I know one of the biggest complaints I hear over and over about Rite Aid is that you’re having issues with Internet printable coupons. Reader Heather took matters into her own hands and contacted Rite Aid customer service.
They were kind enough to send her a copy of the official Rite Aid corporate coupon policy (PDF), which she in turn sent to me so that I could share it with all of you!
You’ll want to read the document in full, but I’ve picked out the most important parts to post here.
Rite Aid accepts four types of coupon:
1. Those generated by the manufacturer and found in newspapers and magazines
2. Manufacturer’s coupons found in Rite Aid circulars
3. Rite Aid store coupons, also known as “valuable coupons,” that are also found in Rite Aid circulars
4. Internet or print at home couponsLimits on usage:
Standard Coupons (Non-Internet) — Only one manufacturer’s coupon is accepted for each product, unless coupled with a manufacturer’s or valuable coupon found in a Rite Aid circular.
Rite Aid reserves the right to deny redemption for coupons that exhibit signs of misrepresentation, including, but not limited to: “gang cut” (coupons presented in bulk that appear to have been cut by machine — a form of coupon fraud), similar cuts and tears, or sequential number patterns. Coupons may not be reproduced, photocopied, trimmed, or altered in any way by the customer or Rite Aid associate.
Internet Coupons — The following limitations apply:
- Only one Internet coupon is accepted for each item unless coupled with a manufacturer’s or valuable coupon found in a Rite Aid circular
- $5 limit on each Front End Internet coupon
- $25 limit on Pharmacy Internet coupons (Rite Aid Prescription transfer offers, Competitor prescription transfer offers, etchttps://dealseekingmom.com/)
- Internet coupons must have a valid barcode that scans successfully into the register
- Manual entry it not permitted for Internet coupons that do not scan
So basically, yes, you can use Internet printable coupons, no limit, as long as they scan! I recommend printing this document and keeping it your coupon binder if you shop Rite Aid.
Thanks, Heather!
I know many of you have also had questions regarding the policy for using BOGO coupons in conjunction with a BOGO sale, a matter that’s not directly addressed in the document attached above. Reader Kelly took the time to email them, and here’s the response she received.
Kelly,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us. Our policy states that customers can use a BOGO coupon during a BOGO sale. You do not have to buy an extra item just to use this type of coupon.
So, you can use one BOGO coupon with a BOGO sale, therefore getting 2 items free. The register will automatically calculate any sales tax due on a zero sales transaction.
Carrie
Customer Support
Thanks, Kelly!
MoneyMateKate
Now if only they’d get decent scanning equipment. I use 5 different Rite Aid stores, and even their own in-ad coupons rarely scan right because the print is usually a little blurry. Still, thanks for this – too many staff are still unaware of the new IP rules.
Karen
Thanks for posting that. I will surely bring it with me. I actually had a manager follow me around this week with the J&J deal, after she was called to the register and denied more than one coupon of the same kind, regardless of amount of products. My 7 year old kept asking me if we were going to jail. :)
E.Daw
It is nice to have a policy in hand…I just find that even when I know I am not abusing a situation (just trying to get a good deal!-not even taking more than a few items-) they don’t treat me very well. I wouldn’t even mind, if the cashiers were unaware and told me nicely that they couldn’t take a coupon. But….I think most of them ARE aware-they just would rather not. Just been my experience.
Swap Savers
Great post. Now I would love to know their policy about Rite Aid Rebates (time limited) when the item is not in stock. I have heard 3 different things from 3 different stores. One store told me that they will give the rebate in-store with rain check while another store told me that Rite Aid on-line would give the rebate when you purchase with a rain check (since it is noted on receipt) while another store told me that you cannot receive the rebate at all if it is not in stock. So which one is right???
Lisa
About two months ago I had a problem with a rite-aid store that forced me to contact RA headquarters. To make a painfully long story short, the bottom line was that even though this is their new, updated policy, not only are their employees not aware of it, but they are NOT UPDATING THE SIGNS.
It is very frustrating to be treated like a criminal for knowing and abiding by the rules, only to be told that I am wrong. So if you bring a copy of the policy, and you are STILL being given a hard time, I strongly recommend that you send a note to customer service via their website, and let them know particularly, that their signage needs to be updated to parallel the new policy. There is a section to specify the store you had a problem with on the website.
Please note that I am not recommending this just to “stick ’em to ’em”, but because drugstore employees need not treat customers so harshly for being more aware of the rules than them, and the only way to get this changed is to bring it to corporate’s attention.
Teia
Can anyone explain the gang cut thing more? Does this mean if I order coupons or I also get get about seven copies of the inserts myself. Is this a problem?
