

Here is the Boots Points Structure http://insurance.pruhealth.co.uk/uk/prudential/contentSources/presales/boots/pdfs/Boots_vitality_table.pdf
Know that you have got the FIGURES, Its worth joining PRU through BOOTS or WITHOUT Boots (Just pay the £25 for Health Screen)!

And if you join PRUHEALTH through QUIDCO you get £85 cashback.:rotfl:
Everyone should consider joining the GYM asap to get the extra points fast... (Sep £25 + Oct £25 + the third month based on your vitality status... After the Bargain kick in) … I wonder how many thanks I will get:T, September I am coming.:j
EVEN BETTER BARGAIN TO GAIN AFTER A YEAR...
Feel free to contribute to this post…Anyone. :money:

[lulu650]

Helpful post sensar.

I should also add that by joining through Boots, the Eye test and Health check are free.

The eye test also includes Glaucoma testing = 150 extra points. This will only apply if over 35. Mine were added automatically once I'd sent the results to Pru.

I have also been told that the Boots Health check will include Glucose testing = 150 extra points. For over 40yrs. only. I will be booking this in the next couple of weeks.

[QQuaver]

Helpful post sensar.

I should also add that by joining through Boots, the Eye test and Health check are free.

The eye test also includes Glaucoma testing = 150 extra points. This will only apply if over 35. Mine were added automatically once I'd sent the results to Pru.

I have also been told that the Boots Health check will include Glucose testing = 150 extra points. For over 40yrs. only. I will be booking this in the next couple of weeks.
Whenever I orderd the Boots Eye test voucher, I got health check one. Is both one and the same?

[lulu650]

no there are two separate vouchers Quaver.

Seemed to be a glitch on the website because I could only print out the eye test vouchers and not the health checks. I had to phone up in the end to get the correct voucher.

[sensar]

Glad that your like it lulu650,
You only get 1 Free Boots Health & Eyes check a year. (still not bad.)
Which I like to think leaves us paying for the second one in 6 months - In order to gain more Vitality points and the extras for Maintaining your health and so on.

[QQuaver]

no there are two separate vouchers Quaver.

Seemed to be a glitch on the website because I could only print out the eye test vouchers and not the health checks. I had to phone up in the end to get the correct voucher.
I phoned up for eye test and got the health check voucher again:o
Might try again...

[bachgammon]

Hi
I think I can solve the Fitbug question....
Found from this website: http://www.pruhealth.co.uk/insurance...partners/polar (http://www.pruhealth.co.uk/insurance/vitality/vitality_partners/polar)
"You can earn up to 10 points a day and 150 points a month for any combination of gym, Fitbug or Polar Computer activities"
So Fitbug is included in the 150 points.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!
The new website is lousier than a colony of woodlice.
I can't even query my points at the moment because that part of the website is down.
I have had a close look at my vitality statement and it now appears that buying Sporting Goods from eBay comes under the "Exercise" category. My delight at bagging myself 40 points just for buying an exercise top has been short-lived. Presumably it will only contribute to the 150 points for gym membership that I use up every month anyway.
On another matter, did anyone else see a message when the new website started promising 100 points for a Vitality Review? I filled the damn thing in despite the website crashing on me every few minutes but it's not shown in the points.
Regards
Rick

[TooNice]

Is Boot really cheaper given than you could get £85 cashback with Quidco?

[richchestmat]

Don't forget the Polar heart rate monitors you can now get (I've opened another thread on that below)

I'm not sure why there is so much grumbing about the 150 monthly limit for 'excercise'. 150 X 12 is still 1800. That's only 200 short of platinum. Most people won't be hitting that maximum anyway.

[Bargain Rzl]

I'm not sure why there is so much grumbing about the 150 monthly limit for 'excercise'. 150 X 12 is still 1800. That's only 200 short of platinum. Most people won't be hitting that maximum anyway.Not quite. The limit for the entire exercise category is 1500, so you do stop getting points eventually. Even so, with 1500 points for Exercise (which is easy to get, given that the fitness assessments also count towards this) plus the easy points you get for doing Nutrition and Stress activities (200 in total) and the non-smoking declaration (150) and the personal health review (100) and reading a couple of articles each month (up to 200 per annum), it really is very easy to achieve Platinum over the course of a year.

What is not so easy, which a lot of people are wanting to do at the moment before the rules change, is to reach Platinum in only a couple of months.

[richchestmat]

Doh! Forgot about that 1500 limit. Having said that the 1500 limit isn't going to matter to people trying to get to Platinum in two months.

