CVS
If you don't go to CVS you are missing out. First, CVS has a customer loyalty program called ExtraCare. You will need an extracare card to participate and be able to earn CVS extracare bucks or ECB’s. You can get these in the stores or go here and register online.
The Extracare system is a customer loyalty program like most grocery stores. You always have to show your extracare card to receive the benefits. The program does not save you money off normal prices however, what it does is reward you after your purchase with Extracare bucks that print on your receipt that you can then use on your very next purchase. The products that will print the extracare bucks are listed in most CVS advertisements, and will say “free after ECB” or “get $2 ECB back after purchase”. It is using the extracare buck system that you will be “buying” everything at CVS for free.How?
Go into CVS and buy 1 of the free after ECB items. This week Oral B Cross Action Toothbush are $3.99 and you will get $3.99 back in ECB's that you can use on your next trip.
Here is another scenario for you. You walk in for your very first trip with multiple coupons in hand and a shopping list…
You buy:
2 Oral B Cross Action Toothbrushes - $3.99 ea. (Receive $3.99 ECB's, Limit 2)
2 Nivea Lip Care - $2.99 ea. (Receive $2.99 ECB's, Limit 1)
2 Dawn Dish Soap(10 oz) - $.97 ea.
1 Softsoap Body Wash - $4.99 (Receive $4.99 ECB's, Limit 1)
Total = $20.89 plus tax (now hand the cashier your coupons)
-$4 off $20 CVS coupon (from e-mail)
-(2) $1/1 Oral B coupon from Sunday Newspaper
- B1G1 Nivea Lip Care from Sunday Newspaper
- $1/1 Any Nivea Product from Sunday Newspaper (you can use 1 coupon for the product you are buying with the B1G1 coupon. Not the product you are getting for free.)
- (2) $1/1 Dawn coupon from Sunday Paper
-$1/1 Softsoap coupon from Sunday Paper
Final Cost = $7.90 plus tax out of pocket (being your first trip you pay with real money)
Plus you will receive $15.96 in ECB's!!
These ECB will be in the amounts totaling the different products so you will have one for $3.99 and one for $5. You can again use these right away if you like or CVS gives you one month to use them before the expire.
A few tips:
1. Make sure you always give them a $4 off $20 (or $3 off $15, or $5 off $25, ect) coupon first before manufacturers coupons. If not then you may not be able to use the $4 off $20 coupon because after manufacture coupons your total will be lower.
2. Always have a list of exactly what is free, sometimes it is very specific items and you want to make sure you are getting the right things.
3. If you are using a $4 off $20 or type of coupon like that make sure you have a few backup plans to hit your $20 in case your CVS is out of something. This happens to me all the time then I'm walking around the store like a dummy trying to find an item to get me to $20.
4. Take in a calculator to help you quickly add up your total to make sure you are going to have the right amount for you ECB’s to cover it.
You need to always make sure that what you are buying is equal to your ECB’s or a little more (pennies). You can pay for $4 worth of items with $5 in ECB but you are losing money that way and don’t really want to do that. So find some filler items that you like, $1 disposable razors, a pack of gum… lots of options.
Here are a few questions people have asked about CVS. (Thanks Slickdeals)
Isn’t CVS really over-priced? How can shopping there ever be a deal? Yes, CVS is over-priced on a lot of items. The key to making CVSing a deal is to combine coupons and ECBs. If you do this successfully then after some initial OOP (out of pocket) expense you will be able to start buying some things you want and more toothpaste then you’ll ever need for very little money.
What are ECBs?
ECBs = Extra Care Bucks. These are earned by purchasing certain products during a promotional period. Some promotions last a week and others last for the entire month. They will print on your receipt immediately after the necessary purchase is made. These can be used “like cash” on most items sold at CVS.
Be careful with your ECBs. If they are lost or destroyed CVS may not be willing reset them and even if you do get lucky, they will come back as one large ECB (which can be difficult to roll). The register tape CVS uses can turn completely black if left in the heat, making your ECBs unusable.
What is rolling ECBs?
Rolling ECBs means using the ECBs you have already earned to buy items that will give you more ECBs. The purpose of this is to make sure you always have ECBs to spend at CVS so you will spend less “real” money OOP.
There’s a promotion that says I need to buy $20 of xxx to earn an ECB, is that before or after coupons?
Before coupons.
Do I have to finish a promotion in one transaction?
Not usually. The ad should mention it if you have to complete the promotion in one transaction.
How do I use my ECBs?
ECBs cannot be used to pay for prescriptions, gift cards, tobacco products, alcohol, stamps, and milk. Most of these are really YMMV (your mileage may vary). Please ask at your store if you are allowed to buy these items before attempting it. Many CVSers have successfully purchased milk, stamps, and alcohol with ECBs. Be aware that any of these items could be prohibited, depending on the individual store’s policies.
How many ECBs can I use per transaction?
As many as you want. However, the register will usually stop accepting them if they will make your subtotal (pre-tax total) negative.
