(This is part seven of my couponing series. If you haven’t been following this series, you’ll probably want to start here to get caught up.)

Well, I thought I’d give you an extra day to wrap your head around the CVS ExtraCare program before delving into Walgreens’ Register Rewards program. It’s time to take a look at it though today.

Walgreens is similar in some ways to the CVS program, but there are some important differences to note. For this reason, I am going to just basically go through the Register Rewards (RR’s) tutorial the same way I did for CVS ExtraCare bucks.

How It Works

What are Register Rewards?

Register Rewards are coupons that print from a Catalina machine located at the register when you purchase specific products each week.

These RR’s can be used on almost anything in the store except for the purchase of the same item for which you received the RR. If you purchase the same item again and use that particular RR, a new RR will NOT print.

As with other coupons, RR’s do expire; however, the expiration dates tend to vary. From my experience, I’ve noticed a two or three week time frame most often.

How do you know which purchases earn Register Rewards?

If you look at the Walgreen’s weekly ad, you will see that there are certain products that show an amount of RR’s you will receive when you purchase those specific products or a specific dollar amount of those items.

For example, in a recent ad, Oscar Mayer Bacon was on sale for 2/$6 with a $1 RR. In other words, if you purchase 2 packs of Oscar Mayer Bacon, a $1 RR will print from the Catalina machine. You can then turn around and use that RR to purchase a different store item.

Are there limits placed on the number of RR’s you can receive for specific items?

Walgreen’s technically does not set limits for earning RR’s on certain products. It would be difficult for them to do this because, unlike CVS, you do not have a store card for them to now what you have purchased during the course of the week.

However, this is one reason why you can’t use the same RR you received for the purchase of a product to buy another of the same product. This is Walgreen’s attempt to limit the number of RR deals per person.

They also limit the number of RR deals per product in a single transaction. In other words, for the bacon deal, if you purchased 4 packs of bacon in a single transaction, still only one $1 RR would print. To get a second RR for the bacon deal, you would have to do a completely separate transaction.

What is the best way to spend you Register Rewards?

You can either use them to buy things you need right then or save them to purchase items another day that will earn RR’s also (called rolling your RR’s). Since RR’s typically have a short expiration period, I personally tend to do multiple transactions in one trip.

I do one or two transactions to buy items that earn me RR’s and then do a final transaction using those RR’s to purchase other on-sale items that I need. This way, I don’t have to worry about my RR’s expiring on me. I’m done when I leave the store.

Using Coupons at Walgreens

There are three types of coupons you will probably use while shopping at Walgreens.

• Walgreens Store Coupons
• Manufacturer Coupons
• Register Rewards

Walgreens Store Coupons

Walgreens always has many store coupons available. They can be found in the weekly ads, and there is also a monthly coupon booklet that can be found usually near the store ads. In addition, occasionally there are other booklets and pamphlets throughout the store than contain store coupons.

Manufacturer Coupons

Now, you know what these are and where to find them.

Register Rewards

Yes, Register Rewards are a type of coupon, good only at Walgreens, that is provided by the manufacturer of the product you have purchased as a reward for purchasing their product. The difference between this RR coupon provided by the manufacturer and other manufacturer coupons is that it has to be used on the purchase of other products, as we discussed earlier.

How can you use all three of these coupons in a single transaction?

Okay, here’s the part that can get a little confusing.

When you’re using manufacturer coupons and Register Rewards in the same transaction, you must make sure the number of items you are purchasing  is equal to the total number of manufacturer coupons plus the total number of Register Rewards you are using in that transaction.

# of manufacturer coupons + # of RR coupons  = # of items

In order to make this equation work out correctly, you sometimes have to add what is called a “filler item” to your transaction. The filler item can cost as little as a few cents. This will make more sense in a minute when I get to the scenarios.

Note: Do not count Walgreens store coupons in the above equation. They do not affect this coupon to item ratio. You can combine, or stack, them with the manufacturer/RR coupons.

Putting this Information to Practical Use

For our scenarios, here are some items from a recent ad, as well as actual coupons I had at the time.

Colgate MaxFresh $2.99

• RR = $2
• Manufacturer Coupon = $1 off one

Oscar Mayer Bacon 2 for $6

• RR = $1 (when you buy 2 pks)
• Manufacturer Coupons = $1.50 off one pkg

Hunts Tomato Sauce .33 ea w/store coupon

• Store coupon = Coupon in the weekly ad to get 3 for $1
• Manufacturer Coupons = $1 off 3

Mars Candy .49 ea (this will be our filler item in Scenario #2)

Scenario #1

Transaction #1

• Buy 1 Colgate Toothpaste $2.99
• Buy 2 Oscar Mayer Bacon $6
• Buy 3 Hunts Tomato Sauce $1 (will be FREE)

• Use (1) Colgate Coupon ($1)
• Use (2) Oscar Mayer Coupons ($3)
• Use (1) Hunts Manufacturer Coupon ($1)
• Use (1) Hunts in-ad store coupon

