Best Way to Save Money on Prescription Glasses?

• 

  p1 ama on 27/01/2020 - 22:48

  You can get glasses for $149 at Specsavers. You're probably being ripped off.

  Does anyone know of any extras only health insurance plan I can sign up to for a minimal time, buy some glasses and cancel?

  That's not how insurance works.

  By my calculation, I would be ahead a few hundred.

  Your calculation is likely wrong. Even the cheapest extras only cover is around $300 - $400 per year. You would only have $200 worth of optical and $200 worth of dental. So you'd likely only be around $100 better off with insurance if you only ever use the optical and the dental.

  • 

    Emerald Owl on 27/01/2020 - 22:59

    -5

    If that’s not how insurance works, could you please explain that?

    $100 is a lot to me. This isn’t a Lamborghini forum. The waiting period is usually only a few months so I don’t have to pay for a full years worth?

    • 

      JimmyF on 27/01/2020 - 23:04

      +5

      $100 is a lot to me. This isn’t a Lamborghini forum. The waiting period is usually only a few months so I don’t have to pay for a full years worth?

      You'll be paying more than $150 for your few months of insurance, so just save up and buy the glasses.

      Specsaver has glasses at the $50 and $100 price points too.

    • 

      p1 ama on 28/01/2020 - 00:18

      If that’s not how insurance works, could you please explain that?

      Insurance companies have set up their plans such that the waiting periods are long enough to deter people from doing what you are trying to do here.

      $100 is a lot to me. This isn’t a Lamborghini forum. The waiting period is usually only a few months so I don’t have to pay for a full years worth?

      Then you have completely misunderstood what I have said. I never said that you would save $100 by going with the insurance route. What I said was that if you used up your entire cover, you would only be $100 better off. Read it again.

      On the other hand, as others have pointed out, you can simply go to Specsavers and get glasses for $49 (I didn't actually even know this when I wrote my comment). You would pay MORE for insurance + waiting period than the $49 you would spend on glasses.

      This is also completely ignoring the fact that you would have to wait months before getting your glasses if you're going with the insurance route. On the other hand, you can go to your local Specsavers tomorrow, pay $49 and get your glasses in a week.

• 

  toniyellow on 27/01/2020 - 22:54

  +5

  https://www.ozbargain.com.au/deals/zennioptical.com

  • 

    crentist on 28/01/2020 - 02:35

    +2

    This. been buying from Zenni for years now

• 

  slknv on 27/01/2020 - 22:59

  +3

  Try clearlycontacts, i got 4 pairs around $40 each delivered and they’re very good. Extras private health “insurance” isn’t good value for most people - i used to be an auditor for a major private health insurance company, and i don’t have extras myself now.

  • 

    87percent on 28/01/2020 - 06:38

    Second clearly contacts. Go to opsm/spec savers and get your prescription, while there, try on pairs you like. Go to the clearly website and buy similar looking ones. Often get emails from them saying “glasses from
    $9”

    • 

      lainey13 on 28/01/2020 - 21:41

      -1

      Or, shop around different shops asking for trial boxes! You can get lots of different boxes to try out by complaining about how they feel, the power etc

      • 

        capslock janitor on 31/03/2021 - 10:41

        what are trial boxes?

        complaining about how they feel, the power etc

        can you elaborate

  • 

    capslock janitor on 31/03/2021 - 13:58

    I hear good things about Clearly, and sometimes VisionDirect too.

• 

  moocow on 27/01/2020 - 23:00

  +1

  skip insurance and just buy direct:
  cheapest pair at specsavers is $40
  dental check up and clean $100 (some intro specials are cheaper)

• 

  DashCam AKA Rolts on 27/01/2020 - 23:07

  +2

  Are your parents fully insured with health cover? I believe some policies cover children who are full time students if they are under 25. If so their cover extras may cover your glasses and dental check.

• 

  arkie0 on 27/01/2020 - 23:10

  +1

  Optical waiting period is 6 months, You will have the cover for say 6-7 months, pay weekly so you can cancel early. Minimum extras are between $10 a week = $300 in cover costs.

  Second specsavers, cheap and decent glasses. Cover will give you 2 pairs at 200$ each for free (assuming normal single vision glasses), get a normal one and a pair of sunnies. So you will get $400 worth of glasses.