If store coupons pay the tax associated with them in your state then be aware that a $1 ECB is actually worth $1 + tax if you have at least a dollar’s worth of taxable items. For example: my $1 ECB would actually take $1.07 off my total.
What are quarterly ECBs?
These are earned based on the amount you actually spent (OOP) at CVS and from prescriptions you’ve had filled. You will get back 2% of what you actually spent and a $1 ECB for every 2 prescriptions you have filled online or in store. This does not include the ECBs and coupons you use. If you get a gift card (or possibly stamps) your total amount spent in that quarter will decrease.
For example, if you spent:
00-24.99 dollars ……………………….. you get $0.00 in ECBs.
25-49.99 dollars ……………………….. you get $0.50 in ECBs.
50-74.99 dollars ……………………….. you get $1.00 in ECBs.
75-99.99 dollars ……………………….. you get $1.50 in ECBs.
The quarters run from January to March, April to June, July to September and October to December.
Your quarterly ECB will print on or after the first day of the month following the end of the quarter.
Can I use my ECBs on cvs.com?
You can only use your quarterly ECB online.
Can I use my ECBs on someone else’s card?
No.
Can I have more than one card?
Technically no, you cannot have more than one card to your name with the same address. However, you can have a card for everyone in your household according to customer service. Some managers and other employees (incorrectly) think this is wrong, so they may question you if use multiple cards at their stores.
Can I buy something for $4 and use a $5 ECB? You can, but you would lose money. You have to use the full amount of the ECB because you will not get money back.
_______________________________
Walgreens
I find Walgreens much more complicated than CVS. I always get nervous every time I go in there because more deals have messed up than worked out at Walgreens for me. But give it a try... we can learn together. Walgreens has Register Rewards (RR) and is very similar to CVS Extra Care Bucks program in that when you purchase certain items or a certain amount, a coupon (catalina) will print out for you to use on your next purchase at Walgreens.
Register Rewards (RR) - and treated as such by the registers. What does this mean?? You are only allowed to use 1 manufacturer coupon per item. The number of mfg coupons/RR cannot exceed the number of items. If you are purchasing items that you also have manufacturer coupons for, you will need "filler" items in order to be able to use your RR to pay. A "filler" item is the cheapest thing you can find in the store - I have been using $0.08 seed packets on clearance - check out clearnace for anything around $0.25. This is necessary to make sure your number of mfg coupons (which included your RR, BUT NOT store coupons) does not exceed the number of items.
- Register Rewards cannot "ROLL" like ExtraBucks. This means you cannot use the RR earned from buying X to buy another X. Sometimes the RR notes on it what company it is from, but sometimes it does not. In order to avoid confusion, I always take a second to jot down on the RR what it came from.
- Register rewards are like CASH, but are manufacturer coupons. There is no record of you receiving them, so if you lose them, they cannot be replaced! They also EXPIRE 2 weeks from when you get them and Walgreens DOES NOT accept expired RR.
Mail/Email coupons - On occasion, Walgreens will email or snail mail $/$$ ($3 off $15, ect) coupons. Different from other stores, these are only valid if your total, after all coupons and RR's is $25.
Other Store Coupons -Walgreens has monthly flyers at the entrances. They also have monthly coupons books at the entrance as well. Walgreen's occasionally has other great store coupons available as well. Here are a few:
Healthy Savings Booklet (found in pharmacy)
Children's Activity Book is a coloring books.
MegaSavers - Another sale promotion that Walgreens does. Look for the special tags throughout the shelves in the store. This will let you know which items have a "hidden sale" that usually lasts a month long.
_____________________________________
A FEW TIPS TO REMEMBER!!
MegaSavers - Another sale promotion that Walgreens does. Look for the special tags throughout the shelves in the store. This will let you know which items have a "hidden sale" that usually lasts a month long.
_____________________________________
A FEW TIPS TO REMEMBER!!
Best Order To Give Coupons
1. Manufacturer Coupons
2. In-Ad Coupons
3. Register Rewards
** Write this down and keep this with you!**
** Write this down and keep this with you!**
Optimizing Savings/Earnings:
The key is to try to pair up a Register Reward earning item with mfg coupons and in-ad coupons. Try hard to get your OOP close to zero while getting back RR's. Then do it all again.
Coupon Policy
Walgreens has refused many inquiries about an official coupon policy. This is the info I could find across the web.
- They accept one mfg coupon and one store coupon per item unless either coupon prohibits it.
- They DO NOT give cash back if the coupon value exceeds the item price. It is easiest if you make sure that there are other items to suck up the overage and use the coupon order above.
- They DO NOT accept competitor coupons and they DO NOT price match.
- They do accept internet coupons.
- If using a BOGO coupon on a BOGO sale, you will pay for one item, get one FREE per store promotion and get another FREE per coupon. So you would get 3 items, paying for one. (some will accept a BOGO in order to get both items FREE) Also, it stated you can only use (1) $1 off mfg coupon for a BOGO promotion since you are only purchasing one of the items.
