Discovery Bank Card Review 2024

The Discovery Bank Cards comprise a range of checking accounts requiring minimum incomes ranging from R100,000 to R2.5 million.

Cardholders are automatically enrolled in the Discovery Vitality Money program, allowing them to save up to 75% on specific purchases made with their account.

Additionally, account holders have the option to open a savings account and earn interest rates of up to prime rate – 2% on their savings.

The Discovery Bank Cards include 4 cheque accounts:

• the Discovery Gold account, which has a monthly fee of R219.00;
• the Discovery Platinum account, which has a monthly fee of R289.00;
• the Discovery Black account, which has a monthly fee of R534.00; and
• the Discovery Purple account, which has a monthly fee of R644.00.

The Discovery Bank accounts also have their own respective credit cards. Credit cards from Discovery bank offer card holders the opportunity to own an iPhone which can be fully paid for by Discovery Bank through the Vitality Active rewards.

The Discovery Bank cards come with fees and are tabled below.

Discovery Bank Card Fees 2023 (Bundled Option)

Fee Description	Black Card	Platinum Card	Gold Card
Monthly Account Fee	R534.00	R289.00	R219.00
Monthly single credit facility fee	R69.00	R69.00	R35.00
Withdrawal at international ATM	R0.00	R80.00	R80.00
Discovery Instant Pay	30 free, R5.00 + 0.5% of the amount above R1000.00 (capped at R25.00	R5.00 + 0.5% of the amount above R1000.00 (capped at R25.00	R5.00 + 0.5% of the amount
Credit facility initiation fee	R150.00 if limit is less than R2000.00, else R185.00	R150.00 if limit is less than R2000.00, else R185.00	R150.00 if limit is less than R2000.00, else R180.00
Card replacement fee	First free and R200.00 thereafter	First free and R200.00 thereafter	First free and R200.00 thereafter

Discovery Vitality Money Rewards

The Discovery Vitality Money premium is available to any Discovery bank card holder for a fee that varies depending on the Discovery card held. Vitality Money rewards include interest on interest rates when saving money, with savings earning up to 12.5%. Vitality Money also offers shopping discounts, with up to 75% off healthy food items and 50% off healthcare essentials.

Account holders can earn Discovery Miles by using Vitality Money. Earn Discovery Miles by staying healthy, driving safely, and spending wisely. When you use Discovery Miles to purchase prepaid on the Discovery App, you can save up to 20% on your purchases.

Any Discovery account holder values their Discovery Vitality Money. The program provides numerous advantages. To earn the highest rewards with Discovery Vitality Money, an account holder must have savings, insurance products, and purchase healthy foods and essentials in addition to a bank account.

Types of Discovery Bank Cards

1. Discovery Gold Card
2. Discovery Platinum Card
3. Discovery Black Card
4. Discovery Purple Card

Discovery Bank offers four types of debit cards to its customers: the gold, platinum, black, and purple bank cards. These debit cards provide a variety of benefits and rewards We’ll only look at the gold, platinum, and black discovery cards and these are discussed in greater detail below.

Discovery Gold Transaction Account

The Discovery Gold Transaction Account is a cheque account with an R219.00 monthly account fee.

The Discovery Bank Gold Suite is designed for individuals earning between R100,000 and R350,000 annually, with a monthly fee of R219. This suite offers a comprehensive banking experience, including an advanced credit card, a premium transaction account, and multiple free savings accounts. Benefits include real-time payments starting at R1, flexible credit facilities, and access to Real-Time Forex Accounts.

Engaging with the Vitality Money program unlocks various rewards, such as up to 40% back on healthy groceries and personal care items, up to 10% back on fuel and Uber rides, and up to 2.5% back on certain insurance premiums in Discovery Miles. Additionally, clients earn 10 Discovery Miles for every R1 reward earned.

Using Discovery Miles, clients can get discounts at various retail partners, purchase airtime and utilities, redeem for exciting rewards, or even exchange them for cash. Dynamic Interest Rates allow clients to control their interest rates based on their Vitality Money status, offering up to 2.5% interest on everyday account balances, up to 7.25% on demand savings, and reduced borrowing rates by up to 7%.

