I’ve never formally written a post on how to play the “Drugstore Game” at Walgreens, so I’d like to take a moment to introduce you to their Register Rewards program.
In many ways, this program is very similar to the CVS ExtraCare program. When you purchase certain items and/or a certain dollar amount of items, a coupon will print out that is good on your next purchase at Walgreens.
Much like CVS, to maximize your savings the key is to combine a Register Rewards producing deal or a great sale price with a manufacturer’s coupon and possibly even a store coupon. This allows you to purchase items at the lowest possible price so you can build your stockpile at a minimal cost.
However, there are some important differences that you need to be aware of to take advantage of the program to its fullest:
- Walgreens does not require the use of a store loyalty card to earn Register Rewards, aka RRs.
- You will only earn RRs once per deal per transaction. In other words, if Excedrin is producing $2 in RRs in a given week, you must purchase each bottle in a separate transaction to earn the Register Rewards. If you purchase 3 bottles in one transaction, you would only receive $2 in RRs.
- RRs cannot be “rolled” on like transactions. Using the Excedrin example again, you could not purchase one bottle of Excedrin and use the RRs received to purchase a second bottle. The Register Rewards will not print out when the second transaction is completed. Instead to roll RRs, you need to alternate it with another deal. So if Pantene was producing $2 in RRs as well that week, you could purchase the Excedrin, use the Excedrin RRs to purchase your Pantene, and then turn around and use the Pantene RRs to purchase the Excedrin again and so on.
- While Register Rewards are essentially cash, the Walgreens registers treat them as manufacturer coupons. The problem with this is that Walgreens only allow you to use as many manufacturer coupons as items on the transaction. This creates a need for “filler items” if you have a coupon for every item you’re purchasing and wish to pay with a Register Reward. Filler items are inexpensive items that you add to an order so you have a non-coupon item that will allow your Register Rewards to be processed.
- There is some debate about the best order to hand over your RRs and coupons at checkout. The method that I’ve found to work best personally is Register Rewards first, Walgreen’s store coupons second, and manufacturer’s coupons last. Feel free to change it up if it’s not working well for you.
Finally, a word to the wise – treat your RRs like cash. They cannot be replaced if lost. Generally Register Rewards expire two weeks from when they are generated, so watch those expiration dates!
Ready to try your hand at shopping Walgreens? Check out the Walgreens Weekly Deals where I lay out the best deals for each week along with the coupons you need to maximize your savings.
Questions? Comments? Leave them all. I’d love to create an FAQs page to help guide readers through the process of learning to shop at Walgreens, so I welcome your input.
Kristie
And if I might add…
a good way to keep from confusing which RR was generated from which deal is to write what it was generated from on the back of each RR.
That way you don’t end up using a previously received RR from Bayer (for example) on a second Bayer purchase, thus not getting the expected RR.
And be specific. Bayer meter, Bayer Crystals, etc. It has saved me from making mistakes a lot of times. HTH =)
C.A.
If the RR has expired, go ahead and try to use it. I have been able to use my expired RR that have expired without any questions!
CaroleG
The entire program is changing soon, rumor has it that it will be like CVS’s program.
Dizzy Mommy
Im hopeful it will more like CVS, I only have one Walgreens by me and the cashier is so mean I wait till I visit my parents house in the city and have a ton of them to choose from. One time the Walgreens cashier told me I was allowed to use Man. on items that produced RRs and so on. If its more like CVS then maybe it will be easier.
Kellee
That’s a great idea Kristie! And, C.A. you are right; I’ve had RR expired by a day or two and used them with no problem!
Alicia
I hope I am understanding this right. If I am buying lets say Bayer and Tylenol and they both print RR. If I in the first transaction buy Tylenol and get my RR. Next, buy Bayer and pay with my Tylenol RR, I will still get RR for Bayer? I always thought if I used a RR to pay for something and that item is a RR they would not print. If I am understanding this right, I have been missing out. I hate going to Walgreens because of the RR and now, GAME ON!!!
Swap Savers
Great article! I have had SO many problems with the RR program that I will not purchase items with RR anymore. I have even contacted the corporate office about it. Another issue I have is that the Walgreens staff don’t even understand the RR program (so how am I suppose to understand it?)–I have asked some of the questions you addressed in this article (which is not explained anywhere in Walgreens or on their site) and the staff could not answer the questions. Thanks!
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Rhonda Burkhalter
My husband works for Walgreens so add’l we get his discount, however, last night I purchased the Nutrigrain bars that are on sale this week 4/$10 and received $3 RR. My “total” cost for the bars was $1.37/box. I then took the $3 RR + $1.50 MFC for the batteries I came in to purchase, plus our discount and the batteries + 1 filler item. My total was $11.61 and the batteries alone before any discounts or coupons were $12.99. I also had a MFC for the Dove deoderants (online coupon) $1.50/2. There were RR for purchasing 4, 6, 8… so I purchased 4 and received $2 in RR, plus used my coupon. Regular price was $2.99, tax & discounts my final cost was $1.76. RR are great! Much better than the old Easy Saver Catalog where you had to mail everything off!
