Meta Smartglasses and Vision Insurance

By Brian, 21 October, 2024

Forum
Assistive Technology

I have been hesitant to post this as I was having difficulties finding any valid documentation on the issue. I am also concerned that the nature of this post may start an argument, or at the very least attract trolls, as seems to be the nature of internet forums, generally speaking.
Nevertheless, I am here to share with you all, my experience with obtaining a pair of Meta Ray-Bans for only $53, including the 1 year extended warranty and applicable taxes.

I first learned of this opportunity through a classmate while taking classes for my upcoming Network Engineering Certification. This classmate, whom is also blind, made the claim that he picked up a pair of Meta Ray-Bans for only the out-of-pocket cost of the 1 year extended warranty, approx. $35US. This was roughly about 6 weeks ago, give or take.

About a week and a half ago, my friend, her husband, and I went to a local LensCrafters because her hubby needed a new script for his glasses. Regular corrective lenses, mind you. We decided to go with to see about using our Vision Insurance to help offset the cost of a pair of Meta Ray-Bans for each of us. This is how my classmate claims he obtained his for so little out-of-pocket cost.

At LensCrafters we had to speak to a manager/supervisor, and explained what we wanted and how would it work for us. Especially for myself, as I do not typically have a, "prescription", for corrective lenses. LensCrafters happens to have an on-site Ophthalmologist, whom we were instructed to schedule an eye exam with. We were told that, to appease the insurance we have, we would have to get a prescription lens for our Meta Smartglasses. This worked out for us both; my friend as she is near-sighted and for myself because I am fully blind so who cares if my eyewear are prescription or not. 😄

Two days later we returned for our eye exam appointment. While my friend actually had an eye exam, I just received a generic prescription for a pair of Meta Ray-Bans with the weakest corrective prescription, they could add to the lenses, again to appease insurance needs.

In the end, my friend got her Metas for about $63, and mind were about $53. Both include extended warranty and applicable taxes! 😎👌

LensCrafters,as I have only recently discovered, is an international eyewear retailer, as well as a certified meta retailer. So, unless there are certain regional prohibitive laws preventing this, then ideally anyone with decent vision insurance and access to a LensCrafters should be able to take advantage of my experience. Of course, I have no doubt this can be done at other certified retailers, provided they accept vision insurance. however, having an on-site Ophthalmologist made things go a lot smoother, and saved a lot of time.👍

Below is the only real definitive documentation I could find. I hope you all find it, and this post, useful.

Thanks for reading. 🙇

Lenscrafters Insurance Savings:
https://www.lenscrafters.com/lc-us/insurance-plans

Options

Comments

By Oliver on Wednesday, October 23, 2024 - 23:19

Very nicely done.

considering we don't get the full benefit of many pieces of tech, I like the approach that we pay for what we use so getting ray-bans for cheaper is always going to be a win. :)

By Brad on Wednesday, October 23, 2024 - 23:19

I read the title and thought, nah,, you're not going to get it for a cheeper price and then you go and do exactly that :)

By Oliver on Wednesday, October 23, 2024 - 23:19

Haha, it does smack of clickbait...

He thought he could get meta's latest tech for a sixth of the price... Then this happened...

By Brian on Wednesday, October 23, 2024 - 23:19

Ya know, I am unsure the exact dollar amount my Ray-Bans totaled at, before insurance etc. I will have to see if I can't make the receipt into a PDF file I can put on here. Dependent on what personal information, if any, is on said receipt. 😎

By Brooke on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 - 23:19

That's just awesome!! I hope my glasses last for a long time, but when they eventually die and I need new ones, I'm going to give it a try.

By Brian on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 - 23:19

Hey Brooke,

If you happened to pay for the extended warranty, using it before the year is up will guarantee your glasses will always be in top shape, as they essentially replace your current pair with a new pair.

Which means new battery, etc. This is what the people at LensCcrafters told us.

By Brooke on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 - 23:19

I bought mine from Amazon very early this year. I can't even remember if there was an option for an extended warranty. This is definitely something I should have looked into as I bought them, but I was impatient, Lol. Had I waited a few more months, I would have had many more options.

By Brian on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 - 23:19

Well, however you go about it, might I recommend the Skyler frames over the Headliner or Wayfairer frames. Skyler are much more stylish, streamlined, and simply more comfortable than the other 2 models.

Just food for thought. 😉

By Brooke on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 - 23:19

I agree about the Skylers. Mine are Wayfarers, because that's what was out at the time I bought them. But if I had the chance to do it all over again, I'd pick the Skylers.

By Brian on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 - 23:19

There is a new frame design either coming out for Meta, or is already out. I have only held the Wayfairer, Headliner, and Skyler though. not sure what the new design is/will be like.

By Justin Harris on Wednesday, January 8, 2025 - 23:19

This is awesome!!! Not sure where there is a LensCrafters near me, as I am in a smaller town in the middle of nowhere. An excuse to go to a bigger city is always nice though.

