Walgreens 101

Walgreens Basics

Need a shopping card? No
Internet printable coupon-friendly? Yes
Rewards Program? Register Rewards (RR) – advertised as “use like cash” but this isn’t truly the case unfortunately. They are manufacturer’s coupons that you can use to buy almost anything in the store with some restrictions:

• Be sure to check your expiration dates – RR’s are usually only good for 2 weeks
• Since they are technically coupons, you can’t exceed coupon-to-item ratio. (ie. If you’re buying 4 items and have 4 RR’s, you’re ok because you have one item for every coupon.) If you’re buying 4 items and have 5 RR’s, you’re out of luck. You’ll need to pick up a fifth item (called a filler) so you can use all of your RR's. This gets even trickier if you have coupons to use on your items in addition to RR’s to use (remember, one coupon per item), so it’s best to plan out your Wags deals ahead of time.
• RR’s generally do not “roll” on the same item or promotion (ie. you buy a toothpaste and get a $2 RR. If you use that $2 RR to buy another tube, your new RR won’t print.)
• You can however use a RR to buy another item that is producing a RR, as long as the manufacturer is different. So let’s say you bought Colgate toothpaste and got a $2 RR. Let’s also say that Dove deodorant is on sale this week and gives you a $3 RR. You could use your Colgate $2 RR to buy the Dove, since they’re from different manufacturers and still get your $3 RR for the Dove.
• Read your RR’s carefully – some cannot be used on certain items, ie. stamps or gift cards
• Be careful of limits – if the item is limit one and you buy 2 of the same item, you’ll only get one of your RR’s. However, since there isn’t a card to track your purchases, every time you enter the store, you are essentially a “new” customer and can buy the item again. If the deal is really good, try to go back at a different time or to a different store to do multiple deals (fly under the radar.)

Thanks Frugal Suz!