And I wanted to add, Rite Aid’s customer service sucks no matter what. About a year ago I set off the alarm and I came back in without them asking me, offered them my purse to go through. The cashier said she did not know what to do and got on the phone. I thought she was calling a manger. NO! She called the police. I live in a small town and the officers thought it was funny. But seriously I came back in and offered my bag. It was just crazy to me. I also had a recipet for what I did purchase. It was a tiny bottle of gripe water that was 12.99. If I was stealing I probably wouldn’t have bought something that small and expensive. I wasn’t ever going to go back but than I found out about couponing.
Linda
Just wanted to let you know that the Rite Aid’s in Michigan are now closing at fast rates. You might want to see how long the store will be open in your area and stock up on items that you normally purchase there with coupons. Just giving you the heads up!
Dizzy Mommy
I had my first real huge problem with Rite Aid yesterday… I went with my mom to do the J&J deal for her so she could stock up on baby products. The girl proceeded to point to a sign and tell me she could only accept one internet coupon per transaction…. I told her I was pretty sure that was incorrect but she point blank refused. Its nice to know the full story now… def. going to carry this with me. I live outside Detroit and we had a ton of Rite Aids close over the summer… so my choices are way down.
Lisa
Dizzy Mommy,
That is the same thing that happened to me. I went to another Rite Aid to redeem the coupons and they said I had to go to the original one. The shift supervisor was extremely rude to me, telling me that I was trying to scam the system and that I was flat out wrong. I called later that afternoon after I went to another one and noted that the new policy WAS one coupon PER ITEM. She said “I told you once and I won’t tell you again.”
I went in the next day and spoke to the manager who treated me the same ALL over again. Then she proceeded to tell me that the coupons were expired and couldn’t be used (they weren’t expired on the day I used them! duhhhh).
She went into the back room, comes back out and apologies — the new signs were on the counter and no one put them out… a month later, the signs STILL aren’t updated.
I complained to CS, the regional manager called me to apologize and sent me a gift card. The gift card was a nice bonus, I won’t lie, but honestly, I just want the policy to be known, and properly displayed. A hassle-free transaction is worth more to me than a gift card.
Kelly
I have a question. I bought 4 Loreal shampoos at Rite Aid the other day and then decided I did not want them. I returned them the next day to a different Rite Aid and was only refunded the amount I paid. (which I am fine with) My question is this: Is Rite Aid still reimbursed for the Q that I submitted with the original purchase? If so are they making money when I return product? Also, if I return product again and they refund only the money I paid, can I get my coupon back? (Which is like cash to me!) The cashier told me I could, but every time a transaction has gone through for me at another store, I was told once they ring the coupon they can not give it back. I was just thinking RA was working the system a little bit.
What are your thoughts?
Bounty and Savings
Wow, THANK YOU for the policy. I had my run-ins with cashiers who thought I’m “abusing the system” by using multiple, legitimate coupons and only “paid a few dollars for $30 worth of items”. Now I pick my stores carefully, and only patronize the coupon friendly ones. Though I found that if you call corporate (which I did), they’ll send your info to the regional manager, and this manager whom the cashiers said “trained them the polices to not accept my coupons”, but they refused to give me his number) called me to apologize, and said that they just did another training and made a “big deal out of it”. Though I was so irked by the staff at this particular store, I never went back. This is in a somewhat less coupon friendly area in California. Anyway, thanks again for posting it.
Emily
Any tips for making sure our coupons scan? I always print mine the same way (normal printing, not fast draft or anything like that) and sometimes they scan and sometimes they don’t. I think it has a lot more to do with their scanners than the coupon (and more than one employee has said the same thing.) If we know it is legitimate, can we complain (to corporate, maybe?) that their scanners are the problem?
Deborah
Thank you Heather and Tara. I am
sure this will make life easier for a lot of us. I had called RA customer service earlier in the week after a run in with a cashier and the CSR promised to send me a copy of this policy in the mail to me, but now I don’t have to wait to get it. I also am a little confused about the “gang cut” rule. I buy 4 copies of the newpapers and take apart the inserts and stack them and cut out the four copies together so I only have to do it once instead of four times so all the coupons will be “cut” exactly the same. Is this considered “gang cut”. I had never heard of this before and didn’t know it could be a problem in having my coupons accepted.
Rainey
Unfortunatley we internet coupon users are looked upon poorly at most stores. I had one guy at Walgreens actually throw my coupons in the trash (from that paper and internet) and act like he scaned it and just gave me the total. I got outside looked at the receipt and went back in and he had to dig them out of the trash and the manager came up and had a talk with him. But Target, Wal Mart, grocery stores all of them have always frowned everytime I use the internet coupons. Very frustrating, they are the ones missing out on the money. If Rite Aid wanted to keep their stores open, they should take the coupons, make the sale and then get the money back from the manufactuer.
kathy
My RA told me they would only accept 7 “Internet Coupons” and that this was a corporate rule!
