Reward Yourself for Being Active with Earthmiles and Bounts

There seems to be an increasing trend for apps or reward schemes that offer incentives to keep active. Just by taking care of your health you can accumulate points and earn rewards. And who doesn't love a freebie!

Here are two of the most recent schemes that I've tried...

Earthmiles

When you register for Earthmiles you can connect your tracking app or device from the list - I've linked my Jawbone which records my steps throughout the day, earning 1em (earthmile) for every 1000 steps. Earthmiles currently rewards walking, running and cycling but they plan to expand this list so you can log other workouts too.

Once you've accumulated enough earthmiles you can redeem them against a selection of rewards in the Nutrition, Fitness and Wellness categories. These include 25% off Moma Foods, 25% off Rebel Kitchen Mylks, 1 free week at Edge Cycle, and 30% off Pretty Athletic workout skincare.

Most rewards are discounts rather than products or gift vouchers so you are perhaps encouraged to spend money you weren't going to in order to use the reward. However, I redeemed some of my earthmiles with Natural Balance Wholefoods (20% off) as I was going to buy some nakd bars anyway, and got a voucher for 30% off Crude Juice - there's a pop-up at Old Street station near my work, so I thought I'd pick up a few juices.

I like that the app has a lot of "wellness" brands on board, so you're rewarding yourself with things that are good for you. I think they just need a few more brands to get involved - most free classes are in Brighton at the moment!

However I definitely think it's worth signing up for- at the end of the day you're being rewarded for doing what you would be doing anyway.

Sign up here if you're interested.

Bounts

Bounts is another digital health app that enables you earn rewards from big name brands and high street stores. The more exercise you do, the more reward points you earn.

Again, you connect your favourite running apps (I have Mapmyrun linked), devices like Fitbit and Jawbone, or check in at gyms and venues with the bounts mobile app.

Unlike Earthmiles, Bounts offers three different options when you sign up. The Basic plan allows you to log 3 activities (including walking), and earn 15 points per day. The Premium and Premium Plus plans which cost £9.99 and £14.99 per year respectively, mean that you can log more workouts and earn more points per day, thereby earning rewards quicker.

As well as points, you also earn credits which can be used to spin the "Reward Wheel" and win prizes and more points. This is a little confusing, and I would prefer if there was just one currency to earn, keeping things more straightforward!

You need quite a lot of points to redeem for a reward - a £10 debenhams gift card is nearly 3000 points on the Basic plan which would take you around 6 months to earn. However, there are a wide range of rewards available including Evans Cycles, Gap, Costa, Pizza Express, Thompson holidays, Vue cinemas, Next and many more.

And, as far as I can see there is no minimum spend with the gift vouchers, so you are essentially getting free money for getting active! While the rewards might not be "fitness based" there's nothing stopping you heading over to Sports Direct with your gift voucher to pick up a new gym outfit, or simply rewarding your hard work with a coffee.

Sign up here if you're interested, and use the code cadd1351 for 100 free points.

Are you signed up to any fitness reward schemes? Do you think they encourage people to be active? The Vitality rewards system is another well-known scheme linked to Pruhealth insurance, aiming to promote living a healthy balanced lifestyle and rewarding those who do. I used to have it in my old job - the 75% discount at Champney's Spas was a definite perk! As society tries to encourage more people to be active, offering a "carrot" might help those who are finding it a struggle to take that first step.

Beki x