The Walgreens deal...

Ok,
Walgreens is an awsome store. I get SO MANY DEALS THERE. However it is not for the faint of heart for certain. It requires some serious preplanning and mulitple transactions to do it well.

Ok, So what are RR?

register rewards (RR) are coupons from the Catalina machine that print after you make a qualifying purchase. Most RRs are "On Your Next Order" (OYNO) which can be used like cash on your next order. (Sometimes you may receive a Catalina for $ off a particular item or an advertisement for an rr deal.)


How do you get RR?


buy the exact items advertised to receive RR. using coupons on these items should not affect whether your RR prints. unfortunately, it seems that a few stores have their registers programmed so that RR will not print if coupons are used - but if this is true, it is very rare. I havent found a local store that does not print RR if you use coupons.

If you complete more than one register rewards deal in one transaction, one reward for each different RR deal should print. but you will not receive more than one RR for the same deal. Thats one reason why you have to do multiple transactions

if you purchased the right items and didn't get RR, you can return the items on the spot or call the catalina company @ 888-322-3814. have your receipt in front of you, they need some info from it, and they'll be able to see if the machine was working and if you bought the right products. It does tend to take a few minutes for the call, and then you have to wait to get the RR, which takes 6 - 8 weeks. This happened to me on Friday and I am going to call on Monday

How do you use RR?


you can use your RR like cash on your next purchase. but of course there are exceptions.

Most RRs explicitly say that they can not be used on tobacco, alcohol, tax, lottery tickets, money orders, stamps, dairy, or any gift cards or pre-paid cards.
As stated in the fine print, you cannot use more RRs and manufacturer coupons than number of items you are buying. as long as you are buying as many items as you have RR & manufacturer coupons, you should be able to use more than one RR. store coupons do not affect how many manufacturer and RR's you can use. If you need more items to use multiple RR consider "fillers" Pencils, small candies, clearance items are all great fillers to up your item to coupon ratio.

You cannot "roll" RR's into the same deal. For example, if you use an RR from Dove to buy more Dove items, you will NOT get another RR. the best way to "roll" is to use your Dove RR to complete a different RR deal. You can then use the RRs from the 2nd transaction, to go back and purchase more Dove. Yet another reason to do mulitple transactions.


How to use coupons at Walgreens:


if you are using a manufacturer's coupon and a walgreens coupon on the same item and hoping for overage towards your other items, give the manufacturer's coupon first. a manufacturer's coupon will be rejected by the register if it is over the cost of the item, but a walgreens coupon will go through.

for example:
the incorrect order...
deodorant $1.99
-$1 in-ad coupon (walgreens coupon)
=$.99
-$1 manufacturer's coupon - will beep and register will not accept it because it is over $.99!

but if you give the cashier the manufacturer's coupon 1st...
deodorant $1.99
-$1 manufacturer's coupon
=$.99
-$1 in-ad coupon (walgreens coupon) - will not beep
=-$.01 (of course you will need another item or tax on your transaction for the penny to apply to)


It isnt too hard once you get the hang of it. I actually write out all my transactions and seperate all my coupons for each transaction and how I am going to pay for each transaction. It is the most complicated store for "rolling" but also has the best deals since there are no limits unlike CVS where you are limited by your ECB card.

Questions?? Ask away!!

Happy Clipping