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Samantha
I used the Easy Saver rebate program for years and although submitting online made it easier, there were still receipts to keep up with and the possibility of something getting lost in the shuffle. Or the few times that we “didn’t think” and opened a product before the rebate was finalized only to discover that we had purchased the wrong item. =( So in that regard, the RRs are great because you have a sort of instant gratification– if they print properly. However, I really hope that they go a program like CVS. Even though CVS limits how many “deals” you can get, you don’t have to do a bunch of transactions and scour the store for cheap filler items so you can use up your RRs if you have coupons for everything. And I never have trouble spending my ECBs whereas sometimes I end up with a pile of RRs and just hope that something like diapers goes on sale that I do NOT have a MQ for !
JJ
Stay away from wags. IT more trouble to shop at Wags than any other store. CVs all the way.
JJ
Wags is going to card not too far out. they will also limit you. wags already does limit you on most thing just people do not follow it.
Brenda
Thanks for the tips!
Heidi
Word to the wise…. my local Walgreens will NOT allow you to use a manufacturer’s coupon on an item that is on sale using a “Walgreen’s” coupon from their circular. Also…. carefully check the wording on the RR item. If you have to spend $30 to get the RR, make sure your total before tax and after coupons is that amount.
Tara Kuczykowski
Heidi, you should contact Walgreens customer service, because you definitely can combine a Walgreens store coupon with a manufacturer’s coupon on the same item per their corporate policy. It sounds like they’re not following the guidelines.
cendy
I have had issues like Heidi, they would not give me a RR for the product purchased becaused i use a manufacturers coupon. This is what management explained to me, some products will not allow you to do that.
JArble
i have the same issue at walgreens i have at most stores…if an item is BOGO and I have 2 coupons say for $1 off each they will only let me use 1…because according to them I’m not buying the other one I’m getting it for free yet I always read about people getting the deals using 2 coupons..any advice how to get around this issue
KV
The first and last time I tried RRs my store told me I couldn’t use a manufacturer’s coupon on the product. We have SavingsAngel.com in our city and they had advertised you could get shaving gel (which was onsale) for $.24 by using the manufacturer’s coupon ($.75) and receiving the $1 RR. Sigh. Of course they tell me this with a line full of people. I had them void out the transaction. So much for great deals.
Christina
Tara I just seen your article on aol.com. I have been following you for a while but just wanted to say thank you for all the hard work you do to save us money! :)
Jen
So let me get this straight:
The register rewards is the amount shown on your receipt that you have saved? I was in Walgreens this morning and I bought Quaker Oatmeal which had the word “sale by it. I also bought Vicks Dayquil and Coldeez Lozenges which had the code “F” by it and it means “eligible flex spend acct. item”. After the ringup total, below that shows WAG Advertised Savings $1.50. Was this for the Oatmeal or the other two items? I don’t see any other amounts on there. What are the register reward amounts? I did get two coupons for something I really don’t use. Can I use those towards something else?
Tara Kuczykowski
Jen, as far as I know neither of those items have Register Rewards deals associated with them this week. Only certain items are available to earn the RRs on, and they’re generally listed in the weekly ad.
Tamara
Not sure where to put this so I’ll add it here. Walgreens currently has a sale on 2 liter Pepsi products with an additional mail in rebate. The sale is 4-2 liters/$5 and the rebate is $5. Purchases must be made between 5/17 and 6/13 and you need receipt and UPCs. Good in AR, FL, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MI, MN, MO, MS, ND, OH, SD, TN, TX and WI. No UPCs necessary in IA and MI (so you can still turn in for the deposit) but you must copy the numbers and mail them in.
This site has helped me out quite a bit so I hope I am able to return the favor just a little!
Jen
Personally, Walgreens is such a pain to shop in. I can’t wait for them to change over to a CVS system. I would happily give them a try again once they change over…..CVS is so clear and concise. Walgreens RR program is totally confusing and requires way too much time to figure out rolling deals. I know I know, I’m complaining here but that’s been my experience. CVS is straight-forward—you buy this= you get this. period. Meanwhile at Walgreens you have too many restructions and rules, sub-rules, scenarios when RR’s won’t print, printer issues etc. + employees who don’t understand their own rewards program either. When your own employees can’t explain it, then you know you have an ineffective program. Just my two cents!!!
Stephanie
I also prefer CVS due to the clarity of their program. However, I have gotten great deals at Wag’s. So, can’t complain. I ran into not being able to use my RR’s this past weekend and wasn’t sure why. It would let me use 2, but then the 3rd one wouldn’t go through. Now I know it was because of all the Q’s I was using. My OOP was still minimal, so I’ll just use it on the next shopping trip. The main thing is to watch those expiration dates closely. As for not being able to use a Manuf. Q with a Wag Q or a Manuf. Q on an item that is giving out RR’s, that is totally incorrect. Contact Corporate directly so that they get that store’s personnel up to speed.