Requirements

• Must have a valid South African ID.
• Earn an annual income between R100,000.00 to R350,000.00
• Have your proof of address.

Discovery Gold Account Competitive Advantages

• Flexible Qualifying Income: Individuals with annual incomes ranging from R100,000 to R350,000 can qualify for the Gold Account.
• Comprehensive Banking Suite: The Gold Account offers a full banking suite that includes an advanced credit card, a superior transaction account, and multiple free savings accounts.
• Affordable Monthly Fee: Clients pay a monthly fee of R219, which covers most transactions, with real-time payments starting from just R1 each.
• Flexible Credit Facility: The account comes with the most flexible credit facility in the market, allowing clients to manage their credit easily.
• Access to Real-Time Forex Accounts: Clients have access to Real-Time Forex Accounts, available 24/7 through the banking app.

Discovery Gold Account Competitive Disadvantages

• Income Requirement: The account is designed for individuals with annual incomes ranging from R100,000 to R350,000, which may exclude some potential clients who do not meet this criteria.
• Monthly Fee: Clients are required to pay a monthly fee of R219, which may be considered a disadvantage for those looking for completely fee-free banking options.
• Complexity of Rewards Program: While the Vitality Money program offers rewards, including Discovery Miles, the program may be complex for some clients to navigate, potentially leading to confusion or underutilization of rewards.

Discovery Platinum Card

The Discovery Platinum card is a second-tier cheque account with a monthly account fee of R289.00.

Account holders can join the Vitality Money rewards program, where they can earn up to 75% back on purchases, for R35 per month.

A credit card can also be added, but the annual income must be between R350,000 and R850,000.00.

The Discovery Platinum comes with a number of benefits and rewards that can be redeemed when transacting. The rewards and benefits of the Discovery Platinum Card are detailed below.

Benefits

• A transaction account with optional overdraft for your day-to-day banking
• Pay a single monthly fee for a bundle of transactions
• You get Vitality Money, which rewards you for banking healthier
• You earn market-leading interest rates on your savings and positive balances with the ability to earn even more by engaging with Vitality Money
• Get easy credit management with a single credit facility if you have an overdraft
• Make unlimited digital payments, transfers and debit orders
• Make low-cost real-time payments with Discovery Instant Pay
• Add secondary cards
• Customise your accounts, card balances, limits and merchant limits
• Link your Discovery accounts for automatic medical and pharmacy co-payments
• Change your PIN, temporarily pause or stop cards on the app
• Get free transaction notifications and monthly account statements
• Pay with Fitbit Pay, Garmin Pay and Samsung Pay
• Discovery Pay enables payment of contacts using just a mobile number
• Save all your Vitality savings and rewards in the Vitality Savings Account
• Automatic warranty extension of up to 24 months, as well as short-term protection against theft and accidental damage of purchases made with your Discovery Platinum Debit Card
• Your debit card has secure chip and PIN technology, and can make fast and secure tap and go payments
• You get extra security with Verified by Visa and Visa Checkout when you make online purchases

Rewards

• Up to 7% off your borrowing rate
• Get up to 7.5 % on your demand savings rate
• Up to 6% on the money in your everyday accounts
• Earn more weekly rewards for responsible spending and meeting your money goals.
• Get exclusive pre-booking access to shows and events 48 hours before anyone else

Requirements

• Must have a valid South African ID or have a valid passport if you are a foreign national.
• Have a proof of address.

Discovery Platinum Debit Card competitive advantages

The rewards that come with the Discovery Premium Card are fantastic. You can get up to 100% of your money back on a gym membership. No other South African bank offers such a discount on gym memberships.

When you use your Discovery card at Pick n Pay or Woolworths on selected health products, you can earn up to 75% cashback in Vitality rewards.

When you book flights with your Discovery card, you can earn up to 50% cashback. You can only get up to 35% off with the Standard Bank Titanium Card when travelling.

Discovery Platinum Debit Card Competitive Disadvantages

The Discovery Platinum Card, unlike the Standard Bank Titanium Card, does not include roadside assistance. Many benefits of the Platinum Card are enhanced if they have both a debit and a credit card. As a result, you can’t claim more rewards without a credit card, which disadvantages those who don’t want to get a credit card.

