Effective coupon shopping at Drug Stores (like CVS and Walgreens) takes a much different strategy than shopping at the Grocery Stores.
Each drug store has a different couponing method. Here are the basics on how to “Survive Walgreens.”
Before May of 2009, Walgreens was a lot more complicated than it is now. There was a rebate program, Walgreens Easy Saver coupons and something called Register Rewards (which I will explain below). But in May of 2009, Walgreens got rid of their Easy Saver program, thus making “couponing” there much less complicated! The Register Reward program is still active, and is a little similar to CVS’s ECB program, except that you don’t have to have a customer loyalty card to do it.
Each week in the Walgreens ad you will see items that, when you buy them, you earn something called “Register Rewards.” Register Rewards (or RRs in my posts) are coupons that print out from a little machine next to the register (called a Catalina machine). You can use these Register Rewards like cash on any future purchases (with a few exceptions like tobacco products, lottery tickets, gift cards, etc…)
Sounds simple, right? Well, there are a few rules to follow when doing this. I think the best way to explain this is to create a sample scenario with an explanation of each step.
- The weekly ad comes out and there are three items in the ad that say “Free after Register Rewards.” What this means is that if you buy the item, say at $4.99, then you will get $4.99 in Register Rewards back once you pay for your purchase.
- So for this example, let’s say that there is a brand of Toothpaste that costs $2.99 and you will get $3.00 in Register Rewards back (the Register Rewards always round up – if it says $2.99, then you will get a RR for $3.00 – if it says $3.49 then you will get a RR for $3.50). There is also a 6 pack of toilet paper that is $3.50 (and you get $3.50 in Register Rewards back). Then there is a package of Tylenol that costs $6.00, and if you buy it you get $6.00 in Register Rewards back.
{Are you getting confused yet? Just stay with me, read through to the end, and then read it all over again. Read through the Walgreens scenarios that I post each Saturday for a couple of weeks and you will start to get the hang of it!}
- You have a coupon that gives you $1 off the toothpaste and a coupon that gives you 50¢ off of the paper towels. Here is what a possible trip to Walgreens might look like:
Your first transaction (all you need to do is tell the cashier you want to do separate transactions – you don’t have to go out of the store and then back in or anything):
You buy the Toothpaste for $2.99
and you buy the toilet paper for $3.50
Then you give them your $1 off coupon for the toothpaste
and you give them your 50¢ off coupon for the toilet paper
You would pay $4.99 out of pocket (with real money!)
And you would get back two slips of paper from the catalina machine by the register. You would get out one that says, “Save $3 on your next purchase” and one that says, “Save $3.50 on your next purchase.”
NOTE: YES, you can use manufacturer coupons and still get your Register Rewards. Sometimes cashiers/managers who don’t know how their system works will say that you can’t get Register Rewards if you use a coupon. If they use this as an excuse for why your Register Reward didn’t print, it’s NOT true. More than likely it is because either the catalina machine is offline (or out of paper), or you didn’t get the right item.
Here is what your second transaction might look like:
Buy the Tylenol for $6.00
You can’t use the Register Rewards to pay for this just yet for two reasons:
1) Because you have $6.50 in Register Rewards and your purchase will only be $6.00.
2) Because you only have one item and you have two Register Rewards (i.e. coupons) that you will want to use from your first transaction. You cannot use more coupons than you have items and Register Rewards count as coupons (as we will see again in the next transaction).
So, you will need to purchase what I refer to as a “filler” item to get your total at or above $6.50.
Once your total is at least $6.50 then you can give them your $6.50 in Register Rewards to pay.
