How To Shop At Walgreens

Hello my bloggy friends! I'm giving a little info about shopping at Walgreens today... if that's not your thing, tune in tomorrow for a craft post.  I will miss you until then.

Walgreens has a great program for coupons, but it can be a bit tricky! Once you learn the rules, you’ll be able to navigate the waters of the Walgreens Register Reward with ease.

Register Rewards (RRs) are coupons that print from a machine at the register after you make a qualifying purchase. These RRs are coupons that can be used as payment on your next order. Some RR deals are for use only on a particular item (i.e., $5 of your next purchase of Acme products) but most RRs are for use on almost any item.

So how do you get these mysterious RRs? Check your Walgreens ad: throughout the ad you will see that there are items on sale and a Register Reward will be advertised with the item. You simply buy the item in the ad (check for specifics, you need to buy item in the right count, variety, etc.). Once you’ve purchased the item, the RR will print out of a Catalina machine at the register.

If you buy several different RR items, you will get RRs for each item. HOWEVER, if you buy several of the same item, you will only get one RR for that item.

In the event your item doesn’t produce an RR, talk with the cashier or manager and find out what went wrong. In most cases, it’s a simple case of picking the wrong count or variety and is easily remedied. Don’t feel bad about returning the item if necessary; this is the nature of using RRs. If you are unable to get the RR after talking with the manager, call the Catalina company with your receipt. They will be able to tell you if the machine was working properly or if the wrong items were purchased. In the event that it was a machine malfunction, they will send you a replacement RR in the mail. (I have never had to call the Catalina company but I wanted to let you know the information!) The Catalina company number is 1-888-322-3814.

So, what can we do with these RRs? You can use these like cash on your next purchase. RRs cannot be used on:

• Tobacco
• Alcohol
• Tax
• Lottery Tickets
• Money Orders
• Stamps
• Dairy
• Gift or Prepaid Cards

Now for the fine print: An RR counts as a manufacturer’s coupon. Since you can’t have more items than manufacturer’s coupons, you’ll need to make sure you have enough items for the RRs you want to use. It’s important to know that a Walgreens coupon (like the ones in the ad or their monthly book) do not count as a manufacturer’s coupon, so don’t worry about those when you’re thinking about your item count.

A great way to use RRs is to ‘roll’ them into more RRs. For example, if you bought some toothpaste and it gave you a $2 RR, if you use that RR on another item that produces an RR, you’re ‘rolling’ it. Some weeks it’s easier to roll than others!

You cannot use an RR to get another of the same item. So in the previous example, if you bought toothpaste and wanted more, if you used your $2 RR to buy it, you would save the $2 but you would not get another $2 RR back. If you use it on another RR item, you will get the RR… and you can ‘roll’ between the items all you like!

If you have several RRs but only want to buy one item, you will need extra items, or ‘filler’ items, to match the number of coupons. Walgreens usually has items on sale for under $0.30, which are great to use for fillers!

Also, coupons can be used on RR items, making them cheaper, free, or even a moneymaker! I’ll alert you to any upcoming deals like that!

I know this seems confusing, but I hope you try it. Start small… find one item in the Walgreens ad that is cheap or free after RR and buy it. Use that RR to get something else… once you try it, you’ll be hooked!