Discovery Insure clients can now earn up to R2,250 a month in fuel and safer driving rewards

Johannesburg - Discovery Insure clients can now earn up to R2,250 a month in fuel and safer driving rewards, following the latest enhancements to the award-winning Vitality Drive programme.

Clients can now earn up to 65% back on R3,000 of qualifying monthly fuel spend, worth up to R1,950, with rewards paid instantly in Ðiscovery Miles when they use their Discovery Bank virtual card to fill up. This positions Vitality Drive as South Africa's most valuable fuel rewards programme.

They can also earn 20 Ðiscovery Miles instantly for every event-free trip between five and 20 kilometres, plus one Ðiscovery Mile for every additional kilometer over 20, up to a maximum of 100 Miles a day. This adds up to a maximum of 3,000 Ðiscovery Miles, worth R300 in rewards.

Ðiscovery Miles give clients even more value. They can convert Miles to cash at a rate of 10 Miles to R1 or stretch their rewards further through the Ðiscovery Miles network, with up to 30% off qualifying purchases at participating partners.

Together with existing weekly Vitality Active Rewards goals, which now offer enhanced rewards through the Discovery Bank app, the changes give clients more ways to earn rewards for safer driving, more often, through a simpler, connected experience.

"South Africans are under increasing financial pressure, and naturally, they want greater value from their financial products. But they also want that value to be relevant, accessible, and immediate," says Robert Attwell, CEO of Discovery Insure.

"We've listened to our clients, and these enhancements, including the integration with Discovery Bank, allow us to offer greater rewards and pay them instantly, whether clients are filling up or completing a perfect drive."

Every perfect drive now earns clients instant rewards

One of the key enhancements to Vitality Drive is PerfectDrive, which rewards clients instantly for completing trips without risky driving events.

The new benefit builds on Discovery Insure's research showing that clients who complete a day without harsh driving events have 28% lower accident frequency.

To qualify as a PerfectDrive, a trip must be at least 5 kilometers long, completed within the speed limit and without cellphone use or harsh braking, acceleration or cornering. Since launch on 1 October 2026, more than 1.3 million PerfectDrives have been awarded.

"Our clients already complete millions of event-free trips every year. By rewarding these efforts instantly, we're giving them even more reason to drive safely," says Attwell.

Up to 65% back on fuel, without waiting until month-end

Discovery Insure clients can now earn up to 65% back on qualifying fuel spend, combining up to 50% through Discovery Insure and a further 15% through Discovery Bank's Vitality Money programme, depending on their qualifying plan, status and account type.

On R3,000 of qualifying fuel spend, this translates to up to R1,950 a month. At November's fuel prices, the maximum reward effectively reduces the cost of inland 95 unleaded petrol from R30.24 to R10.58 a litre and diesel from R31.60 to R11.06 a litre – equivalent to prices last seen around 2008.

Clients who have motor insurance only now also qualify for up to 50% fuel cash back, without needing home insurance.

Through Discovery Bank's real-time technology, rewards are paid instantly in Ðiscovery Miles when clients use their virtual card at more than 1,100 participating bp and Shell service stations. This replaces month-end payments and the need for a separate Vitality Drive card.

What the enhanced rewards could mean for a client

Take for example, a client who spends R3,700 a month on fuel. By paying with their Discovery Bank virtual card, they can earn up to R1,950 back in Ðiscovery Miles.

Add up to R300 a month through PerfectDrive, and their total rewards could reach R2,250 a month, effectively reducing their net fuel spend to R1,450

Alternatively, clients can choose to have the Vitality Drive portion of their fuel rewards, up to R1,500 a month, doubled to R3,000 in their Insure Funder Account. This gives them the potential to accumulate up to R36,000 a year towards vehicle-related expenses, including tyres at Tiger Wheel & Tyre, servicing at Bosch, insurance excess payments and vehicle licence renewals.

To date, clients have accumulated approximately R338 million in their Insure Funder Accounts.

Building on 15 years of rewarding safer driving

Since launching Vitality Drive in 2011, Discovery Insure has returned more than R2.66 billion to clients through rewards for safer driving.

The programme's most engaged drivers, at Gold and Diamond Vitality Drive status, have a fatality rate 74% lower than the South African rate and experience nearly 50% fewer accidents.

"Vitality Drive has always been about creating shared value: helping clients become safer drivers, reducing risk on our roads and rewarding them for their efforts. With the latest enhancements, we're giving clients more value, more often, while encouraging safer driving on our roads," Attwell concludes.

"This is what we believe insurance should do – go beyond paying claims to actively help prevent risk and reward positive behaviour."