Amount Due = $4.99 + tax

Get Back = $3 Register Rewards ($2 for Toothpaste, $1 for Bacon)

Total Cash Paid Out = $4.99 + tax (for 1 Toothpaste, 2 Pks Bacon, 3 Tomato Sauce with $3 RR for later)

Scenario #2

Transaction #1

• Buy 1 Colgate Toothpaste $2.99
• Buy 3 Hunts Tomato Sauce $1 (will be FREE)

• Use (1) Colgate Coupon ($1)
• Use (1) Hunts Manufacturer Coupon ($1)
• Use (1) Hunts in-ad store coupon

Amount Due = $1.99 + tax

Get Back = $2 Register Rewards

Transaction #2

• Buy 2 Oscar Mayer Bacon $6
• Buy 1 Mars Candy .49 (filler item)

• Use (2) Oscar Mayer Coupons ($3)
• Use (1) RR from Transaction #1 ($2)

Amount Due = $1.49 + tax

Get Back = $1 Register Reward

Total Cash Paid Out = $3.48 + tax (for 1 Toothpaste, 3 Tomato Sauce, 2 Pks Bacon, 1 Candy, plus you have $1 RR for later)

Okay, let’s look at that filler item. If you notice, in that second transaction, we were planning to use 2 manufacturer coupons and 1 RR coupon, so we had to buy at least 3 items.

In Walgreens’ system, the 2 Oscar Mayer manufacturer coupons attach themselves to the 2 packs of bacon, and the RR coupon has to have some item to attach itself to. In this case, it’s the candy.

Other Information and Tips

• Always hand the cashier the manufacturer and RR coupons first followed by the Walgreens store coupons.
• Be sure to get a raincheck if an item is out of stock. It is usually good for 30 days.

I think that about wraps it up for Walgreens. Please tell me I have not thoroughly confused you. Like I said in my CVS guide, start out with simple transactions and you’ll get the hang of it in no time.

Well, guess what! You’ll be glad to know that in comparison to CVS and Walgreens, Rite Aid is a piece of cake, or at least in my opinion. We’ll be taking at look at Rite Aid’s Single Check Rebate program in a couple of days so don’t miss it.

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2. Type of Coupons and Proper Usage You now know what couponing is about, so let's take a look at the actual coupons and the proper ways...
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Here’s my question. I want to know what features you like best on the site the way it is now, and what other features or changes you might like to see.

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Thus far, we have talked about the basics of couponing and how to find deals at most any store that accepts coupons. If you need to catch up you can start here. Today, however, we are going to look at a specific store, CVS to be exact.

The major drug stores, CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid, each have their own unique reward/rebate program that allows you to get incredible deals on certain items each week, including food, household products and over-the-counter medications. The key is to understand how they work.

I am going to begin by explaining how the CVS program works. Then I’ll show you a couple of examples to give you an idea of how to put this information into practical use.

With CVS, the first thing you need is a CVS ExtraCare card. This free card can be obtained in the store, or by registering online to have one sent to you. I suggest getting it at store, that way you can use it immediately without having to wait for it to come in the mail.

Once you have an ExtraCare card, you are eligible to receive ExtraCare Bucks (ECB’s).

How It Works

What are Extra Care Bucks?

ECB’s are bucks that print at the bottom of you receipt when you purchase specific items at the store each week. These bucks can be used to purchase almost anything in the store, with a few exceptions (prescriptions, stamps, alcohol, tobacco, gift cards, etc.). Your ExtraCare card must be scanned for the ECB’s to print.

Basically, ECB’s are like cash, except they expire one month from the date they’re acquired. The expiration date is listed on the ECB.

How do you know which purchases earn ExtraCare Bucks?

If you look at the CVS weekly ad, you will see that there are certain products that show an amount of ECB’s you will receive when you purchase those specific products or a specific dollar amount of those items.

For example, in a recent ad, Pampers diapers were on sale for $8.97 per pack and a $3 ECB reward was listed. In other words, if you purchase the Pampers you will get back $3 in ECB’s that can be used toward another store purchase.

CVS does put limits on the amount of deals you can do each week on the items that earn ECB’s. In the case of the diapers, there was a limit of two deals and that limit was listed in the ad. If you purchased three packs of diapers, you would still only have gotten ECB’s for two packs, since the limit was two.

What is the best way to spend your ExtraCare Bucks?

Really, this is going to be a personal preference. There are several different options and you’ll probably find yourself combining the following:

• You can use your ECB’s immediately to buy, in a second transaction, other things you need right then. If you choose this approach, you will want to make sure you get other items that are on sale or are at least a pretty good price.
• You can buy the items that earn ECB’s this week and then save the the ECB’s to buy other products next week that will also earn you ECB’s.
• You can do multiple ECB transactions during the same day/week. In other words, you can buy one item that earns ECB’s and then turn around and do a second transaction using those ECB’s to purchase another item that also earns ECB’s.