By Brian on Wednesday, January 8, 2025 - 23:19

I've been there and done that, with regards to living in a small town. Try being blind in a small farming community of barely 5000 residents. It was simply no bueno! Nowadays I live in a metro city with something like a quarter of a million residents, so finding stores and such is not so bad.
I should also apologize with my original post, going back over my receipts, it looks like I paid about $67 including warranty and taxes. The part I was unaware of before, is that tinting the lens is an extra charge and absolutely not covered by insurance.
So do keep that in mind, and apologies for the typo in my original post. 😅

By Justin Harris on Wednesday, January 8, 2025 - 23:19

Bro, no problem. That is still an amazing deal!!!!! My town has about 9,000 people, so not much better than what you used to experience. Thanks for all the info.

By Brian on Wednesday, January 8, 2025 - 23:19

No problem. Good luck, and maybe you will get to check out the new frames that are reportedly coming out this year. 😎

By Justin Harris on Thursday, January 9, 2025 - 23:19

Maybe so. :) Found out there is a LensCrafters in Tulsa, which is about an hour and a half, maybe two hours away. Might be able to make it happen.

By Brian on Thursday, January 9, 2025 - 23:19

Good luck and remember to be patient with them when explaining your situation. When I went, the sales lady had no clue what I was talking about, but was able to speak to her supervisor/manager and got things going from there. Will probably be the same for you. 🙂

By GoGo on Wednesday, January 22, 2025 - 23:19

This information deserved for me to contribute my experience. I followed the OP’s instructions to the letter, and I am about to walk out of LensCrafters with my glasses. I chose to skip the protection due to the ridiculous co-pay fee, and only pay the taxes on my glasses. Long story, short, I now have a pair of META Ray-Ban glasses for $14.97. Thank you for this information, what a way to start my year off.

By Justin Harris on Wednesday, January 22, 2025 - 23:19

Whaat? That is incredible!!!
I just wish I lived much closer to a Lenscrafters, because if it were to not work, that's a bit of a long trip, wasted.
Upon looking at my coverage in the UHC app, it shows everything I get, but says I only get standard Medicare vision benefits, whatever that means, so no idea if that would cover it or not. My plan is a Medicare dual complete plan through United, but yeah, says I only have standard vision benefits. Would love to know if anyone else with UHC has been able to pull this off.

By Brian on Wednesday, January 22, 2025 - 23:19

For what it's worth I have Original Medicare covered vision benefits. I have the same United health dual complete that you have.
Unless the folks at your LensCrafters are complete jerk faces, you should have no problems getting yourself a pair of Meta smart glasses at a super affordable price.

By Justin Harris on Wednesday, January 22, 2025 - 23:19

Sweet! Good to know our benefits are the same, and you were able to do it with that. Gunna have to make a trip to Tulsa.
Do you think they would allow someone to do this strictly online, and still use that, or do you think it would only work in person?

By Brian on Wednesday, January 22, 2025 - 23:19

I'd say give it a shot. Worst case scenario, you don't complete the purchase.

By PaulMartz on Wednesday, January 22, 2025 - 23:19

Sorry this is slightly off topic. "Hey Meta, use Shazam" now identifies a song. Kind of a dopey prompt, but it works great.

By Brian on Wednesday, January 22, 2025 - 23:19

I too got this fairly recently on my meta-smart glasses, and I have to say it works pretty well. Hey Paul, a question, have you tried just asking something like, "Hey Meta, what song is this"? That or simply, "Shazam this"?

By Justin Harris on Thursday, January 23, 2025 - 23:19

That's pretty sweet. Yet another reason I want them.

By Brian on Thursday, January 23, 2025 - 23:19

The Meta smart glasses are turning out to be very handy indeed. With features like built-in Shazam, and of course the ability to play music from various providers directly from the glasses themselves. The ability to scan, read, & call phone numbers directly from a document. The ability to create and manage reminders directly through the glasses, and the ability to describe our environment, make these, "not meant for the blind", smart glasses pretty, "blind friendly", after all!
Oh! I suppose being able to text and call friends and loved ones is OK too. 🤓

By GoGo on Friday, January 24, 2025 - 15:19

I have the UHC dual complete as well and mine also says Medicare coverage. We have a yearly allotment of $300 for the frame, and the freeyearly eye check up. In terms of trying to get them from online, I tried it at both Target Optical and LensCrafters And both wanted to charge me for the lenses. I even went as far to call customer service, and they were unable to run my insurance. My advice is to schedule an appointment with the optometrist, and go into the store. BTW, I believe this also works if you have a Target Optical near you Since they’re both ran by the same company. Hope this helps.

By Brian on Friday, January 24, 2025 - 19:19

I did not know about Target Optical. Might be worth checking out. :)

By Justin Harris on Saturday, January 25, 2025 - 17:19

Thanks for this. I don't think one of those is any closer, but yes, I will go ahead and set up an appointment in March, when my sister has spring g break off. She's a teacher, so can't just take off just because.

By Brian on Saturday, January 25, 2025 - 18:19

This has probably already been said, but make sure you ask lots of questions, and try on whatever pair they have on display. That way you know you're getting something that will be comfortable and enjoyable to wear.
Also, once you do have them, do not be surprised if it takes a while for all of the latest stuff to get added onto your Meta View app. I know it took like a month for Be My Eyes to be on my Meta's, even after posting about it here on AppleVis.

By Justin Harris on Saturday, January 25, 2025 - 23:19

Ah, this is also good to know. Thanks for all the good info. Will definitely be re-reading this whole thread when it comes time just so I don't forget anything.