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Walgreens tutorial

So here it is, finally my tutorial on Walgreens. The real reason this has taken so long is that I am still figuring out Walgreens, they are not as straight forward as CVS and no matter who you ask (store manager, corporate, other store manager) you get a different answer on the policy. So here is my best explanation of Walgreens.

Walgreens offers several ways to save money. First of all they have in-ad coupons inside each weeks mailer. They also have Easy Saver Catalogues (ESC) that come out each month full of coupons and the monthly rebate form. These coupons can be combined with a manufacturer’s coupon for maximum savings. This can be a bit tricky though because MANY stores do not allow you to have more coupons than items ( ex. 4 items only 4 coupons) often the register will not allow it. So if you have 2 coupons for 1 item you must have an item with no coupon. This can be even trickier if you have a RR, which counts as a coupon ( don’t worry I will explain RR in a minute).

Register Rewards or RR, are much like CVS Extra Care Bucks, the difference being they do not count as a form of payment. RR are considered a coupon so as I said above if you use one you must have a corresponding item with no coupon in your transaction and you can only use one per transaction. RR print at the end of your transaction when you have purchased the qualifying items. While there is no limit on how many times you can get a specific RR, you can not pay for a RR item with a RR or none will print( if they are part of the same deal) and if you buy 2 in the same transaction only 1 or sometimes none will print.
Example: Crest mouthwash is $4.99 buy 1 get $4.99 RR
Pert Plus is $3.79, buy 1 get $3.00 RR
If you buy 2 Crest at once you will not get 2 RR
If you buy 1 Crest then buy another Crest and pay with the RR no RR will print.
If you buy 1 Crest and 1 Pert Plus you will get both a $4.99 RR and a $3.00 RR.
You can buy a Crest and pay with the $3 RR and still get a $4.99 RR but if you pay with the $4.99 RR no RR will print.

The last way to save at Walgreens is with the monthly Easy Saver Rebates ( ESR). Each month Walgreens releases a list of items that have either a full or partial rebate offered. Once you purchase the qualifying item you can submit it for a refund either by mail with the Easy Saver Catalogue, found in the store, or on the web at Walgreens.com. You must not mail your rebate form or fully submit it until you are all done for the month. Once you submit that is all you can request for rebate for that entire month, one per household. You can get your rebate either by check or by gift card. I highly recommend by gift card because then you get an extra 10 % back. Plus once you get your first gift card you can reload it each month and it only takes 5-10 business days.

Walgreens also releases dollar off coupons on a pretty regular basis so make sure you are on the Walgreens email list. The catch with these coupons is the total ( for ex. $5 off a $20 purchase, $20 being the total) dollar amount must be met after coupons and before tax. So unlike CVS you will be spending $20 before tax using a $5/$20 coupon but with RR and ESR you can get all of that money plus more back, it is just a bigger initial amount out of pocket. If you have already begun doing rebates you can pay with your gift card and have no out of pocket.

Well I hope this helps more than hurts. Don’t be discouraged if you have a few mess ups at first, I almost gave up on Walgreens several times! You will spend more out of pocket initially than at CVS but once you do a month of rebates you can have little to no out of pocket and only pay with your rebate gift card.
Those of you who are Walgreens pro’s any more thoughts?