  Throw in the free dental check up - $100. So yes you are ahead, if you need more dental work done then you're ahead even more. But you still need to outlay over $300.

  If you need glasses right away just buy the 1 pair for $100-150 right away. Edit: those comments above that are quoting 50$, that's for the frame only, its about 100 min for the lens + frame.

  I do the 2 month wait, get all dental work done, cancel and churn. You always come out ahead.

  • 

    Emerald Owl on 27/01/2020 - 23:21

    Thanks man. Do you know if this would negatively affect me in the future? I’m thinking like a bad credit record on a credit card hurting ability to get a mortgage or whatever?

    • 

      arkie0 on 27/01/2020 - 23:23

      Nope, nothing to do with credit.

      • 

        Emerald Owl on 27/01/2020 - 23:28

        Yea not with credit, but don’t they keep a health claim record. Have you done this previously and had no worries later on?

        • 

          arkie0 on 28/01/2020 - 00:11

          +1

          @Emerald Owl: Yes I've done it heaps of times, no issues later on. You can repeat year after year if you want.

          Also used to work in health insurance, so I know there are np issues with this.

    • 

      John Kimble on 27/01/2020 - 23:23

      No

• 

  whytd on 27/01/2020 - 23:50

  Most of Ahm's plans waive optical waiting periods. Cheapest plan with them is 10.70pw, which is a touch over $40 to spend $200 on optical.

  I've done it before, sign up, claim (go see a dentist at the same time), and cancel.

  Edit: I usually wait for the card to come in the mail, so I'm not surprised by being out of pocket as the insurance costs can be complex.

• 

  WookieMonster on 28/01/2020 - 01:21

  +1

  In terms of policies that waive waiting periods for optical or general dental, I cannot think of any policies at the moment. However, HCF has a two month waiting period for optical and general dental, so they are worth considering if you can wait to access benefits, especially if you can pay weekly and can cancel a policy within 12 months without having to pay out for a full year of cover.

  • HCF Starter Extras (with Optical) costs about $3.70 per week. You'd get up to $100 to cover optical items, as well as have one dental check-up, one scale-and-clean and one fluoride treatment 100 percent covered at a preferred dentist.
  • HCF Mid-Extras costs about $6.95 per week. You'd get up to $200 to cover optical items, as well as have two dental check-ups, two scale-and-cleans and one fluoride treatment 100 percent covered at a preferred dentist.

  A couple of things to consider in respect to extras cover:

  1) Pricing can get very messy, especially when it comes to limits, sub-limits, etc. Just because you see a policy that will pay out a certain amount per year, it does not necessarily mean you will not have any gap payments.

  • When I was with Medibank Private, they fully covered two general dental visits per year, but for anything else (e.g. local anesthetic, fillings, extractions) they only covered 55 percent of the cost, which meant I still had to pay 45 percent of anything outside of dental check-ups. If you want to get the most out of a policy, you need to make sure the dentist you go and see is a preferred dentist with the insurer in question, otherwise the insurer may not cover you for as much as you expect.
  • When it comes to optical cover, you need to check to see whether an optometrist is a preferred provider with the insurer to get the most out of your policy. Specsavers is a preferred provider for a lot of insurers, so that won't be too much of an issue.
  • If you intend to pay for optical through insurance, keep an eye out for any sub-limits in your policy (e.g. my parents' Medibank Private policy had a $225 optical limit, but it also had a $92 frame sub-limit, which meant we didn't have as much of a choice with glasses as we expected). Specsavers also base a lot of their promotions and prices ("get two pairs from our $199 range with no gap") on single-vision lenses, so if you need multi-focals or bi-focals, you will be covered differently.
  • Another thing to keep in mind with optical cover is that insurers generally don't cover add-ons or lens options (e.g. lens thinning, anti-reflective coating). For example, if you need to have thinner lenses due to a very strong prescription that standard single-vision lenses cannot handle, you'll probably need to make a gap payment. Keep in mind lens options at Specsavers start from $30…

  2) Some dental treatments require a 12 month waiting period (assuming it is covered), so your insurer may not cover for all dental treatments you may end up needing to be done.

• 

  crentist on 28/01/2020 - 02:40

  +2

  dude just buy from Zenni or one of the other online stores from China. I have a strong prescription, so I'd have to fork out at least $300 or something ridiculous whenever I bought glasses because of the thin lenses. Now I pay like $70.