To those people I say try your best but remember to think about the savings in year 2 and beyond. Don't give up on this scheme if you can't quite make 2000 points.

My wife is signed up via her work and got rolled over to year two according to the company renewal date and now she has only until Feb to get back to Platinum before she is affected by the new pricing. She was only gold just shy of 2000 points before the rollover but she's back to Silver after a nuffield 400 pointer health check and the usual online stuff. She's already not far off gold again.

[cafecreme]

Just to let you know, got my Eurostar tickets through the post on Sat - so after the saga at the beginning of the week getting them ordered, they arrived really quickly. :j Very excited about our £10 trip to Paris now, definitely going to book the two more we can have this year! :D

Good luck to anyone desperately getting points earned for November, as richchesmat says, the savings in year 2 are worth it even if you don't quite make Plantinun by the time the gym goes up.

[camaj]

Hi
I think I can solve the Fitbug question....

I think we pretty much knew that anyway. However the question is/was what about the past? There was no indication of this limit on their website until recently. If they want to apply this to new customers or to everyone after November, I'd accept that but I think it's unfair if they're going to try an impose it on all of us right now. The sad thing is people don't seem to be bothered that they're seemingly doing this retroactively!!

150points per month is pretty bad because it means people will have to wait a long time to get to 2000 points.

[sensar]

I will personally take the challenge of Joining Boots Health Insurance in Sep.... with my Brother as well - just to prove that it could be done... :cool:

I have planned out everything to detail... Having though that purchasing something from ebay would have helped, only to be find out its part of the 150 exercise category points...
I guess know if one of us gets a Flu jab that will enable us just over the 3000 points to reach the target in and that is all by December!

Here is the plan I got in store: 2 People...
1. Boots Health Check
400 Points

2. Boots Eyes Exam
50 Points

3. Complete non-smoker Declaration OR Stop Smoking Declaration
300 Points

4. Creating Healthy Meal
100 Points

5. Fitness Assessment (Free at Gym even if you don’t join.)
600 Points

6. Complete Personal Health Review OR Vitality Review
100 Points

7. Complete Stress Management
100 Points

8. Read Self Help Articles
180 Points (60 each month for 2 people)

9. Log in Online at Start of Policy
100 Points

10. Points for joining Boots Health Club
60 Points for 2 people (No Limit on Family)

11. Join GYM (£25 join fee + £25 each month for 3 months.)
900 Points

TOTAL VITALITY POINTS::: 2890 :rotfl:

12. Include Flu jab
100 Points (If Both 200 Points) TOTAL POINTS = 2990 (3090):j

Any suggestion welcome... ANY CHALLENGER ALSO WELCOME...
For those of you wishing you had joined sooner here is your chance...

I did like to know if we reach platinum and my lazy brother decides to discontinue... Does it effect my platinum status?.

[TooNice]

@sensar: Is there any reason you are opting for Boot instead of £85 cashback? I know you get some 'freebies' with Boots, but does it add up to be more worthwhile than Quidco?

If I don't hit Platinum by the deadline, does that mean that I will have to pay 'Gold' rate for a whole year? I don't know if I can convince my friend to join together, so I don't think that I can do the 3000 points joint challenge. Plus, I am also worried about the implications of joining with a friends - does that mean that we have to go to the gym on the same days?

[nickallan]

I see that someone else is having problems uploading their fitbug info to purhealth, is this affecting anyone else?

I have been told that it is a techical fault, but I need it back up soon as I have a lot of stored walks in the system that I need to convert to vitality points to make sure I reach platinum status safely as I have away from the gym:(:(:(

[QQuaver]

If I don't hit Platinum by the deadline, does that mean that I will have to pay 'Gold' rate for a whole year?
Depends on when your renewal is.

If your renewal date is Nov 1st, then if you are Gold, then you'll be gold until you hit platinum by accruing 2000 points since your points will be reset upon renewal.

Then again, if your renewal is say March, then if you are Gold in Nov, you'll pay gold rate until you hit platinum, which say if it was January, then from January you pay Platinum rate:o

[Elspeth]

Just to share another conversation with the Pruhealth helpline... I rang them on Monday and was told that:

1) If (when I change job - fingers crossed!) I can't make my current gym I can either swap to a different Virgin gym via Pru, or cancel my subscription and join a different provider (via Pru).

2) The eBay registration page ('Getting Started') when you click on eBay in Get Active) should be fixed on 5th September, but if you make eligible purchases in the interim you can get the points by calling (after the 5th) with the details.

