Wellness-Focused Ness Card Launches Public Beta and Announces Jonathan Van Ness as Chief Self-Care Officer
Ness is a premium points-based credit card powered by Mastercard that aims to incentivize living healthy through rewards and exclusive benefits with top health and wellness brands.
For health-conscious consumers, there’s a new credit card company called Ness that is putting wellness first. They recently announced the public beta launch of the Ness Card issued by The Bank of Missouri and powered by Mastercard that is now available via invite.
The premium points-based credit card aims to incentivize living healthy through various rewards and exclusive benefits with top health and wellness brands including Exhale Spa, Fyt, Glamsquad, HigherDOSE, Parsley Health, Seed Health and more. Ness’ newest partnership is with sweetgreen, which is offering Ness Card members an exclusive deal by rewarding customers with a free salad every fifth purchase, up to twice a month. When card members spend $75 with their Ness Card, they receive $15 back in the form of a statement credit at sweetgreen (up to two times per month), saving up to $360 annually.
Ness also just announced Emmy-nominated television personality Jonathan Van Ness as the company’s Chief Self-Care Officer. In his role, Van Ness will work with the Ness leadership team to guide the Ness Card business strategy and redefine what holistic wellness is for a new generation with an extra emphasis on self-care.
“Ness speaks to the core of my own personal mission and I am thrilled to join the team,” says Van Ness. “Together, we’re building a platform that empowers people to take control of the most important thing they have, their health and wellness. My mantra has always been: self-care is non-negotiable.”
“Queer Eye” Star Jonathan Van Ness Launches JVN Hair
We interviewed Ness CEO and Founder, Derek Flanzraich, to learn more about the inspiration for the Ness Card, special features and more:
What inspired the idea for the Ness Card?
I struggled with health at various points in my life. Take, for example, when my insurance wouldn’t pay for me to see my therapist during the COVID-19 lockdown. I was mad, confused, and needed help. I thought: Why is it so hard to get access and afford things that are good for you? What if you could be rewarded and incentivized for doing the right things with more of the right things? And what if, in the process, more people could do the right things? That’s when the Ness Card was born.
I grabbed my journal and started sketching my vision for the first-ever credit card that rewards people for being healthy—for sleeping, meditating, self-caring, eating healthy, spending healthy, and, yes, going to therapy. Less than two years after those early sketches, we’re now welcoming Ness Card members to our community of people who prioritize health first and deserve to be rewarded for it.
For $349 annually, Ness Card members receive 5x points for spend at healthy merchants including healthy restaurants, grocery stores, beauty supply stores and salons, pharmacies, doctors, fitness gyms, and more.
What are some special features of using the Ness Card?
Ness Cardmembers can enjoy 5x points on Health & Wellness merchants and 2x points everywhere else. Members can also get points every day for healthy activity, like walking 6,000 steps or more, meditating for 10 minutes, exercising for 30+ minutes, and sleeping more than seven hours. Points can be redeemed for the latest/highest-rated healthy foods, fitness memberships, gear, and a curated marketplace of services (dietitians, health coaches, etc.) and Nesswell providers. Some benefits of note include:
$360 Annual statement credit at sweetgreen: When members spend $75 at sweetgreen, they get $15 back (up to twice per month)
$300 Annual statement credit at Parsley Health - advanced primary care that treats the root cause of symptoms
$200 Annual Healthy Credit (towards anything healthy)
$200 Annual Personal Training Credit with Fyt
$100 Annual Spa Services Credit at Exhale
$100 Credit for probiotics at Seed Health
$100 Credit for inner wellness tech gear at Higher Dose
$180 Credit for in-home beauty services via a GlamSquad membership
$1,000 in additional benefits from brands like Magic Spoon, SOTO Method, Modern Age, and others
More benefits are continuously being rolled out…
Who can apply for the Ness Card?
The Ness Card is in public beta and currently available via invite-only. Anyone can request an invite to apply for the card. Access to a Ness Card account is subject to credit approval. You must be at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your state) and reside in the continental U.S. to apply. An approved Ness Card application will result in a hard credit inquiry, which may impact your credit score.
Please share anything else you’d like us to know.
Ness is continuously expanding its exclusive marketplace of offers and brand partners to offer Cardmembers a plethora of ways to redeem their well-earned points. In addition to the Ness Card and marketplace, Ness offers inspirational content and directories filed with guidance for living healthy. The Nessie blog and Nessie Sightings (free) newsletter feature research-backed Wellness Diaries about real people and their health journeys and insight for people looking for approachable health and wellness finds. The Nessie team also consistently provides recommendations for independently selected and rigorously tested wellness products and services.
For more information about the Ness Card and to request an invite, visit the website. Follow on Instagram: @thenesscard
[Photos courtesy of Ness]
Kamala Kirk is a University of Southern California graduate and has been an editor/writer for more than a decade. She has written for E! Online, Total Beauty, TravelAge West, Malibu Times Magazine, and many more. She resides in Los Angeles and is a proud pug mom. Follow her on Instagram: @kamalakirk