Affordable Ways To Stay Fit During The Cold Weather

The winter season has set in, and it can be quite challenging to stay fit on a budget during the biting cold, shorter days, and slippery conditions. But, health experts still stress the importance of staying fit physically. Staying fit helps you sleep better, reduces your anxiety, keeps your mind sharp, and helps you stay cheerful. It also improves your general health and your immune system, lowers blood pressure, strengthens bones and muscles, reduces your risk of type 2 diabetes, and prevents many kinds of cancers. Staying fit involves striking a healthy balance between diet and exercise. But, whether you exercise at home, join a gym, or hire a personal trainer, everything is costly. Although you cannot make fitness inexpensive, you can make it budget-friendly. One of these ways is via credit cards.

How Do Credit Cards Help You Stay Fit on A Budget?

Credit cards play a vital role in making fitness budget-friendly. They offer fitness and health-focused benefits and help you earn rewards on eligible wellness purchases. These are some of the perks which credit cards offer for health and wellness. 

• They give rewards when you buy fitness equipment and sporting goods:  You can use the rewards from credit cards to save some bucks on branded fitness equipment and other fitness essentials. Before you spend money to buy these, see which credit cards offer rewards on these purchases and choose the right one. 

• They give rewards for fitness class payments and gym memberships: Credit cards offer cash-back rewards on gym memberships or fitness classes. 

• Earn rewards on pharmacy spending: Some cashback credit cards offer rewards on spends made at the drugstore. Vitamins, nutritional supplements, health-related essentials, or other protein bars - Anything you get from the chemist can earn you rewards if you use the right credit card. 

• Get statement credits for eligible fitness membership expenses: Some credit cards offer statement credits for fitness memberships to eligible individuals. People may be eligible for monthly or yearly statement credits for fitness memberships online or in person. This could make achieving your fitness goals much easier since you are motivated by your commitment. 

• Lifestyle Benefits: The perks provided by health credit cards are not only limited to rewards on wellness and death. They also provide lifestyle reward points that may include discounts and offers on dining, movies, travel, entertainment, etc. 

• Health & Wellness Benefits: You can avail of accelerated rewards on specific categories like health checkups. Some of these cards also offer monthly complimentary fitness sessions and free memberships to some health-based apps/programs like Fitpass pro membership or Netmeds pro subscription.

Here are some top credit cards that offer great benefits and rewards for fitness

 

 

Features of SBI Card Pulse

• Welcome Benefits: You will receive a Noise ColorFit Pulse 2 Max Smartwatch on paying the joining fee
• Reward Points: You can earn 10 reward points for each Rs. 100 spent in chemists, pharmacies, movies, and dining. For every Rs. 100 spent on all other purchases,  earn 2 reward points 
• Complimentary Memberships: You get a free FitPass Pro membership. You can avail of the following services through it: 
  • Availability to over 4,000 gyms and fitness studios
  • Unlimited access to live and recorded online fitness sessions 
  • Personal nutritionist sessions and fitness coaching sessions completely powered by AI.  

Features of Apollo SBI Credit Card

• Welcome Benefits:  Cardholders will get a complimentary Apollo Silver Tier Membership when they pay the joining fee
• Reward Points:
  • 1 reward point for spending Rs. 100 on beauty and wellness services
  • 3X reward points per Rs. 100 spent on all Apollo services
  • 1 reward point = Re 1
• Discount:  You can get 10% direct discount on select Apollo services. 

Features of the Yes Bank Wellness Plus Credit Card 

• Complementary Health Benefits: You will get access to the following health benefits through the Aditya Birla Multiply app: 
  • Complimentary annual preventive health check-ups for up to 31 parameters
  • Complimentary annual eye and dental checkups
  • Unlimited consultations with nutritionists, specialists, and general practitioners through the app. 
  • 12 complimentary fitness sessions per month such as Yoga, Gym, Zumba, etc. 
• Reward Points: 
  • Earn up to 30 reward points per Rs. 200 spent on chemist/pharmaceutical stores
  • Earn 6 reward points per Rs. 200 spent across all other categories. 
  • 5x reward points on the first 3 transactions of the biller registered on Yes PayNow (Valid only on the first 5 registered billers)
• Insurance Benefits:
  • Life insurance cover of Rs. 1 crore for death due to flight accidents
  • Medical insurance cover of Rs. 25 lakhs for emergency hospitalization services when travelling abroad. 
  • Credit shield cover for the accidental death of the primary cardholder

Features of the Yes Bank Wellness Credit Card 

• Complementary Health Benefits:
  • Annual preventive health check-ups for up to 25 parameters
  • Complimentary annual dental and eye check-ups
  • Unrestricted consultations with general practitioners, specialists, and nutritionists via the Aditya Birla Multiply App
  • 6 complimentary fitness sessions monthly for yoga, gym, Zumba, etc.
• Rewards:
  • 20 reward points for each Rs. 200 spent on pharmaceutical or chemist stores 
  • 4 reward points for each Rs. 200 spent on all other categories
  • Earn 5 times the reward points on your initial three transactions with billers registered on YES PayNow. This offer is applicable exclusively to the first five billers you register.

Axis Bank Aura Credit Card - Features

• Welcome Benefits: A Decathlon coupon worth Rs. 750 
• Health Benefits:
  • Free medical consultations monthly from Practo
  • Four interactive video sessions on fitness and 16 recorded sessions monthly from Fitternity 
  • Discounts of up to Rs. 500 on annual health checkups
  • Discounts by at least 30% on nutritional or diet consultations from partner nutritionists
  • Discount of at least 30% on nutritional food
• Reward Points:
  • Earn 2 EDGE points per Rs. 200 spent on the card
  • Accelerated reward points of 5x EDGE Points per Rs. 200 spent on the card
• Other Benefits:
  • Up to 20% discount on dining bills at participating restaurants of the Axis Bank dining delights program

How to Reduce Your Insurance Premium By Staying Fit 

Insurance companies have come up with a way to motivate people to embrace fitness. They are now giving a waiver on the renewal of health insurance premiums according to a set number of active days completed. Active days depend on fitness activities like walking, running, Zumba, gym, etc. The discounts vary across companies.

Here is a list of companies and the discounts offered by them. 

 

 

Conclusion

Temperatures are dropping, but you don’t have to drop your fitness goals just because they are expensive. You can save a few bucks on your journey of fitness by using credit cards. 

FAQs

1. Is it better to use a debit or credit card for gym membership? 

It is better to use a credit card for gym membership, since they help you save money in the form of reward points, cashback, or discounts. 

2. What are some of the best gym membership credit cards in India? 

Some of the best gym membership credit cards in India are the Apollo SBI Credit Card, Axis Bank Aura Credit Card, Yes Bank Wellness Plus Credit Card, and HDFC Bank Doctor’s Regalia Credit Card.