Both the second and third options are called rolling ECB’s. This is the best way to get many things for free or really cheap. After you buy the first item(s) that earns ECB’s, you are basically reducing the amount of cash out of pocket on a future purchase.

How can this information be put to practical use?

I am going to give you a few examples of possible transactions. For the scenarios, we are going to use the following items taken from an actual recent ad.

Notice these items have coupons paired with them.They are actual manufacturer coupons I had at the time of the sale. As we discussed earlier, we want to use our coupons now because these items are on sale.

Colgate Total Toothpaste $3.99

• ECB’s Reward = $3.99, Offer Limit = 1
• Coupon = $1 off one Colgate Total

Pampers Jumbo Pack Diapers $8.97

• ECB’s Reward = $3, Offer limit = 2
• Coupons = (2) $1.50 off one Pampers Diapers

Kellogg’s Cereal $1.97

• On sale, no ECB’s, limit 6
• Coupons = (2) $1 off two Kellogg’s cereals

Hormel Compleats $1.99

• On sale, no ECB’s
• Coupons = (2) $1 off one Hormel Compleat

Kleenex $.97

• On sale, no ECB’s
• Coupon = .55 off three Kleenex

Here are some possible scenarios with the above items.

Scenario #1

Transaction #1

• Buy 1 Colgate Total @ $3.99 ea
• Buy 2 Pampers Packs @ $8.97 ea

• Use (1) Colgate Coupon ($1.00)
• Use (2) Pampers Coupons ($3.00)

Amount Due = $17.93 + tax

Get Back $9.99 ECB’s ($3.99 Colgate, $6 Pampers)

Now, you can stop here and save these ECB’s for next week

OR

you can do Transaction #2 and use the ECB’s to buy some things you need this week that are on sale.

Transaction #2

• Buy 4 Kellogg’s Cereal @ $1.97 ea
• Buy  2 Hormel Compleats @ $1.99 ea
• Buy 3 Kleenex @ .97 ea

• Use (2) Kelloggs Coupons ($2)
• Use (2) Hormel Coupons ($2)
• Use (1) Kleenex Coupon (.55)
• Use ECB’s from Trans. #1 ($9.99)

Amount Due = $.23 + tax

Total Cash Paid Out = $18.16 + tax for 1 Colgate, 2 Pampers, 4 Kellogg’s Cereals, 2 Hormel Compleats and 3 Kleenex.

Scenario #2

Transaction #1

• Buy Colgate @ $3.99 ea

• Use $1 Colgate Coupon

Amount Due = $2.99 + tax

Get Back $3.99 ECB’s (Yes, you actually make $1.)

Transaction #2

• Buy 1 Pampers $8.97 ea

• Use $1.50 Pampers Coupon
• Use $3.99 ECB’s from Trans #1

Amount Due = $3.48 + tax

Get Back $3 ECB’s

Transaction #3

• Buy 1 Pampers $8.97 ea

• Use $1.50 Pampers Coupon
• Use $3 ECB’s from Trans #2

Total Cash Due = $4.47 + tax

Get Back $3 ECB’s

Total Cash Paid Out = $10.94 + tax (for 1 Colgate and 2 Pampers, plus you still have $3 ECB’s for later)

Other Information and Tips:

• If you see a red machine for scanning your card, usually located somewhere near the front of the store, be sure to scan your card. You can sometimes get extra coupons from the machine.
• Check your email, because occasionally CVS sends out coupons good for $5 off a $20 purchase, $5 off a $30 purchase, etc. These are usually only good for a few days. Your subtotal before deducting all other coupons must meet the $20, $30, etc. threshold in order to use one of these coupons.
• When presenting coupons to the cashier, do so in this order - $5/$20, manufacturer/store coupons, ECB’s.
• Make sure your subtotal, after all other coupons, is at least the amount of the ECB’s you are planning to use. You will not get change back if your total is less than the ECB’s, and most stores won’t even allow it.
• CVS offers rainchecks for items that are out of stock. If you get a raincheck, be sure they include any ECB’s you should receive for the purchase.
• Be sure to have a back-up plan for if any particular item is out of stock.
• For every two prescriptions you purchase at CVS, you will receive 1 ECB at the end of the quarter. You also get 2% back, in the form of ECB’s, on purchases online and in-store at the end of each quarter. You can print these from CVS online, or they will print on your receipt at the end the quarter.

Well, that’s how you get the deals at CVS. I admit, it takes a little practice to get the hang of it. My best advice is to start small, maybe trying only one or two simple deals at the time. Then progress once you feel more comfortable.

Stop back by on Friday and I’ll have the Walgreen’s: Register Rewards Guide for you.

Related posts:

1. Walgreens: Register Rewards Guide Well, I thought I'd give you an extra day to wrap your head around the CVS ExtraCare program before delving...
2. Type of Coupons and Proper Usage You now know what couponing is about, so let's take a look at the actual coupons and the proper ways...
3. What is Couponing? Yesterday, I told you I am beginning a series on couponing. Well, I'm really excited about it because I love...