Safeway 101 – How to Save the Most Using Coupons, Store Sales and Just for U Savings!
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We have been sharing tutorials about how to shop at the different grocery stores using coupons and taking advantage of store rewards programs and today we are talking about Safeway. You can always find the most recent Safeway coupon matchups and store deals under our Safeway store category.
The first most important step to save money at Safeway is to make sure you get a Safeway Club Card to get the advertised prices found in their ad. You can either sign up in the store for a Club Card or online. Safeway new store deals start every Wednesday and run through the following Tuesday. You should receive a Safeway ad in your mail on Tuesdays; if not, pick up a store ad / flyer in the store starting on Wednesdays.
Safeway Coupon Policy:
The Safeway Coupon Policy can be found online to make your shopping trip easier – I recommend printing a copy and keeping it with you when you shop. This is the most recent Safeway coupon policy, updated on January 20th, 2012.
Here are a few of the most important points of the Safeway coupon policy (make sure to read the full policy though):
*We will redeem coupons only for the specific items included in our customer’s purchase transaction. The redemption value will be as stated on the coupon, unless that value yields a final price for such item less than zero; if application of the redemption value yields a price less than zero, the coupon will be redeemed only for the amount that yields a zero price (our customer cannot net a cash credit or payout from a coupon purchase).
This just means that Safeway will accept a coupon even if it makes an item free. If the coupon value is more than the value of the item, then the cashier should adjust the coupon down to the price of the item.
*Coupons may not be applied against any free item received in any offer.
An example of this situation is if there is a promotion to buy 4 boxes of pasta and receive a free bag of salad mix. You cannot then use a coupon on the free bag of salad mix.
* Safeway will not accept manufacturer coupons (including, but not limited to, coupons issued through a Catalina or other in-store coupon dispenser) that display another retailer’s logo or name unless such coupon is for a specific item with the same product identifiers as the product included in our customer’s purchase transaction and is sold and available at the store.
* Purchase reward thresholds (if any) will be calculated based upon customer’s final price (after deducting Club Card savings and all other discounts and savings) before deductions for any manufacturer coupons. As an example (and not as an offer), if a $10 minimum purchase is required for a customer reward, a customer’s order at full retail would be $12, a Club Card discount of $1.75 applies, and a manufacturer’s coupon of $1 applies, the customer would be given credit for a $10.25 purchase, and would be eligible for the reward (assuming compliance with all other requirements) even though the customer’s cash payment would be only $9.25. The manufacturer’s coupon would not be deducted from the total for purposes of determining reward eligibility. Purchase reward thresholds (if any) will be calculated based upon customer’s final price (after deducting Club Card savings, and all other discounts)
This relates to the times that a store or manufacturer’s promotion may require a minimum $10 purchase. Their policy states that if you have met the minimum $10 before manufacturer’s coupons, you can then use manufacturer’s coupons to bring the price down further.
Coupon Stacking:
*Safeway does not allow a customer to redeem two or more manufacturer coupons against the same item in a single transaction.*Coupon stacking policies for manufacturer coupons apply to paper and electronic coupons that have been loaded to a club card.*If a customer presents two coupons for the same item in a single transaction, Safeway will give the highest discount for that item, subject to the terms of the applicable offer and/or coupon.
This applies to Just for U coupons which may be manufacturer coupons (not store coupons) – if you load a Just for U manufacturer’s E-Coupon and you also try to use a manufacturer’s paper coupon, it will not allow you to use both coupons (as they are both manufacturer coupons). In this case, it *should* automatically accept the coupon which will give you the highest discount for that item.
Safeway Just For U Program:
Safeway started a new program called the Just for U program in May 2012 and this is where you can receive the deals listed in the weekly ad loaded onto your Safeway Club Card, as well as personalized deals based on your shopping habits at Safeway. New deals will come into your account on each Wednesday; however, you do need to log into your Just for U account and add those coupons and discounts to your card in order to receive the discounts.
Make sure to check out more details and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) about the Safeway Just for U program and how it works. You will need to either sign up online for a Just for U account (this is in addition to your Safeway Club Card) or you can sign up on a computer in the store. You will then be able to access the Just for U program either with your Smartphone in the store or at home or you can access it online via Safeway.com.
Safeway Double Coupons in Southwest Washington and Oregon:
If you live in Southwest Washington (Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Clark, Skamania or Klickitat counties) or in Oregon, you can double coupons in your Safeway stores. You can double up to 4 manufacturer’s coupons per transaction, up to $.50/each. You cannot double a coupon that says “Do not Double” or any internet printable coupon (per their coupon policy). You will find this double coupon at the bottom of the middle page in the weekly Safeway ad.
*We do not share double coupon deals for Safeway stores on our blog; however, if you live in these areas, this is even more savings that you can keep in mind for the applicable coupons!
I just read an article the other day about how well the J4U program was doing for Safeway and how they hope to be able to drop the print ads by the end of the year as it costs them 20 million dollars and it pretty much redundant with people utilizing the online features. Interesting.
I wish they could find a way to indicate which cpns online are SW and which are manuf cpns for sure. Ones i thought were manuf cpns ended up coming both off and was not expecting it. If they say they will give you the one with the better value for you do they then give you your paper cpn back? I love the savings opportunites at SW but I find I am buying a lot more aspirin! LOL.
Also…if you get any of the gas reward cpns in your J4U online separate from the weeks with the spend $75, get 30 cents off per gallon type…they stack! A few weekends ago I had 2 transactions that would have normally had 1-2 gas rewards on it…and I ended up earning 17 ! So I got 1.00 a gallon on 2 separate trips.
Hi Karen, That is definitely hard when you can’t tell which ones are the Safeway coupons & which ones are the manufacturer coupons. In general, the Safeway coupons are the ones that have a set price – like GM cereal on sale for $1.99 then if there is a $1 off coupon for GM cereal, that is typically a manufacturer’s coupon (but not always). If it’s for a product only found at Safeway, then it would also be a store coupon (like Lucerne, Open Nature products & more). They are supposed to give you your paper coupon back if they end up using the digital coupon which is higher.
Great to hear that it worked for you to stack the gas reward coupons!