Is The $8 AIA Vitality Membership Still Worth The Money After The July 2020 Changes?

For the uninitiated, AIA Vitality is a health and wellness programme that rewards AIA policyholders with attractive incentives at a fee of $8 a month. By implementing it, AIA rewards policyholders for taking steps to improve their health. The end result is that policyholders may become healthier and ultimately make lower/fewer claims.

AIA Vitality members can earn and accumulate points through weekly challenges that encourage adopting healthy habits such as completing the weekly exercise, eating healthily, as well as completing health assessment at approved clinics.

Since its launch in 2013, there are now close to 150,000 AIA Vitality members in Singapore. The programme has undergone several changes, with the latest round of major changes implemented on 20 July 2020.

In this article, we go through some of the new/updated perks AIA Vitality members will enjoy.

Read Also: AIA Vitality Revises Membership Benefits For 2020 – How Do The New Perks Stack Up?

#1 New Personal Weekly Fitness Challenge

Team challenges will cease. Instead, AIA Vitality members will now receive a personalised weekly fitness challenge tailored to your fitness profile. This personalised target will be set based on your health status and physical activity levels.

Achieving your personalised target ranging from 200 to 400 AIA Vitality points every week will earn you a spins on the AIA Vitality Wheel to earn AIA Vitality Coins – which you can use to redeem from its marketplace or travel partners.

For a start, you will be challenged with a weekly target of 200 points, which will be gradually adjusted according to your activity levels and completion rate.

You can earn up to 100 AIA Vitality points a day through exercise:

• 50 AIA Vitality points by hitting 10,000 steps and beyond
• Up to 100 AIA Vitality points by tracking your workouts with a supported fitness device or app
• 100 AIA Vitality points by working out at a partner gym

To achieve 400 AIA Vitality points, you may not be able to rely on steps alone, as 50 AIA Vitality points a day X 7 days = 350 AIA Vitality points (which is short of the 400 Vitality points target you may have).

AIA did state that it will bring back team challenges on an ad-hoc basis.

Read Also: Singapore Gym Membership Cheatsheet (2020 Edition)

#2 Earn Weekly Rewards Through Spins On The Vitality Wheel

To gamify the approach to earn weekly rewards, AIA Vitality introduced a “sure-win” spin. Each time AIA Vitality members complete your weekly fitness challenge, you will earn a spin on the wheel. These spins allow you to earn Vitality Coins. This replaces the current $5 weekly reward.

This works out to an expected return of $3.50 every week.

On spins, you stand to earn up to 100 Vitality Coins on the wheel – which is worth $5. Or you can win a surprise gift – which can be Vitality Coins, AIA-branded merchandise, fitness devices, one-day passes to gyms, movie passes, or vouchers – which will be revealed in emails to AIA Vitality members. You can spend these Vitality Coins on AIA’s new Marketplace or accumulate it for future redemptions. Unfortunately, these spins expire two weeks from the date you earn it, so you need to be on top of your rewards earnings.

Your Vitality Coins also expire. Vitality Coins earned from spins and flight travel rebates expire between 2 to 3 months, depending on the date you earn it. Vitality Coins credited for Platinum Bonus will expire between 6 and 7 months, depending on the date you earn it.

#3 Redeem Rewards From Partners In New Marketplace

You can choose from an expanded range of rewards from a new Marketplace in the app and use your Vitality Coins to redeem it. There is also an expiry date for the rewards that will be stated on the eVouchers.

Partners on the Marketplace include Cold Storage, Grab, GrabFood, Singtel, Starbucks, Ya Kun, and more.

Read Also: Ultimate Singapore Movie Ticket Price Guide [2020 Edition]

#4 Receive Platinum Bonus In Vitality Coins

From 20 July 2020, AIA Vitality members who achieve Platinum status will receive 2,000 Vitality Coins, worth $100. This will be credited into your in-app Wallet within 90 days following your membership anniversary date.

This replaces the old system which gives you $150 in cash. This will take effect in the member’s next membership year for those who joined or renewed membership before 20 July 2020.

#5 Flight Travel Rebates Revised Down To 20%

The new round of changes sees the addition of Singapore Airlines as a new travel partner, along with Emirates.

However, this has been coupled with a downward revision of travel benefit rebates to up to 20% on both SIA and Emirates. This is down from 50% in the past.

This will also be subject to a cap of $500 on the base fare, compared to no caps in the past.

Rewards will be provided in the form of Vitality Coins now, compared to cash in the past.

The maximum uses each year is capped at one time, compared to 2 in the past.

Cost Of AIA Vitality Membership

We sum up the costs and rewards of the AIA Vitality programme below:

AIA Vitality Memberships will cost $96 a year, while you can receive $182 worth of rewards a year by just completing your weekly challenges.

In addition, AIA Vitality members will also get to enjoy a 5% premium discount on new AIA insurance policies, and up to 15% discount on their premiums based on their AIA Vitality Status upon renewal of their policies each year.

It is also good to note that AIA Vitality also has existing partnerships such as a 25% off Fitbit, Polar, and Garmin products, AIA Vitality rates for screening packages at Fullerton Health, Healthway, OneCare, Q&M Dental, and others, as well as up to 50% discount off Royal Carribbean and up to 20% off SIA and Emirates tickets.

Is The AIA Vitality Membership Worth?

These downward revisions may feel discouraging. The whole process is also a little bit more complicated now with Vitality Coins and the Vitality Wheels and expirations to worry about.

However, it is still possible to easily benefit from the membership. Firstly, you will continue working on your health while trying to unlock rewards (which can be seen as the secondary benefit). AIA Vitality members can still earn more in rewards than their membership fees.

In fact, AIA reported strong clinical outcomes from its AIA Vitality memberships:

• 51% improved their blood pressure
• 39% improved their cholesterol levels
• 66% improved their glucose levels
• 16% improved their body mass index (BMI) readings

You will also be able to earn an expected reward of at least $182 by completing weekly challenges every week, compared to the AIA Vitality membership fee of $96. This does not take into consideration other perks either.

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