You would pay out of pocket whatever the amount is above $6.50 (if you bought an item for 59¢ then you would end up paying 9¢ plus tax out of pocket)
And you would get back $6 in Register Rewards
Here is what your third transaction might look like (very similar to Transaction #1 but with a small change):
You buy the Toothpaste for $2.99
and you buy the toilet paper for $3.50
Then you give them your $1 off coupon for the toothpaste
and you give them your 50¢ off coupon for the toilet paper
Again, you can’t use your Register Rewards from Transaction #2 just yet for the same two reasons that were listed above:
1) Our total is only $4.99 and we have a $6 Register Reward
2) We only have two items and we’ve already used two coupons. Since the Register Reward counts as a coupon, we will need three items to be able to use three coupons.
So you will need to buy another item that is at least $1.01 so that the total will be at least $6. Then you can use your $6 Register Reward to pay.
You will pay out of pocket whatever the final amount was over $6.
And you will get back $6.50 in Register Rewards
You could then do Transaction #2 all over again, then transaction #3 and back and forth and back and forth (depending on how many coupons you had!)
Now I’m sure the question going through your mind is, “Why couldn’t I buy the Tylenol for $6, get the $6 Register Reward, and then buy the Tylenol again with that $6 Register Reward, get another $6 Register Reward, etc, etc…” The answer is that the computer system won’t let you do that. You cannot use a Register Reward that you got from one item to buy that same item and still get a Register Reward again. That’s why in the transactions above I “roll” the Register Rewards to get different items.
If you look through the Walgreens Scenarios from previous weeks, you’ll get the hang of what I’m talking about.
There is one more type of coupon at Walgreens that you should know about. If you look at a Walgreens ad, you will see Walgreens coupons (called in-ad coupons) all over the ad. In order to get the price that’s in the ad for the particular item, you have to have the cashier scan the coupon from the ad. You don’t have to cut out the coupon, just hand the ad to the cashier. These coupons are considered Walgreens coupons. You can use one Walgreens coupon and one Manufacturer coupon (a Register Reward is considered a manufacturer coupon) per item.
If you have a question about a specific week’s ad, just leave a comment on that post and either I or another reader will answer it.
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Hi Rachel!
Do you happen to have contact information for Catalina? I had to mail off forms when my Walgreens didn’t print my register rewards on one particular trip. I never received my coupons in the mail, so I called my local Walgreens and they were no help. I’d love to be able to speak with a Catalina representative!
Thanks!
Hey Sandy!
You can call 1-888-8coupon and choose option 3, or fill out their online form here: http://www.catalinamarketing.com/contact/
Hope that helps!
Hi Rachel
I am just starting to discover couponing and your explanation of Walgreen shopping is wonderful. Thank you so much.
Actually with walgreen ad coupons, you can use a walgreens coupon, a manufacturer coupon, and include your filler things like laffy taffys for .10 and still use your register reward money. You just have to have as many items as fillers. Your order though as to be equal or greater than your register awards.
I did this last week.
I want to Thank you so much for this detailed explanation at Walgreens. I was there last sunday and again today…I get so confused. Thank God, the cashiers have all the patients..It really helped me understand now what I’m doing and how to prepare.
Thank you so much for this!! I am new to couponing, and Walgreens is literally walking distance from my house, so I need to get familiar with them– this REALLY helped!
Thanks a lot for this. It really helps me to understand how this stuff works.
thanks so much for this, I read this right before I went on my first shopping trip to walgreens and it was so helpful!
Can I use to RR from one item that I bought twice to buy other items.? For example I bought two Keri Lotions at different times and would like to use them to buy several different items that will cost over the RRs?
Thanks
I was in Walgreens the other day for a really great deal. They had the Degree deoderant 2 for 4.00. When you bought 4 you would get 4 dollar register rewards. I had 3 BOGO and 3 1 dollar coupon. For the BOGO coupon, he only took off the 0.01. He said store policy is the BOGO is for the smaller or same value as the other item. Do you know if this is correct?
Thanks,
I think that this is the best explanation of the store policy that I have seen. Great Job. Please sign me up to be on your daily e-mail list. Thank You!!
Just want you to know that I really appreciate all your hard work…