Discovery Black Card

The Discovery Black Card is a cheque account with a monthly account fee of R539.00.

Individuals with annual incomes ranging from R850,000.00 to R2.5 million are eligible for the account. Account holders can join Vitality Money can receive discounts of up to 75%.

Borrowing on the account can be as low as prime lending rate -1%.

We look at some of the benefits and rewards that come with the Discovery Black Card below.

Benefits

• Get a transaction account with an optional overdraft for your day-to-day banking
• Pay a single monthly fee for all your transactions
• You get Vitality Money, which rewards you for banking healthier
• You earn market-leading interest rates on your savings and positive balances with the ability to earn even more by engaging with Vitality Money
• Get easy credit management with a single credit facility if you have an overdraft
• Make unlimited digital payments, transfers and debit orders
• Make low-cost real-time payments with Discovery Instant Pay
• Add secondary cards
• Customise your accounts, card balances, limits and merchant limits
• Link your Discovery accounts for automatic medical and pharmacy co-payments
• Change your PIN, temporarily pause or stop cards on the app
• Get free transaction notifications and monthly account statements
• Pay with Fitbit Pay, Garmin Pay and Samsung Pay
• Discovery Pay enables payment of contacts using just a mobile number
• Save all your Vitality savings and rewards in the Vitality Savings Account
• Make purchases worldwide, as well as withdrawals from all Visa-linked ATMs
• Get free travel insurance with airline tickets purchased using your Discovery Black Debit Card
• You and a guest get six free visits each year to more than 1 000 airport lounges worldwide
• You have access to a global concierge service to assist with travel planning, entertainment tickets and more
• You’re also covered for:
• Emergency evacuation to the nearest medical facility for treatment
• Lost or damaged luggage
• Trip cancellation/trip interruption reimbursement for non-refundable fares
• And you get a rental car collision damage waiver
• You get automatic warranty extension of up to 24 months, as well as short-term protection against theft and accidental damage of purchases made with your Discovery Black Debit Card

Rewards

• Up to 6% off your borrowing rate
• Get up to 6.5 % on your demand savings rate
• Up to 5.5% on the money in your everyday accounts
• Earn more weekly rewards for responsible spending and meeting your money goals.
• Get exclusive pre-booking access to shows and events 48 hours before anyone else.

Requirements

• Must have a South African ID or
• Be a foreign passport holder
• Have a proof of address

Discovery Black debit Card Competitive Advantages

• The account has one of the lowest account fee for a black card in South Africa.
• Account holders can join the Discovery Vitality Money where they can earn rewards and discounts.
• Borrowing for black card holders is less expensive.
• There are discounts of up to 75%.
• An overdraft facility can be added to the account.

Discovery Black debit card competitive disadvantages

Claim on discovery rewards can take longer than usual say one Discovery client on Hello Peter. He went on to say that they bought HealthGear and couldn’t receive rewards for 2 months.

Apart from cashback rewards, delay Discovery black card users find it difficult to talk with their dedicated private banker something that is very unusual in the private banking space.

A private banker ought to be readily available 24/7. If not available, assign an alternative private banker. FNB doesn’t have such issues with their dedicated private banker as the bank gives you a list of alternative private bankers that you can contact should the banker be unavailable.

The private banker usually leaves a client with a name and number of another private banker. Also, clients are faced with account closure problems as their accounts take longer to close. This is something that is unexpected for a prestigious bank like Discovery.

How to apply for Discovery bank card

• Have your ID or passport ready.
• Have your proof of residency ready.
• Download the Discover app from the Google Play or Apple App Store.
• If you are using the mobile app for the first time, register or login if you are already a registered user.
• You can begin your application as a new app user or add a new card as a registered client.
• Visit a discovery store with the necessary documents to begin your application.

Conclusion

By doing things differently, Discovery Bank is disrupting traditional banking. Their mobile app keeps you informed about your financial and insurance status by allowing you to track your accounts and awards. To get the most out of your benefits, you must first assess your purchasing habits and then choose the card that best fits your needs.