And like camaj, I've now had some recent FitBug points awarded but not all. So it sounds like they're getting there!

[TooNice]

@QQuaver: Thanks for your reply. What do you mean by reset upon renewal?
Well, I think I got a little ahead of myself. At the moment, I am not even a member, but I am evaluating the cost/risks of joining in light of the changes.

I saw a couple of comments that says 'think of the savings in year 2 and beyond'. I am probably misreading it, but I interpreted the comment as 'if you do not get Platinum by the time the rule change, you'll have to wait until year 2 to benefit from Platinum (I worry that the gym membership cost will be locked at whatever membership status I am in November when the new rule comes into play for the duration of a 12 months contract).

Or, did I misunderstood, and it's not really the end of the world if I fail to even reach Gold by November? And I can be Silver in November, Gold in December, then Platinum from Feb/March? Obviously I do want to hit Platinum as soon as I can, but I am not willing to take the risk of being locked at Silver for a year because I failed to hit Gold by November 1st.

[Bargain Rzl]

According to what I and others have been advised by Pruhealth, your gym membership costs will reduce in the month after your Vitality status improves. So if you're Gold in November and you are still in the same policy year when you make Platinum a couple of months later, you'll then start paying Platinum gym fees almost immediately.

[TooNice]

Thanks. That wouldn't be too bad if I just miss a bracket by a little then (at worse, I'd have to pay the higher cost for a month). Can the cost of insurance every go down? Insurance in Year 1 get more expensive by age. I assume that the cost of the insurance will get reviewed (up) every year as you get older. Yet is that offset at all if I go to the gym often (as I would be fitter to a point).

[Bargain Rzl]

Yes! While the cost of the BASIC insurance premium is reviewed up every year due to age and inflation, this is then discounted according to the Vitality status you've achieved in the previous year.

Remember that in Year 1 you're receiving an automatic discount of 25%.

So let's say you're currently (in Year 1) paying £30p/m. This means your basic premium is £40p/m.

Let's say next year they raise it by 10% for age and inflation, so your basic premium is now £44p/m.

They then discount this, based on your Vitality status, by anything up to 100% of the previous year's basic premium (assuming you haven't claimed on the insurance). Discount is 25% for Bronze, 50% for Silver, 75% for Gold and 100% for Platinum.

So, using my hypothetical figures above, here's how it'll be calculated for Year 2, based on each Vitality status at end of Year 1:

In Year 1 you were paying £40 - 25% = £30
In Year 2 your basic premium is £44p/m
If you're Bronze, subtract 25% of £40 = £10
If you're Silver, subtract 50% of £40 = £20
If you're Gold, subtract 75% of £40 = £30
If you're Platinum, subtract 100% of £40 = £40

So your Year 2 monthly premium based on the above model would be
£34 if you ended Year 1 on Bronze
£24 if you ended Year 1 on Silver
£14 if you ended Year 1 on Gold
£4 if you ended Year 1 on Platinum :j :j :j

Plus your gym fees.

As you can see, there are MAJOR savings to be made.

If you have made claims on your insurance during Year 1, you can still qualify for a discount in Year 2 of 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of what's left of the Year 1 premium after all claims have been deducted.

[TooNice]

Got it, thanks. I have a bit of a dilemma now. I've been offered £26 per month at Fitness First on a student membership. That compares favourably to the cost of the insurance alone in year 1. Actually, no matter how I look at it, it will be cheaper than the insurance + gym membership at any Vitality status (minimum £8 at Platinum as I am inside the M25).

Could someone check that my calculations are correct if I join in September (how long does the application take?):

Year 1:
September - October: 25+25
October - November: 25
November - December (Silver): 38
December - March (Gold): (3*22)
March - September (Platinum): (6*8)

Total gym membership: £227

+ 12x Premium (Say £25): £300

- £85 Cashback (quidco)

= £442 (about £37 per month)

And in Year 2 it simplifies to:

12x [(Change in Age + Inflation, say £5) + £8]

= £156 (£13 per month)

Which works out to £25 per months over 2 years. Not worse off than the Fitness First offer assuming that both the £8 and the £26 is fixed over two years. In real term, pru-health will work out a bit more expensive because I am putting more in the first year (so I miss out on interest) although it can be offset if I make plans to travel to Paris once

Did I work the numbers right?


