Walgreens can be a little tricky to shop, but with a little patience, you can get some amazing deals. I have heard of people being difficult at their local Walgreens, but once the cashiers get to know you, it could be fun.
You do not need a card to shop at Walgreens. However they do have a rewards program, Register Rewards (RR) on some of the items that you purchase. A register reward is like a coupon (Catalina) that prints out at the end of your transaction and can be used on your next purchase/transaction.
Getting to know your Register Rewards
Think of Register Rewards as having a limit of 1 per transaction.
What I mean by this is: If you buy (2) body washes and it gives register rewards, you will only receive register rewards for only 1 item.
You can not “ROLL” your Register Rewards.
What I mean by this is: You want to buy the body washes and you know from the example above that you will only receive register rewards for 1 item purchased, so you want to split them up in separate transactions.
Transaction 1:
(1) Body Wash: $5.00
Will Pay $5
Receive $5 RR
Transaction 2:
(1) Body Wash: $5.00
-$5RR from Transaction 1
Will Pay: $0.00
Will NOT receive $5RR
You will not receive a RR, if you used a RR from the same manufacturer/item
What you can do is buy the body wash, another item that produces a RR and then purchase the body wash again.
Transaction 1:
(1) Body Wash: $5.00
Will Pay $5
Receive $5RR
Transaction 2:
(2) Toothbrush:$5
-$5RR from transaction 1
Will Pay: $.0
Receive $5RR
Transaction 3:
(1) Body Wash: $5
-$5RR from transaction 2
Will pay $.0
Recive $5RR
Using Coupons with Register Rewards:
Register Rewards (RR) are considered coupons at Walgreens. If you are going to use coupons and Register rewards you must make sure to have the same amount of items as you do coupons. You can not have 6 items and 7 coupons. You will need to have equal amounts, filler items to have the total even.
Transaction 1:
(1) Body Wash: $5.00
-$2.00 Body Wash Coupon
-$3.00 RR
I could not do this transaction at Walgreens. Take a look at it. I have 1 item and 2 coupons. Remember the RR acts as a coupon. In this scenario, I would need a filler item.
Transaction 1:
(1) Body Wash: $5.00
(1) Candy Bar (Filler): $.25
-$2.00 Body Wash Coupon
-$3.00 RR
Total: $.25
I have 2 items and 2 coupons. Remember the RR acts as a coupon.
Using Walgreens Coupons:
Every month Walgreens puts out a coupon book which can be found in the front of the store. You can “Stack” coupons at Walgreens. You can use 1 walgreens coupon and 1 manufacturer coupon to purchase 1 item. The Walgreens coupons does not count as a coupon when using a Register Reward (RR).
Order of Operation:
The order in which you redeem your coupons at Walgreens is VERY IMPORTANT.
1. Manufacturer Coupons
2. Store Coupons
3. Register Rewards
If you are new to shopping at Drug Stores, Check out my How to shop at CVS
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