[email protected]
Gang cutting refers to coupons that have been lined up and cut (usually with a cutter, but scissors work too) by a store owner (usually Mom & Pop) and then redeemed for cash via the manufacturer’s agent (normally a clearinghouse) without a purchase being made.
(They get caught when inventory sold does not match coupons redeemed. There have been sting operations in the past where a coupon for a non-existent product has been released and then the Mom & Pop store redeems thousands of the coupons for payment from the clearinghouse. )
The term “gang cut” as Rite Aid is using it is incorrect, as, by definition, a consumer buying a product cannot be guilty of “gang cutting”.
So, do not worry about how you clip your coupons.
Julie
My RA told me they only accept Internet coupons that have the Rite Aid seal on them. For example, they will accept the “spend $30 / get $5” ones that they send me through e-mail (Rite Aid seal on them, obviously) but not manufacturer coupons. I must add she was very nice in telling me this, almost apologetic — I’ve never had them be rude to me. When I use many coupons, they even congratulate me on “how little I spent for so much stuff.”
Michelle
Thanks so much Tara! The inconsistency at Rite Aid drives me nuts. One store says they’ll only take one internet coupon per transaction, and another store takes anything. And you are usually dealing with a pimply faced teenager which makes things even worse (not that there is anything wrong with being a pimply faced teenager..). I will definitely post on Wicked Cool Deals!
kelly
I used to work at rite aid. At the time internet coupons were not accepted, however they now do accept them. When the cashier rings in the coupon and completes the transaction, that cashier can not give the customer the coupon back because their drawer will come out short on coupons at the end of the day. However, if the customer does want to return something that they used a coupon on, they will give the customer the amount back that the item cost before the coupon, the customer wins. Rite aid is still reimbursed by the manufacturer for the coupon amount. Also Rite Aid coupons that come out of the circular are manufacturers coupons, so most rite aids do not allow customers to use a rite aid manufacturers coupon with a manufacturers coupon out of the newspaper or online. any other questions?!
Jaime
Which leads to the question of how is RA handling their own $5 off $25 coupon? I remember reading a few months ago that the $5 had to be after all other Mfr. coupons were deducted, and the total after Q’s still needed to be $25. Never had this problem at the RA near my house, but they are a very small RA, and I wanted to take advantage of the J&J this week. I went to the next town, got 9 j&j items and had one $3/3, two $2/2, and 2 $1/1 coupons. Cashier insisted on ringing each item asssociated with q, then deducting q, then continuing until order was complete. By then, my order was about $19, and she said she couldn’t take the $5/25 coupon since the total was less. I told her she was wrong (? I really don’t know that since I haven’t seen anything official), and she got the manager who said the same thing. To which I responded, then ring the $5 in first, THEN do all the mq’s. She deleted the entire order, and rang the q’s in that way, and lo and behold, everything worked. The mgr. seemed confused. Then later that day I went to ANOTHER RA, and got numerous items, all with mfr. and internet q’s and another $5/25 q. The in ad q’s weren’t even scanning at the register, and the cashier said, if the internet q doesn’t scan, I can’t take them. She held the q briefly to the scanner and proclaimed it wasn’t working. I told her to try harder since it seems that NO q ever scans easily at RA. She continued, and wouldn’t you know, ALL the q’s scanned eventually. Tell your cashier she needs to keep trying. And I made her do the $5 q 1st as well. Does anyone know RA official policy on the $5/25?
Jenny
I was having problems at my RA this week– so contacted customer service. This is what they emailed back. Think it will answer your question about 5$ off 25$ coupons, coupons used on BOGO free, stacking, etc.
At Rite Aid:
You can use a manufacturer’s coupon with a Rite Aid coupon at anytime as
long as the two combine do not exceed the amount of the item you are
purchasing. Rite Aid accepts all internet coupons as long as the value of
the coupon is below $5.00. Also, you can use more than one coupon per
transaction.
Whenever an item is on sale you can use a coupon on the item as long as the
value of the coupon does not exceed the value of the item itself. For
instance; if you have a coupon for a $1.00 off and the item is on sale for
$0.99, the coupon cannot be used as it exceeds the value of the item being
purchased. I hope this explains in further detail the coupon policy for you.
When items are featured on a buy one get one free promotion, up to two
coupons can be used against the items being purchased, as long a the net
price does not go below zero for the item being purchased.
Rite Aid accepts the $5 off $25 or more before all other coupons are used.
This was changed recently so if you have difficulty simply have the manager
contact 1-800-RITEAID for information.