Edit: Actually, Pru-health works out cheaper unless my premium is more than £25; I just worked out the NPV to be just under £574 with Pru-health, and just under £590 with Fitness First (0.5% monthly interest) based on the above numbers. Now I have to weight the fact that I can't be a student for life, so I'll eventually have to join up to this deal anyway (unless something better comes up), and the fact that something better may come up or policies may change for the worse in Year 2.

[Zoroaster9]

Which works out to £25 per months over 2 years. Not worse off than the Fitness First offer assuming that both the £8 and the £26 is fixed over two years. In real term, pru-health will work out a bit more expensive because I am putting more in the first year (so I miss out on interest) although it can be offset if I make plans to travel to Paris once.


Don't forget that if you ever go to the cinema you can get a disgustingly cheap Cineworld pass.

And you do also get health insurance (even if you plan never to use it)...

There is also a nice incentive bonus of going through Pru. If I knew I needed to go to the gym to earn points to make it cheap - I think I'm much more likely to go and workout.

If you go regularly for a number of years you'll also be primed to uber-cheap gym once you graduate - which would otherwise cost you a fortune.

If there isn't much in it, I'd say go through Pru.

[brownbabygirl]

i agree with zoro. pru comes with so much more that you would appreciate esp when you graduate (champneys, eurostar etc)

[TooNice]

And you do also get health insurance (even if you plan never to use it)...
That's a point I've been thinking about. Like most people here, I am looking for the best deal for a gym, ignoring the health insurance aspect. There are a couple of things I do not understand:

1. What exactly is an 'excess of £1000'? Does that mean that the first £1000 is on me if for any claims?

2. What happens if you do make a claim? Does it completely void all discount (e.g. Platinum's 100% fall to 0%) or is it some function dependant on the claims (I can't find the information on the site)? This would be useful to determine whether the pricier price plans is actually worth having. A comprehensive plan would cost a lot more in the first year, but subsequent years should be the same if you hit Platinum status. It might work out to be a bargain in the long term (technically, it maximises the saving of the Platinum status in subsequent years, and would be cheaper than to change plans later on), but this is dependent to what happens to the discount if you I make a claim.

3. Has anyone compared the value for money of the various options? It's easy enough to find which one is the -cheapest-, but could it be worth paying an extra quid and a Core Plan with £0 excess over an Essential Plan with £1000 excess? etc.

In fact how does Pru-health compare to it's competitors?

[Bargain Rzl]

1. Yes
2. See the last paragraph of my previous message
3. No idea - I primarily went to PruHealth becaue of the gym deal (though I did, just in case, opt for a plan which includes non-premium London hospital treatment).

[TooNice]

If you have made claims on your insurance during Year 1, you can still qualify for a discount in Year 2 of 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of what's left of the Year 1 premium after all claims have been deducted.

I am not sure if I fully understand that (sorry - I've never dealt with insurance before!).

How does the deduction work? For instance, if I injured myself during sports, and made a claim for £500 on a plan that covers the treatment with £0 excess how would that affect my membership fees the following years if I am on Platinum?

As for the first point on excess, wow that's pretty dire and makes the insurance seemingly quite unusable (then again, I might be underestimating the costs of some treatments).

[Bargain Rzl]

If you're planning to use it as health insurance, you probably want to get a plan with £0 excess, which will cost more than one with a £1000 excess.

As regards the Year 2 discount if you've made a claim in Year 1, using the example amounts I used before, a premium calculated at £40 a month (of which in Year 1 you're paying £30) is equal to £480 a year. So if you were to make a £500 claim that year, you'd pay full premiums in Year 2 - £44 a month based on my previous example.

PruHealth guarantees that if you make claims one year that are greater than the value of your premiums, they won't increase your premiums for the following year by more than 15%. However because this will have wiped out your discount, it will be a lot more in terms of the amount you're actually paying, especially if, for example, you're going from Year 2 (starting from Platinum and paying a couple of quid a month) into Year 3 following a claim.

As for claiming smaller amounts - using the example for Year 1 of £40 a month/£480 a year again, if you made a claim to the value of £200, the discount you'd receive in Year 2 would be a percentage of the remaining £280 based on your Vitality status. So for Bronze, a discount of £70, for Silver £140, for Gold £210 and for Platinum £280. Your Year 2 premium using my example increase of 10% will start off at £480+10% = £528, so your £528 would be discounted accordingly by the figures above. If you start Year 2 on Bronze, you'd be paying £458 (£38.17p/m), for Silver £388 (£32.33 p/m), for Gold £318 (£26.50p/m) and for Platinum £248 (20.67p/m).

