What is so hard about saving money at Walgreens? It’s not the lack of coupons. It’s not the lack of in store deals. It’s that there are so many ways to save at Walgreens it’s hard to decide which to use first. If you’re new to couponing and strive to maximize your savings it can make your head spin. I’m starting to get the hang of it, and you can too. A few more trips and I might even consider myself a pro. And if not at least I will be on a first name basis with staff!
So, here we go with ways to save at WAGS.
Register Rewards
Register Rewards are special coupons that are printed at the register using Catalina machines. They are Walgreens specific coupons (i.e. you can’t use them anywhere else). They are linked to specific products each week. Sometimes you only need to buy one item to earn Register Rewards. Sometimes you get them for buying a certain amount of products. Make sure to check out the Walgreens weekly ad found in the Sunday paper to find out what Register Rewards deals are featured.
Example: You buy Bounty Paper Towels and a $1 Register Reward prints, or you buy shampoo AND conditioner and get a $2 RR.
How RRs work.
Specific Register Rewards can only be used once per featured item. You can not use Register Rewards to purchase an item and then use that specific Register Reward to try to purchase the same items again. The next RR will not print. This is how Walgreens limits the number of deals per person.
Example: If you purchase toothpaste and get $2 RR, you cannot buy another toothpaste and use that RR to get another RR.
Rolling RRs
You can “roll” your RR by using them on a different Register Reward deal as long as you are not using them on the same products (see above). If you want more of a Register Reward deal then alternate you purchase with another purchase.
Example: Buy Toothpaste, get a $2 RR. Then buy Shampoo, use the a $2 RR, get a $3 RR. Buy another toothpaste, use the $3 RR and you will get another $2 RR. Confused? It can be daunting to those new to couponing, but it will make sense the more you do it.
Troubleshooting Register Rewards
Some Walgreens stores have reprogrammed their Catalina machines. If you buy an item and are told that using a coupon made your RR NOT print, you are probably in one of those stores. There is nothing in Walgreens policies that state you cannot use coupons. As a matter of fact, Walgreens allows you to combine their in-ad and/or in-store booklet with manufacturer coupons AND your register rewards. CHA-CHING! So… If your RR does not print, don’t bother with the store management (they can fix it, but they usually don’t like to). Your best bet is to simply leave and call 1-888-8COUPON and talk to the Catalina company. They will HOPEFULLY mail you the RR that should have received in the store. You should be able to avoid this by giving your coupons, Register Rewards and store coupons in this order…
- Any $/$$ (like $5 off $20 purchase)
- Register Rewards
- B1G1 (Buy One Get One) manufacturer coupons
- Other manufacturer coupons
- Store coupons
This is often where I get confused/forget or just screw my order up! To me it seems backwards to use your register rewards first. Technically they are considered a manufacturer coupon, so the system will kick them out if you have already used a coupon from that manufacturer.
Another thing I learned is that Walgreens coupons are really price changing codes rather than money off coupons. So you want to use these last. You want the computer to think the item is full price when you use your manufacturer coupon. Then use the store coupon to reduce the price to .59¢ or whatever the coupon is for. If your store is quick to use store coupons first then keep your store coupons out of sight until after manufacturer coupons have been used. Put manufacturer coupons on top of the products to help them get scanned first.
Filler Items
One caveat to Walgreens coupon policy is that you cannot have more coupons than items in your transaction. If you have a single item in your transaction, and you have 2 coupons for that item, you must purchase another item to complete the transaction, since you have 2 coupons total, but only 1 item. This is where filler items come into play. Filler items are low cost items that you can add to your transaction in order to complete it. One of my favorite filler items is the $.39 caramels that they often have sitting at the register.
Although saving money at Walgreens can be a somewhat confusing task, if you work at it, the rewards are well worth it. If you are patient and polite, chances are your cashier will be too and your transactions will go smoothly. As with any store that you shop at, know the store coupon policies. Print them out when possible and keep them in your binder. 🙂