Corey
Customer Support
Julie
It is great to actually have their SOP (standard operating procedure)! The one thing I didn’t see addressed, which I still have problems with at RA, is whether or not it is policy to accept a BOGO manuf. coupon with their own BOGO promo. I don’t see why they wouldn’t because you legitimately are buying two items, one costs the customer money & the other doesn’t, and they are getting the money for the one that costs money … it’s just from the manufacturer if you use a coupon. I don’t see why it matters if I pay for it now versus the manufacturer paying for it, they still get the same amount of money.
Pippi
I’ve used a BOGO coupon with a Rite Aid BOGO promotion and paid only the difference in price between the two items (cents). I’m sorry for those having such trouble with Rite Aid! I’m new to the Rite Aid game, but the manager at my local store is very supportive of couponers, and I haven’t had any trouble yet.
However, I’m fairly certain that you can’t stack two manufacturer’s coupons anywhere, even if they’re from different sources (i.e. Rite Aid circular, insert, or IP). The manufacturer will only reimburse one coupon per item, unless I’m mistaken.
EAST
Kelly-
Most stores will refund the full price if you used a manufacturers coupon. If you use an in store coupon it is basically the same thing as buying it on sale, but more complicated.
If you use a manufacturer’s coupon the store gets refunded the savings by the manufacturer. I always figure that if this is the case that someone (or several someone’s) have purchased the item at regular price without the coupon.
Rite Aid has such a draconian return policy and rude employees that I no longer shop there. I honestly miss Eckerd…. we go to Target and Walgreens instead. Walgreens also keeps coupons behind the cosmetics counter. I’ll ask if they have one for something I’m purchasing and sometimes get lucky. Or a nice clerk will let me know that they have a coupon for me to use- even better.
Karla
So are the coupons you print from the Rite Aid Videos Rite Aid coupons or manufacturer coupons? They have the Rite Aid logo followed by manufacturer coupon on them. But would they be like the Rite Aid coupons in their circulars? I’m so confused. :(
Deborah
I called Rite-Aid cutomer service this past week about the two issues being discussed here (BOGO coupons used in conjunction with BOGO ad and using the $5.00 off $25.00 RA coupon BEFORE other coupons) and I was told by the CSR rep that in both instances that the coupons are OK. She told me that if RA has a BOGO sale and you have a BOGO coupon that you get BOTH items for free and that you CAN use the $5.00 off $25.00 BEFORE other coupons. You just can’t go below zero, so I made sure I added an extra $5.00 item that I didn’t have a coupon for to the “free” stuff. She had the store manager call me and he apologized that his cashier did not handle my coupons properly. When I came back he had his Assistant Manager ring me up and I was able to get both items for free and use the $5.00 off coupon first. I actually brought my three children with me and did the same deal 4 times. He just checked the security code on the RA $5.00 coupons to make sure I hadn’t copied it (and of course I wouldn’t–I just used different computers to get 4 coupons) and everything went smoothly. I would HIGHLY suggest that if you have any problems at your store that you just call customer service. They are VERY helpful and got thinks straightened out in a matter of hours!!!!
Kelly
East-
Thank you very much. I am wondering what to do if I return something in the future if this happens? I will contact customer service and let them know.
I have also had so much trouble with the BOGO coupons in conjuction with a BOGO sale. I have been told 3 different things at the same store within 2 days!
I am off to contact customer service!
Thanks all
[email protected]
Karla –
They are Rite Aid coupon and can be used in conjunction with a manufacturer coupon for greater savings. Like the in-ad coupons, you can use more than one alike RA coupon per order when you are buying multiples of the same qualifying item. The machine will accept them.
Kim
Im thankful to say that so far, my Rite Aid hasnt given me any problems. They were actually quite helpful and the manager told me to make sure that I also sign up for the Rake In The Savings programs as he handed me the phamphlet when I was asking details about the SCBs.
One thing I also do if Im using the $5.00 off $25.00 (or anywhere else that has a similar coupon) is I hold back my regular coupons and hand them the $5.00 off first.. then hand them the rest of the coupons after they’ve scanned it. So far, no one has directed me to give me all of them at once, and they’ve all scanned them in the order I’ve handed them to them so long as I gave them coupons in this manner.
One time (@KMart) I did have a control freak checker put my $5.00 in the back of the coupons so that the total no longer was enough, but that one time was enough for me to learn this little trick. She also checked each & every one for dates, the exact product info etc, but they were all good.. Prob fluffed her feathers. ;)
Thanks for sharing the policy with us. Im definitely printing and carrying.. just in case. ;)
Holly
Thank you so much for posting this I will add it to my site link back and I will keep a copy with me.
Any more information about the bar code for the $5 off $20 Ad perks coupon? Can you use the coupon more than once? Say if you printed it out more than once? Is the bar code the same?