  A regular thicker lens+frame can be like $20 or $30 shipped, just pick a design and hope they are okay when they arrive.

• 

  Iangh on 28/01/2020 - 07:23

  +1

  I'm a Zenni man myself, but no deals atm. If you don't want to wait and need some cheap glasses now, 25% off at Eyebuydirect, https://au.eyebuydirect.com/.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 28/01/2020 - 08:00

  +1

  Private health is more complex than waiting and claiming.

  If you wear glasses full time I’d suggest getting the anti glare coating. It makes a massive difference and protects the lenses from minor wear and tear. Even as a poor student in the past I’ve used specsavers, they also have a two year warranty on frames (will replace on the spot if possible). If you are desperate start with a $39 pair to get you through.

  Dental will always be more costly. Find yourself a good dentist, you don’t want to have to pay for work to be fixed. Again back in my student days I needed urgent work, pay on the day discount was 10% (even using a cc) and student discount was 5%. Granted this is rare, it saved me money. You can also request work me staggered and done in stages if possible to help you spread the cost.

• 

  tulip99 on 28/01/2020 - 08:45

  I get my reading glasses from Specsavers. The last time was in 2018. I got the $89 special (that's what I like to call it). $39 frames and the $50 smudgeproof coating. I don't know if they still have that as they were phasing in a more expensive ($70 I think) smudgeproof coating. I'm happy with my glasses. I get Aubrey design - they're gold wire ones but they fit me well.

• 

  mskeggs on 28/01/2020 - 10:10

  If $100 is a lot to you, then forget extras insurance. It ends up giving a discount against premium services like OPSM etc. that some people find useful because they want designer frames etc.

  Go get your eyes tested for free (bulk billed on Medicare) then take the prescription to an online optometrist.
  I have used zen I optical before.

  Glasses start at below $20USD. There is no cheaper alternative, only variations on how much more you need to pay.

• 

  jedimaster on 28/01/2020 - 10:18

  check eyebuydirect and order online
  get your prescription number from specsavers (they dont give you printed so ask the person who is testing you and write it on a piece of paper for both eyes)

• 

  klendestined on 28/01/2020 - 11:08

  Hi Gizdonk,

  I would seriously consider not bothering with health insurance for this if that's all you need it for (I don't know your circumstances though).

  I believe that most glasses stores offer bulk billed eye exams on an annual basis (they can take a loss on exams as they gouge you for glasses).I think I go to OPSM each year. Then ask for a hard copy of your prescription. Then buy direct, either online or from a cheaper store like people have mentioned. Only caveat is if you have a strange or significant prescription it may be more difficult (mine is relatively basic with a slight prism being the only non-standard thing).

  I buy my glasses from https://au.eyebuydirect.com/ and they are super cheap. I started doing this after I got quoted over $300 for a lens replacement on a pair of specs I already had.

  Example lowest cost:
  $9 for frame https://au.eyebuydirect.com/eyeglasses/frames/bandon-black-m…
  plus $10 for a basic reading lens;
  plus $5 for a soft case (doesn't look good, get the $8 one);
  $12 shipping to Brisbane

  $35.4 for a pair of basic glasses. Not the most flash, but they do the job.

• 

  lainey13 on 28/01/2020 - 21:44

  Depending on the time of year, health insurance providers will waive waiting periods. You can get your prescription through a bulk billing appointment with an option, get your PD and order online for cheaper but this is risky.

• 

  fozzie on 23/02/2020 - 08:04

  I think online glasses is the best option for you.

  Regarding the dental are you on a health care card? If you are you get free dental check ups in NSW https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/oralhealth/Pages/info-patients…

• 

  greenplastix on 09/04/2020 - 19:36

  +1

  If you care in anyway about how the glasses look on your face, you will need to buy them in person, not online. It's false economy to skimp on something that sits smack bang in the middle of your face. You don't want to walk around feeling self-conscious everytime you are outside the house.

  Generally optical has a 6 month waiting period. Australian unity for instance, offers 100% cashback, so you need to work out whether it's worthwhile for you.

  Specsavers are pretty good if you a simple prescription (no thin lenses, multi-focals, etc.).