Pruhealth gym loophole Article Discussion

David_Bicker

On the new Pru member zone, under the Champneys section, it doesn't specify that all meals are included in the stay whereas on the main Pru site it says that they are included. Can someone clarify whether they are included or not still or has it changed?

Can someone who's been on a stay there via Pru Health also advise me what I'll get for £35 a night (being platinum)? I.e. is the room under this scheme an economy room? Do they give you all drinks or just wine with dinner etc? Anything else included?

Thanks.

jig

Cant believe I lost my fitbug on the tube, rang up to get a replacement and the want £30!! double what I paid, fuming!! Didnt order as the 150 includes points from the gym, so not worth it rather just go gym!!!

jig

Bargain_Rzl wrote: »

Well the no smoking one is because if you don't smoke in the first place you get 150points, whereas if you start as a smoker but then QUIT, you get 200.

The others - and am I right in thinking you meant 100, not 1000 points max for Nutrition in your example? - are where you can get a certain number of points per activity but you can do them twice a year, hence getting the maximum.

Wish I did the smoking trick to get the extra 50!

No, for nutrition mine says 1000 for individual max....how can i get the extra points?

Bargain_Rzl

OK, the 1,000 points limit is for the entire Nutrition category.

The activities which contribute to this category are:
Maintaining a healthy BMI over a 6-month period - 50 points, max 100
Improving BMI over a 6-month period - 100 points PER LEVEL IMPROVED, max 200
Maintaining body fat target over a 6-month period - 50 points, max 100
Improving body fat target over a 6-month period - 100 points PER LEVEL IMPROVED, max 200
Creating a healthy meal plan online - 50 points, max 100
Buying fruit and veg at Sainsbury's - 1 point per £2 spent, max 10 points per week, max 520 points per year.

Obviously it's not possible ever to earn ALL these points, because you can't earn points for both Maintaining AND Improving your body fat/BMI. Also, in the first year of your policy your first fitness assessment or screening won't earn you any "maintaining or improving" points - it will just set the benchmark for your starting point that you're aiming to maintain or improve, so the only way you would be able to get max points in Year 1 for BMI or body fat would be to improve by 2 levels between your first and second screening/assessment. If that makes sense.

And while BMI is measured at free fitness assessments, body fat is only measured at screenings, so you'll only be able to earn points for improving body fat if you've been paying for screenings.

Hope this helps!

jig

Bargain_Rzl wrote: »

OK, the 1,000 points limit is for the entire Nutrition category.

The activities which contribute to this category are:
Maintaining a healthy BMI over a 6-month period - 50 points, max 100
Improving BMI over a 6-month period - 100 points PER LEVEL IMPROVED, max 200
Maintaining body fat target over a 6-month period - 50 points, max 100
Improving body fat target over a 6-month period - 100 points PER LEVEL IMPROVED, max 200
Creating a healthy meal plan online - 50 points, max 100
Buying fruit and veg at Sainsbury's - 1 point per £2 spent, max 10 points per week, max 520 points per year.

Obviously it's not possible ever to earn ALL these points, because you can't earn points for both Maintaining AND Improving your body fat/BMI. Also, in the first year of your policy your first fitness assessment or screening won't earn you any "maintaining or improving" points - it will just set the benchmark for your starting point that you're aiming to maintain or improve, so the only way you would be able to get max points in Year 1 for BMI or body fat would be to improve by 2 levels between your first and second screening/assessment. If that makes sense.

And while BMI is measured at free fitness assessments, body fat is only measured at screenings, so you'll only be able to earn points for improving body fat if you've been paying for screenings.

Hope this helps!

thanks rzl, that helps, but doesnt help me get any more points!!

Zoroaster9

I've just signed up for a PruHealth policy as I already visit the gym 3 times per week at a considerable cost to myself, and visit the cinema regularly. I'm looking forward to some great savings..
I even shop at Sainsburys too

Can anyone answer a couple of questions to me...

When I signup to Cineworld and Virgin Active, is it a seperate contract with each one? with seperate payments to each company? or does it all get paid in one adjustable sum to Pru?

If it's three seperate direct debits - will I expect my debit to Virgin and Cineworld to come down automatically, month on month, as I accumulate my Vitality Points? Silver should be obtained pretty quickly once I get started...
To get the Cineworld pass for £25 a year do I need to wait until I'm platinum, then apply - or does the price just creep down as I get more points?

Really excited about this thanks to all who contributed to this very informative thread.

Kat xx

firbird

As far as I know, it's separate payments to each (at least that's the case with just the health policy and gym membership)... someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Your Virgin DD should come down the month after you reach the next stage but as for the Cineworld pass, I was under the impression it's one lump sum payment and so you might be better off waiting until you get to Gold or Platinum. Again, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Zoroaster9

firbird wrote: »

As far as I know, it's separate payments to each (at least that's the case with just the health policy and gym membership)... someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Your Virgin DD should come down the month after you reach the next stage but as for the Cineworld pass, I was under the impression it's one lump sum payment and so you might be better off waiting until you get to Gold or Platinum. Again, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Thats great, thanks

Yeah you are correct about the Cineworld pass. It's a one-off payment instead of the usual £11.99 a month. We get it for £90 on Bronze, but I think Silver should be very easy to get really quickly, then it goes down to £60 and I'll get it then. Not worth waiting 6 months for Platinum to get it for £25 (i'd spend more than the saving in that time).

Just waiting for my card to come through the post so I can signup for Virgin Active and make my way to Platinum.

Anyone else having major problems with the site still? I can't really do anything as I get an error almost every time I press a button. It's terrible.

firbird

I'm pretty sure you can sign up for the gym before your card comes through. There's a number you have to ring to activate it...

EDIT: just seen there is a link on the vitality website. On the "I want to:" drop down menu, one of the options is "Activate my gym membership"

Zoroaster9

firbird wrote: »

I'm pretty sure you can sign up for the gym before your card comes through. There's a number you have to ring to activate it...

EDIT: just seen there is a link on the vitality website. On the "I want to:" drop down menu, one of the options is "Activate my gym membership"

Thanks for the reply

Just found this on the pruhealth site:

1. Take your PruHealth membership card and some ID along to your preferred gym.
2. Sign up directly with the gym and make sure you get your gym membership number that you can use as reference until you get your card – which should be within about 7 -10 days
3. We collect your direct debits so you’ll then need to log back into this site and activate your gym membership. Please have your Credit/Debit card and Direct Debit details to hand

It's anybody's guess how accurate or up-to-date this information is though - as nothing else on the website seems to work