Walgreens 101

As I get more readers to my now not-so-new blog, I find myself answering similar questions about CVS and Walgreens and how to shop there. I've decided to write a post dedicated to each store as a 101 for beginners type post. In these "101" posts, you'll learn how to shop at CVS and Walgreens to best maximize your money and coupons. If you follow the tips, you can save 90%+ on your shopping trips!

Walgreens recently discontinued its EasySaver rebate and catalog program so their only rewards program is currently the Register Rewards (RR) program.

Walgreens has ads in their weekly flyers that you can get in the Sunday paper or emailed to you after you register at http://www.walgreens.com/. There is no rewards card at Walgreens so there is no limit to the amount of deals you can get since they have no way of tracking who is buying what.

Register Rewards (RR's) expire after just 2 weeks and have an expiration date on them. The Walgreens near me will not take expired RR's so make sure you use them before they expire! RR's are just like cash though they do not pay tax.

The biggest myth at Walgreens is that if you use a coupon on an item you can't get the RR for that item. I routinely am able to get RR's when I use a coupon and when I call corporate they tell me that this is correct. If you run into a problem with an RR not printing and are not satisfied after speaking to a manager, you can call corporate at 1-877-250-5823 or call Catalina, the company who prints the RR's and can issue an RR if you should have received one at 1-888-8coupon. A word to the wise - check to see if the Catalina machine has a green light on it - could be that the machine is off and that's why nothing printed. Also, check the ad to make sure you are purchasing the EXACT item advertised for sale.

Please be advised that you CANNOT use RR's to pay for the same item you got the RR from. For example, if you buy Colgate toothpaste and get $2 RR's from buying it, you cannot use the $2 RR's you got to buy more Colgate toothpaste. The RR's do not "roll" and it will beep and won't be accepted. You can use RR's that you got from another promotion and it will work just fine.

Walgreens often has great clearance items that you can find easily in the aisles with a bright red sticker in front of the price. There is also an endcap to an aisle (usually in the back of the store) full of clearance items to look through. If you can find one and match an item to the coupon, you'll have likely found yourself a FREEBIE or almost freebie!

If you have any questions about shopping at Walgreens, please leave a comment or send me an email!