Since the early days of the pandemic, we’ve maintained a list of discounts offered to doctors and other healthcare workers. Given their challenging jobs and the surprising rarity of a simple thank you, running an updated version of this post every Black Friday seemed like a good way to thank our audience and get them some good deals.
This year, we’re taking it a step further.
Introducing WCI Healthcare Perks
We’re excited to bring you WCI Healthcare Perks, powered by the team at Wizard Perks. On behalf of physicians and other medical professionals, Wizard Perks negotiated “corporate” deals, most of which we believe are the lowest you’ll find anywhere. When we compared the discounts and deals we were offering before, we found similar and sometimes even better (and certainly more) discounts through Wizard Perks. We combined forces to get just as many deals and deep discounts as possible into this WCI Healthcare Perks program. In addition to getting you better discounts, WCI gets help negotiating and maintaining this list, and we even get a little financial support for WCI for making the connection.
You will find the most significant savings in categories like travel and phone bills, but there’s plenty more. It’s worth a quick look to see if something you already use could cost you less.
As I scrolled through the list of deals, I saw plenty that will interest WCIers. Perhaps the most significant is travel.
Featured Travel Healthcare Discounts
Clicking on travel deals, you’re greeted with this page:
It says up to 60% off hotels. Forgive my skepticism. My staff has told me that this really looks like a great opportunity for WCIers, but I’d like to test it out myself.
Let’s say we want to stay in Park City, Utah, for five nights over the holidays with two kids to go skiing. The WCI HealthCare Perks finds us a price of $547 per night ($3,519 total for five nights, including taxes and fees) at the Westgate Park City Resort and Spa.
Now, let’s see how much of a discount WCI Healthcare Perks gets us. If I go directly to the hotel website to book, I can find a standard room with two doubles, and it costs . . .
Holy smokes, $10,300! That’s a serious discount. No, I have no idea how it gets from $724 a night for five nights to $10,300, but that’s what the website tells me. The nightly rate for WCI Healthcare Perks is already a 24% discount, but the discount on the all-in price is apparently 66%. I’m convinced. Might as well check it out when you travel. The worst-case scenario is that the price isn’t awesome and you don’t use it. But you might pay 66% less for your hotel.
What if you want to go to Disneyland? Let’s say the 12th, 13th, and 14th of December. No, I couldn’t take three straight days at Disneyland, but WCI columnist Julie Alonso sure can. Here are your options:
For $381.77, your kid gets to spend two days at Disneyland and one day at California Adventure. Let’s see what it costs if you buy from Disney instead of WCI Healthcare Perks.
Looks like WCI Healthcare Perks wasn’t lying. The gate price really is $400, so that’s a 4.6% discount. Better than a kick in the teeth, especially if you have a bunch of kids you’re forking out over $100 a day to entertain while standing in lines hoping a princess walks by. (Hint: if you’re like me, the Lightning Lane pass is well worth whatever they charge for it).
It’s not just Disney either. You’d get discounts on Busch Gardens, San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld, Universal, Six Flags, and Knott’s Berry Farm.
More information here:
WCI Travel Club: Momentous Trips to the Appalachian Trail, Washington DC, and Tokyo/Paris
WCI Travel Club: Meaningful Trips to Half Dome, Thailand, and Alaska
Featured Phone Plan Deals for Doctors
Some of the best deals WCI Healthcare Perks offers are on your cellular phone bill. The monthly cost per line is much less than I currently pay. Looks like you can get $20 a month for a T-Mobile unlimited plan (per month, not a $20 discount), $25 a month (per month, not a $25 discount, and it is free through the end of the year) for an AT&T unlimited plan, and $15 a month off at Verizon. That could be as much as $300 a year. Compounded at 8% for 40 years, that’s over $77,000. These cellular deals do require a $99 annual membership fee, but that is per account, not per line. It’s still an amazing discount.
Other Featured Healthcare Discounts
There are plenty of other discounts, too. Let me list a few to whet your appetite for spending this Black Friday:
- 50% off Sam’s Club membership (or a $20-$40 card if you sign up for a Costco one)
- 70% off on your first box of dog food (Farmer’s Dog)
- 10% off on pet insurance (Prudent Pet exclusive)
- 20% off a pair of shoes at Rothy’s
- $30 off orders of $199 or more at Bose
- 20% off on select Burton gear
- 10% off at Nike
- 20% off at Under Armour
- 15% off at New Balance
- 15% off lululemon
- Discounts at Yeti
- 10% off the whole check at Outback Steakhouse
It just goes on and on and on.
- 35% off at Budget or Avis car rental
- Up to $2,000 off a car (TrueCar)
- 15% off at Jiffy Lube
- 50% off AAA membership
- 10% off Goodyear Tires
- 10% off childcare at KinderCare, The Children’s Courtyard, Pathways, Tutor Time, Creative Kids, Montessori Unlimited, Champions, Appletree, Childtime Learning, and more
There are discounts for Rocket Lawyer, LegalZoom, AARP membership, and even a home warranty. Whether you wear J. Crew, Levi’s, or Carhartt, there are discounts for you. There are even discounts for Frigidaire, Whirlpool, and Electrolux appliances. Going to the movies tonight at a Regal or AMC theater? Why pay full price? There are gym passes, fitness apps, spa gift cards, and more. It might even be possible to do all your holiday shopping at a discount through WCI Healthcare Perks.
You just need to check it out. I think it’s very unlikely that any WCIer can go through the whole list and find NOTHING they will buy in the next year on which they can’t get a discount.
This is a win-win-win if there ever was one. We no longer have to maintain a list of healthcare discounts ourselves. You get better discounts. We get paid a little for the stuff you buy. The companies offering the discounts get a little more business. There are no losers here. You’re welcome.
What do you think? What discounts did you find most attractive?
