Thursday, August 26, 2010

Walgreens-- 101 guide and new coupon policy!

Walgreen's has finally put down their coupon policy in writing! This is GREAT news for all Wags shoppers, because now we can reference a policy when we run into trouble when trying to use coupons!

You can read the entire policy HERE.

It's been awhile since I've written a store 101 guide; it was my intent to cover all the stores I shop at, but so far I've only written these couponing 101 guides for CVS, Rite Aid, and Target. So, now that Walgreens has an official policy, I will write my Walgreen 101 guide!!

Walgreens 101 guide
Walgreens offers:

Register Rewards:
RR's are basically Catalina Coupons that print out from a machine near your receipt. You can earn RR's when you buy a participating item, as noted in the Walgreens weekly ad. You may have to buy more than 1 product to earn the RR or a certain dollar amount. Register Rewards are from the manufacturer, but they have Walgreens logo on them. They do expire; usually about 2 weeks after you receive it.
Register Rewards are different than other catalina coupons because at Walgreens, it counts as a coupon and it can't be stacked. So, that means you have to have an equal number of items as coupons. If you have 3 items and you already have a manufacturer coupon for each item, you won't be able to use the RR (computer will beep). In these instances, look for a small "filler" item, like a small candy, pencil, gum, etc. Even if the RR is more than the filler item, it will go through fine. It just needs to attach itself to an item that doesn't already have a coupon attached to it.
Register Rewards are earned 1 identical per transaction. For example: if you get a $5 RR for buying 3 Tylenol products, if you buy 6 products in one transaction, you'll only receive one $5 RR. So, you'll need to do separate transactions if you want more of the same RR. Also, RR's don't usually "roll" (although sometimes they do)- if you use the RR you just earned to buy the same thing that generated the RR, you won't get another RR back. So, use your RR on something else. If you read that a RR deal is "rolling", that means you CAN use the RR to buy the exact same thing and you'll still get another RR to print out!

Rolling Register Rewards:
Just like coupon pro's "roll" ECB's at CVS, you can learn to "roll" your RR's at Walgreens.
For example- if there are good deals on products you need and they both product RR's, do multiple transactions and use the RR from one deal (say, for instance, Tylenol) to pay for a transaction of another deal (say, for instance Pampers).
It would look like this:
Deal 1: Buy Tylenol, use coupons to pay little out of pocket, receive a RR
Deal 2: Buy Pampers, use coupons and the above RR to pay little out of pocket, get a different RR
Repeat deal 1 using the RR from Pampers
Repeat deal 2 using RR from Tylenol

You can repeat these transactions a few times- it depends on your cashier and the store's stock of the items. I don't usually advice holding up the line, irritating your cashiers, or clearing the shelves. If it is a great deal of something and you really want to stock up, visit a different store or go back the next day.

If a Register Reward is for $5, you have to have a total of $5 to use it. Otherwise, you lose the extra money. 

Walgreens coupons:
Walgreens has their own store coupons that you can stack with manufacturer coupons. These coupons are in their weekly ad and in the monthly bonus coupon books (find both of these at the front of the store near the carts). They will also sometimes have special coupons online, in a children's activity book you can purchase for $0.99, and in a special coupon book found near the pharmacy.

The nice thing about these coupons is they will automatically come off every identical item in your purchase. For example, if you are buying 6 Trident Gums and there is an in-ad coupon making them 2/$1, you only need to scan the in-ad coupon once and it will adjust the price for all 6 of them.

When using Manufacturer Coupons WITH Walgreens coupons, you should always hand over the Manufacturer coupon first! That way, if there will be overage, the Walgreens coupon will still go through. And, Register Rewards should always be handed over last, once you've gotten your total as low as it will go with coupons. 

Rain Checks:
Walgreens offers rain checks; however, if there is a RR promotion attached to the product, you won't receive the RR with the rain check. Once that weekly deal is over, it's over. The Rain Check won't product the Register Rewards.

Coupon adjustment:
Per the new policy, coupons can be adjusted down! If the item is less than the coupon amount, the cashier can manually enter in the item price. For example, the coupon is for $2 off, but the item is only $1.99. The cashier can adjust the coupon to $1.99 so that it will go through.

Buy One, Get One Free sales and coupons:
Per the new policy, you can use a B1G1 free coupon on a item that is on sale for B1G1 free. So, you'd get two for free- Walgreens will "pay" for one and the coupon will "pay" for one.

If you have any trouble with using coupons at Walgreens, first ask for a manager. You can also contact customer service by calling 1-800-WALGREENS or you can go here to send them an email.
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