Sandra
I wish everyone had a better experience w/Walgreens. If you really understood the RR program you would not want it to be like CVS. CVS makes you use their card…this gets into your privacy & also limits you to one item maybe two. Walgreens does not care how many items that you purchase. If there is an item that I need to stock up on I just buy them separately and get the RR from each transaction. If there is another item then I just use my RR towards that and purchase them one at a time as well. I try to make a challenge of it to see how many times that I can roll over the same money. I try to roll it over at least 5 times. It’s just my opinion, but I do not like having limits on how much stuff I can get for free. Once you get into the groove of using RR on products that you will get more RR you will love the return.
Marcia
Agree. Wags is a pain! They will not allow a RR & a MQ in the same transaction unless you use more items in the purchase. Thus, you spend more. They will not print a RR for any item you have paid for with a previously obtained RR. Only those cashiers who do not understand the program are willing to go the xtra mile and make sure you are happy. Bummer.
J. Wu
I use Rite Aid , CVS, and WG’s programs. I like Rite Aid best. After you bought them at the end of each month enter all items into the site and your check will be on the way. Rite Aid also give you about 25 days grace peroid for entering the items that you purchased. Most of the time right after you entered the items at the end of month that you can see your rebate amount right on the screen. If you purchase the wrong item, you can always return them as long as you fallow their return policy. If there is no item that you like or needed, you do not have to force to use the rebate money. It is not like the CVS or WG has time limit. If you do not use them in timely manner that you will loose all your money for CVS or WG program. In addition, it is very difficult to keep all the printing papers inside the purse. I like Rite Aid. You can take your rebate check cash it at bank and spend it the way that you want. You do not have deadline to meet and force to spend your money. You can even put the refund check into your bank’s saving account or saving them up to take your kits to disneyland for birthday.
I like CVS program better than WG because CVS does not treat the cash back as manufacture coupon. You will be able to combine the manufacture coupon with the cash back money. It will save you more. In addition, CVS give you more than two weeks to spend the cash back money. On the other hand, WG treats it likes manufacture coupon and each item can only use one manufacture coupon. Most of time, I was been forced to buy unwanted items in order to use my RR before they expired. It does not work with my life style of buying the necessary item and with real manufacture coupon only to save money in this difficult time of our nation. WG time to wake up and come out a better program for your smart shoppers like all of us. You do not like the feeling of buying unnessary items or force to buy in your timely manner.
Sandra
One other thing try using the cashier at the cosmetics section. Hopefully, they will be educated or desire to learn their system. The reason I say that is I always go to that section & try to have a good relationship with those cashiers. That section has a quota on sales that they have to reach. So, if they feel you care about them they will want to help you.
Mrs. Toro
My Wags is a total nightmare! They will NOT let you use a MC and a RR in the same transaction…even if you aren’t using them on the same item!! This is all per the manager. I have a few RR’s that I need to use up and then I’m finished with them! It’s too much trouble!
Mary
I was told you can use more than 2 RR in a transaction even if an item costs a lot more than your rebate money. I didn’t see that on the rebate money. Cashiers can’t write rainchecks, and I waited more than 20 minutes for a manager to write one – only to be told the truck was being unloaded and to come back later. This happened twice that I left without rainchecks. I called the 800# and they gave me the district number. The woman that answered in our region said it was the national policy.
I went to a different store in our region and had a pleasant experience (to use the RR money that was expiring) . Too bad this store is 25 minutes from my house. They were so nice! I am finding CVS and Rite Aid easier to deal with for sales.
Terri
I’ve gone thru some major legal issues with Walgreens lately. Our local Walgreens stores in Grand Junction, CO are definitely NOT couponer/customer friendly. There is no consistent training on coupons or RRs. Also, since they’ve done away with their rebate program, you can no longer use the RRs to buy rebated items; hence, the RRs generally are spent on stuff that is much more expensive than buying elsewhere. I’m hearing similar stories elsewhere. Other restrictions with RRs include that you have to submit them FIRST before other coupons or you may find yourself not being able to use all your coupons. Also, you can only use one RR per item purchased, so if you buy a $30 item and have 3 RRs totalling $20, you’ll only be able to use one of them, not all three. Since the timeframe for their use is extremely limited, try not to buy more RR items than you can turn over; otherwise, you’ll be stuck with RRs you can’t use and that Wags won’t honor. Our stores here won’t take them past their exp. date, without exception. All in all, I quit shopping Walgreens. I used to spend hundreds with them each month, now next to nothing. I think their policies, lack of customer service, and lack of a rebate program will be their undoing. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a CVS in this town!