[TooNice]

Ah, I get it now (I think). I guess this mean that I shouldn't go over the top and pick the most fancy plan for £50+ a month just because the year to year cost is negligible for as long as I don't claim if I reckon I won't need that the extras.

[harbinger13]

Off the topic question - how does (and what is Quidco) cashback? Could someone kindly point to some simplified article.... I am reading the quidco site as well - but missing the point of how I can gain back from my gym+Pru fees. Many thanks.

[Bargain Rzl]

harbinger13: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/cashback-websites

[punkypickle]

Ok Guys and Girls, (sorry am reposting from another thread as there are a few relating to Pruhealth)

I'm thinking about joining Pruhealth via Boots Health Insurance (in my opinion works out better that Quidco I think) but I have a couple of questions for you

1) Do you get the same offers through Boots Pruhealth...in particular Eurostar, Cineworld and Mark Warner

2) If I get a fitbug, do you have to pay extra for it on renewal of your policy (on it's website it's £84 for first year then £9 a month)

3) With the Fitbug, do you have to upload it every day or can you just do it once a week (I have a mac which it doesn't work on so I'll have to upload it at work)

4) when I reach Gold status, I plan on joining Virgin Active. Does the activity count swimming or fitness classes or only gym use....also how do they tell? Do you have to swip to get into the pool/classes?


Hope someone with the Boots policy can help me out, I'm thinking of joining Sept 1st but need to know these things first....I've been a swat and worked out exactly how to reach Platinium status for someone who is realistic about how many times they will actually use the gym and fitbug! I will post up my plan soon to help other newbies.

[camaj]

I got a reply from Pru about the fitbug problem, they say there was an issue in july/august and my points should be awarded before 5th September.

Ok Guys and Girls, (sorry am reposting from another thread as there are a few relating to Pruhealth)

I'm thinking about joining Pruhealth via Boots Health Insurance (in my opinion works out better that Quidco I think) but I have a couple of questions for you

1) Boots is essentially the same as going direct, the only difference is you get a free health check (200 vitality points and £25 saving) and eye check (not sure if you get points for that) and you're supposed to get some other discounts on boots products.

2) I'm confused too but I can't see how they'd take money from you. If they did, I think people would drop fitbug for Polar.

3) It stores 7 days, so I have last Thursday's data on their as well as Friday's, so as long as you upload before the end of day 8 you'll be fine. You can even check out the stats for any day stored on the fitbug, it's very clever and well built.

I don't know if it'll work, but perhaps try using a windows emulator for the mac. I imagine the problem is the fitbug manager software which downloads the data to the computer and uploads it to the site.

4) I belong to LA Fitness. You have to swipe to get past reception and as long as you've been swiped then you're on the system. In fact one time I went to change my card and I got points for that because they had to swipe my old card to access the details.

[richchestmat]

Current fitbugs store 14 days of data and warn after 7 or 10. After which point older walks are overwritten by new ones.

[sensar]

Does anyone know what happens when you reach a platnium status in a family premium & then some how one person cancels his premium - does it affect the others Platnium status.

[punkypickle]

Cool, thanks for your help I've just looked into a pc emulator for my mac (my OH is going to be pleased, he's still grumpy having to "convert") so I can use a fitbug (was thinking that work might not let me download software). Also might invest in a polar computer...the OH has got one but has pretty much superglued it to his bike so I can't share :rotfl: :rotfl: but they're only £30 for a bike one..

Sensar...I joined Pru today (via boots) so maybe we can do the platinum challenge :money:

[TooNice]

1. Where would you get a basic/full health screen if you are with Pruhealth?

2. Does Boots provide other incentive other than the free health screens and eye check?

3. Is either of them better in terms of customer support?

4. How long does it take to sign up?

5. How long does it take to receive the Fitbug?

[QQuaver]

1. Where would you get a basic/full health screen if you are with Pruhealth?
Nuffield http://www.pruhealth.co.uk/insurance/vitality/vitality_partners/screening_nuffield
The Diagnostic Clinic http://www.pruhealth.co.uk/insurance/vitality/vitality_partners/screening_diagnostic
2. Does Boots provide other incentive other than the free health screens and eye check?
I think there was bonus points on activation, but am not sure it's on now:
http://insurance.pruhealth.co.uk/boots/index.jhtml
3. Is either of them better in terms of customer support?
Pru does both of the customer support as far as I know.
4. How long does it take to sign up?
Immediately I think.
5. How long does it take to receive the Fitbug?
Don't know, don't have it;)