Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Wellcoin as part of a brand ambassador agreement. While I was compensated for this post, all opinions (as always!) are my own.
Hi friends!
Today I am excited to tell you guys about a new blog collaboration that’s been in the works for the past few months. It’s with an organization called Wellcoin, a health currency company that launched in Boston and New York over the summer. Now that all my wedding planning craziness is over, I will be representing Wellcoin as a brand ambassador.
Wellcoin’s mission is to help the world get healthier by increasing the frequency and diversity of healthy activities in our daily lives, and a Wellcoin is the unit of the world’s first virtual, universal, and positive health currency. Using the online platform or phone app, you can enter healthy choices you make during the day in return for Wellcoins.
In playing with the app, one of the first things I noticed is that the activities do not all revolve around eating a healthy lunch or getting a workout in. The activities encourage a very well-balanced lifestyle, so actions such as sleeping seven+ hours a night, doing something fun, giving back, and spending time with family are also included. I really believe that wellness is not a one size fits all solution, and I think the variety in what actions you can log will really resonate with many of you as well.
The best part: after you earn a certain number of Wellcoins, you get to redeem them for rewards from the Wellcoin marketplace! Rewards include items such as gift cards, new sneakers, free fitness classes, and more. Here is a list of Wellcoin’s current marketplace partners, broken down by category:
Footwear, Apparel, and Sports Equipment
- BeGood Clothing
- Dicks Sporting Goods
- PUMA
- Reebok
- Skechers
- Sports Authority
Restaurants and Groceries
- Fresh City
- Hello Fresh
- Legal Seafoods
- Orange Leaf
- Whole Foods Market
- Yogurtland
Fitness and Wellness
- Beacon Hill Athletic Clubs
- Elements Massage
- Healthworks
- Prana Power Yoga
- Pure Barre
- Republic Fitness
Other
- Gnarly Nutrition
- Normal
- VROU Water
- Zipcar
- WB Kitchen
Pretty awesome, huh? New partners are also constantly being added to the marketplace. It’s important to note that the app can work for everyone, but much of the marketplace is location based. Wellcoin is a Boston startup, so many of the marketplace partners are located in Boston. Wellcoin has also launched in NYC. I have read about many of the companies offering online shipping options to folks outside of the Boston and NY areas, so I think it’s worth checking out.
Wellcoin is also set up like a social network! As you post pictures or updates of your healthy choices, your Wellcoin friends can like and comment on them, earning you even more WC credits. The more social engagement you have, the more rewards you can get. For example, my 3 mile run last night earned me 30 credits, but after my picture got some social engagement, my points tripled! Even better, for those of you with Fitbits, your device will automatically send your daily information to Wellcoin for credit, making tracking things like steps and sleep so much easier.
FREE Wellcoins for F&F Readers
As a brand ambassador, I get to offer you guys 500 free Wellcoins just by signing up! You only need 2,000 Wellcoins to receive a $10 gift card to Whole Foods, so this will help you be well on your way. You can download the app or visit wellcoin.com to join me in earning rewards for our healthy choices. Just enter discount code FITNESSANDFETA upon creating a username and password. If you sign up, don’t forget to follow me so we can root each other on.
Twitter Chat TONIGHT
Also as part of this collaboration, I’ll be co-hosting a Wellcoin Twitter chat tonight at 8pm alongside fellow brand ambassadors Nicole from Pumps & Iron and Michele from NYC Running Mama.
We’ll be discussing how to fall into healthy habits this season, and you can follow along at #BeWELLCoin. If you’re around tonight, I would love your support and hope you’ll join us!
Readers, let’s chat! Have you heard of Wellcoin before? Do you think a platform like this helps with incentivizing healthy behaviors?
Funny, I joined Wellcoin a couple weeks ago! I have trouble remembering to use it though. I’m debating following people etc, I kinda feel like I need another social media outlet like I need a hole in my head but, as my daughter said years ago, “I like money” so I might just to remind myself to log in.
That is funny, Kristen! How did you hear about it? I was having trouble remembering to use it, so I did set up some notifications to come through on my phone. I’m enjoying it so far and haven’t found it to be too much along with all my other social media channels.
Sorely disappointed in Wellcoin. First, most “rewards” have strings attached. You must buy something to get a measly % off. Or, the rewards suck so badly nothing interests me. I gave 35,000 coins to animal shelters. How many juices, discounts off running apparel does one need???! Also, it’s apparent some cities have waaaaay better offers than ours. We have never even been offered Whole Foods and I saw Dick’s Sporting Goods twice.
Worse is the fraud. Phonies posting photos of messy beds “proving” 7 hours of sleep. Drive by’s of fitness places they supposedly worked out at. One woman tried to claim decorative corn as part of her dinner! Nurses who get paid handsomely for their jobs (with bennies) claiming coins for helping those in need (and helping themselves to a less altruistic paycheck). “Time with pets” translates to a snapped photo of an ignored cat or dog. And the ubiquitous water as healthy beverage ; salad for lunch; smoothie for breakfast; chicken for dinner. Zzzzzzzzz.
Poor customer relations. Emails don’t get answered most times. Have begged for new offers to no avail. Have pleaded for more sensible categories & coin allotments & see no change. No interest in curtailing the frauds.
Items load more slowly than molasses in January. Often I get error messages. Sometimes get others’ stuff on my feed. Don’t try to post near 11 pm or after — it’s like sludge. Fitbit sometimes messes up too. I counted 11 times it claims it could not verify my steps, yet I snapped photos of all items.
Tired of beating myself up to get aggravated, watching far too many lie. Weary of doing the right things, only to get offered less than others. Tired of having sensible critiques ignored. Cashing in my coins & bailing.