Here’s an introduction to couponing at Walgreens courtesy of Jennie at Bargain Blessings!
Register Rewards (RR):
Register Rewards are Catalina coupons that print out at the register when you purchase the specified products. So, using the example of the Huggies, you will get a $3 Register Reward for purchasing one package. Here are a few things you need to understand about register rewards:
1. Register Rewards are manufacturer coupons that can then be used to purchase anything in any Walgreens store. So, if you are purchasing an item for $5 and you are using a $3 RR to pay for it, it will then only be $2 that you pay out of pocket. They expire in about two weeks after they are issued, so make sure to keep an eye on those expiration dates.
2. Your total has to be over the amount of the RR. So, you cannot use a $3 RR to buy three times that are .99 each, because your total would go negative. In this case, your RR would beep at the register and the cashier will not accept it. A good solution to this is to purchase a filler item. Filler items are very inexpensive items (.01-.25) that can be used to make sure your total doesn’t go negative. Make sure to check out the clearance section for fillers and the seasonal section for things like pencils. So now, you could by your three .99 items, plus one .05 filler and pay for all these with a $3RR and your total will be .02 plus tax.
3. You can only earn one of the same RR in a transaction. So, you cannot purchase five packs of Huggies and expect to get five RRs back. You will only get one. To get around this, you can do five separate transactions. Make sure to be courteous and go to the end of the line for each transaction.
4. You cannot use a Register Reward earned from an item to purchase that same item and expect to get another RR. For example, if you had already done the Huggies transaction once, you cannot use the $3 RR you earned to pay for your next transaction. If you were to do that, your new $3 RR would not print. You can however, use a RR from another product to purchase a different product that will produce a RR. So, for example this week Dove Men’s Body Wash is $5.99 with a $6 RR making it FREE after the RR. You could purchase the Huggies first, and then purchase the Dove and use the Huggies RR to pay for the dove, so your out of pocket cost for the Dove would only be $2.99 before any other coupons and tax, and you would earn a $6 RR back. This concept is called rolling Register Rewards.
5. You can use multiple RRs in one transaction. For example, if you are buying a $25 item, you could purchase that with five $5 RRs as long as you added four filler items to satisfy the coupon to item ratio which I discuss below.
Coupon to Item Ratio:
At Walgreens you cannot have more manufacturer coupons than you have items. Keep in mind that RRs are manufacturer coupons so they count towards this ratio. Walgreens store coupons (IVCs) are not manufacturer coupons, so they do not count towards this ratio. *The 15% off today is an IVC, not a manufacturer coupon. Again use filler items to satisfy this coupon to item ratio. For the example that I used in #4 above, if you did the Huggies transaction first and then you wanted to use the Huggies RR to pay for the Dove (which you are also using a manufacturer coupon on), you would need to add a filler item, because right now you would have one product (the Dove) and two coupons (the $3RR and the $1 MQ). Add one small filler item, and you will be good to go!
Jennie and her husband live in the beautiful state of Colorado with their three pups. She shares all about the latest deals and her couponing antics over on Bargain Blessings.
{ 2 comments }
My Walgreens is no longer allowing you to buy two of the same item in order to get RRs even though I was doing two seperate transactions. I tried to buy the Colgate Advanced Toothpaste today, the first transaction went fine, but then when it was time for the second transaction the casheir said he would not do it….only one per day he said. ALSO, he would not let me use a Walgreens coupon from the monthly coupon booklet plus a manufactures coupon. Apparently the coupons from the monthly coupon book now ring up as manufacturer coupons…..PLUS the manager told me they no longer accept any coupons that will allow you to have an overage, even if you have something else to cover that overage. Is anyone else having any of these problems?
Christina – Unfortunately there is no corporate coupon policy for Walgreens -it’s up to the individual managers at the stores, but you should definitely try asking for a manager the next time. I’ve always been able to buy several of the same item in several transactions to get the RR. Never heard that about the coupon overage either. And they often show pictures in their ads of using the manufacturer’s coupon with a Walgreens coupon from the booklet. You might look for an example of that to bring with you. Here’s some more info about Walgreens’ lack of a coupon policy & issues people have faced.http://thekrazycouponlady.com/2009/09/walgreens-coupon-policy.html
You could always call corporate to find out more & tell them about your store, too.