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Drug Stores 101

You have to have an Extrabucks card to get the sale prices at CVS. You can get one from CVS online, or you can ask in the store and the cashier will give you one.

Extra Bucks is CVS’s Rewards program. ExtraBucks print out at the register when you buy the required items.

CVS accepts two kinds of coupons, manufacturer coupons, and CRT coupons, or store coupons. CRT (cash register tape) coupons print out when you buy something at CVS. You can use those in conjunction with a manufacturer’s coupon on the same item. Always save your CRT’s – you never know what might be on sale before the coupon expires.

Now, here’s the best part about CVS. You can ROLL those ExtraBucks (ECB) from week to week on different items that ALSO earn ECBs.

Rite Aid 101

Rite Aid’s newest rewards program is called Up+ Rewards. It’s similar to Walgreens Register Rewards and CVS ExtraCare Bucks. You buy the required products as stated in the weekly ad, and your Up+ Rewards print out on your receipt. They are like cash, so you can use them on virtually anything in the store.

Up+ Rewards do NOT roll, which means you can’t use them to buy more of the same product to get more Up+ Rewards.

You CAN use Up+ Rewards with manufacturer coupons and Rite Aid store coupons.

Single Check Rebate (SCR) is the RA Single Check Rebate program. There are dozens of rebates published every month. The booklet is at the front of the store and online. When you purchase an item that has a rebate, you enter your receipt online, and within a couple of weeks, you’ll have a check at your front door. I love Rite Aid because they give back real cash instead of store credits like the other stores.

SCR is ONE per household.

Rite Aid will allow you to use a manufacturer coupon with an in-ad RA coupon, but it’s up to the manager’s discretion.

If the coupon has a manufacturer bar code, you can’t stack them. If the bar code begins with RC you can, but that’s up to the manager too.

Rite Aid takes printable coupons UP TO $5. They have their own printable coupons too if you register online at http://www.riteaid.com/

Video Values is where you can really rack up on Rite Aid store coupons. You can find it here. You watch videos that run anywhere from 15 seconds to a couple of minutes, and you get to print some really great RA coupons after watching. You can bank your coupons and print them later if you wish, but remember to print them before the expiration. If you watch enough videos to earn 20 credits, you can print a $5/$20 Rite Aid coupon. Those coupons can be used on top of manufacturer coupons, store coupons, and Up+ Rewards.

One of the things I love most about Rite Aid is using a BOGO coupon on a BOGO sale. It nets you TWO FREE ITEMS!

Walgreen’s reward program is Register Rewards. They print out at the register after you buy the required products.

Walgreen’s also publishes a monthly coupon booklet full of store coupons that you’ll find in the kiosk at the front of the store. These coupons can be used WITH a manufacturer coupon for maximum savings. They can ALSO be used at Publix, if your Publix views Walgreens as a competitor.

7-day coupons are Walgreen’s store coupons in the weekly flyer. You can use a manufacturer coupon with the 7-day coupon!

Walgreen’s will let you use 2 coupons on BOGO items. This makes for really great deals!

Walgreen’s accepts printable coupons. They even link to printables from their site - -http://www.walgreens.com/

Walgreen’s does limit some sale items. If you use a 7-day coupon, the amount of the coupon will come off all the items you bought. If your manager allows you to buy MORE than the limit, the 7-day coupon will come off all the items you bought, even the ones over the limit.

Honestly, I never buy anything at Wags without a coupon. BOGO’s roll around so often that if I don’t have a coupon for whatever it is right now, I will the next time around.

I will use a coupon on a cheap sale price if I know that the price really is a good one compared to what I’m used to paying.

My favorite thing about Walgreens, by far, is the RR promo’s. I’m telling you, by the time you combine a mfr coupon with a Wags coupon AND a RR, you can really rack up!

There are three ways to save at Wags.

Cheap bargain basement basic sale prices

BOGO - Buy one, get one sales. These can be BOGO 50% off, or BOGO free.

Couple of things you should know before shopping at Walgreens:

Your coupon count has to match your item count. You may have to add another item (filler) for your transaction to work. The Walgreens in Fairhope DOES count Walgreens coupons as ‘coupons’. Yeah, that sounds nuts but there ARE stores that don’t count Walgreens coupons toward the coupon count.

For example:

If you are buying 4 Ajax and using 4 mfr coupons AND an in-ad Walgreen’s coupon, you will need a FILLER ITEM. You are using 5 coupons total, so you need another item to make your coupon to item count match. Some fillers might be: a pencil, a candy bar, a small piece of candy, something from the clearance bin.

Remember that a RR IS a manufacturer coupon!

RR’s are brand-specific. They’ll say on them “thanks for purchasing XX”. If you use a Register Reward to buy more of the same product, another Register Rewards will not print.

You CAN to use your brand X RR to buy brand Y products to get the Brand Y RR.

For example: If Purex products have Register Rewards this week, you won’t be able to buy Purex, get the Register Rewards, and use that Register Rewards to buy another Purex to get a Register Reward. If you do, the Register Reward won’t print out. You can, however, use your Purex Register Reward to buy another product that generates Register Rewards.

Here’s a scenario I have done in the past.

(1) Colgate Toothpaste $2.99
(2) Children’s Tylenol Cold $9.98

Total $12.97
-$1 Colgate Mfr Q
-$3/2 Children’s Tylenol Mfr Q
= $8.97.
I’ll pay $8.97, and I’ll get back $7 in RR ($2 for Colgate, $5 for Tylenol.)

Now, to roll my RR, I’m going to do another transaction:

(2) Nivea Lip products $2.99 x2 = $5.98
(2) Purex 3in1 $9.00 = $14.98

$14.98
–(1) BOGO Nivea $2.99 MQ
–(1) Purex BOGO $4.50
= $7.49
- Walgreens in-ad Nivea Q .99 ($4.00)
- $2 RR= $1.49.
I’ll pay the $1.49, and I’ll get back $1 RR.

So, in total, I’ve gotten 1 toothpaste, 2 Tylenol, 2 Nivea, and 2 Purex laundry detergents for $10.46 OOP, and I’ll have $6 in Register Rewards to spend some other time! Oh, and don’t forget that if your Publix considers Wags a competitor, you can use Register Rewards there!