Walgreens Coupon Policy and FAQ

Walgreens doesn’t seem to have an “official” coupon policy. There are some general rules that seem to be in place at all stores, and then from there it’s up to the store manager or cashier.

Here are some rules that you’ll want to be aware of when shopping at Walgreens. I’ve included as many of the rules that I know of so that you are prepared for anything!  However, some stores may be more lax or strict.  The information included below is simply what I’ve learned from personal experience and your experience may be different.  This is not an official Walgreens coupon policy.

If you have other information you think should be included here, please contact me.

Here we go!

General rules and policies at Walgreens

• You can combine store coupons and manufacturer’s coupons.

Store coupons are usually found in the weekly ad, as well as coupon booklets throughout the store. The barcode typically begins with ‘0′. Store coupons may be valid for multiple items, ie, a coupon that states “Dish Soap 99¢, Limit 3″ will adjust the price for up to three bottles of Dish Soap to 99¢ with one coupon.

• You can usually use two coupons on a Buy-One-Get-One-Free sale.

Generally, Walgreens stores allow you to use two coupons for each products on a B1G1 Free sale, including the free product.  For example, if hairspray is on sale B1G1 Free, you can use two $1/1 coupons – one on the item you buy, and one on the item that is free.  (Similarly, you can also use one coupon for $1/2 on a B1G1 free sale, but only one because it applies to two items.)

• Total number of Register Rewards and coupons cannot exceed the number of items.

For whatever reason, Walgreens’ registers are programmed to not accept more coupons/RR than the number of items. So, if you try to buy one bottle of Dish Soap with an in-ad, store coupon and a manufacturer coupon, the register will beep and will not let you continue. It sees it as you having two coupons and only one item, and figures that can’t be right!

However, you can use store coupons and manufacturer coupons together, so what gives? You’ll just need to have a second item in your order and you should have no issues. Buy one bottle of Dish Soap, use that in-ad coupon and manufacturer’s coupon, and then throw in anything else in the store to be the second item and you’ll be fine. It can be anything from a candy bar to a ten-cent pencil.

• Register Rewards are like cash-with-an-expiration-date; they can be used to purchase anything with the exception of stamps, prescriptaions, gift cards, and a few other items.

Most RR expire within 1.5 to 2 weeks. Occasionally there will be a special promotion (typically a “spend $25 on anything and earn a $5 RR” type of promotion) and the RR will only be good for a few days to a week.

• Register Rewards cannot be “rolled”.

If you earn a Register Reward on a promotion for Huggies diapers, you cannot use that Register Reward to buy more Huggies diapers and earn another Register Reward – the register will not print another Register Reward. You can, however, use a Register Reward that you earned from a different promotion – Hershey’s candy, for instance. It just has to be a totally separate promotion.

If you’ve gotten your Register Rewards mixed up and can’t remember which ones came from which promotions, you can call the Catalina company at 1.888.8COUPON and give them the numbers on the Register Reward. They should be able to tell you which promotion it was from.

• Register Rewards cannot be used to pay sales tax.

You’ll want to make sure your coupons and Register Rewards pay for the price of the items only, and don’t dip over into sales tax. You’ll likely have to pay sales tax out of pocket. For this reason, it’s relatively hard to have a zero balance at Walgreens; you’ll usually have to pay something out of pocket.

• You can sometimes only redeem one Register Reward per transaction

This can be kind of a bummer if you have multiple RRs to redeem. Since they often only allow you to redeem one per transaction, you may end up doing more, smaller transactions in order to work with this rule.

Some stores and registers may allow you to use more than one RR, so as with everything else, this is “your mileage may vary”.  You’ll need to shop around for awhile to figure out which stores allow this and which don’t.

Tips for shopping smart at Walgreens:

• Do more, smaller transactions.

Let’s say there’s a week where there’s five different RR deals you want to do. If you do them all in the same transaction, you’ll end up with five RRs. Great! Except that since they only allow you to redeem one per transaction, that means that in order to use your five RRs, you’re going to have to do five transactions to use them up, which can obviously be a pain.

I’d suggest buying one or two items that earn RR, and then use those RR to do the other promotions you want to do.

• Deal in the larger Register Rewards deals only.

Let’s say you have a scenario like this:

Cough Drops $1
Use $1/1 coupon
Net cost at checkout: FREE, plus earn a $1 RR
Net cost after RR: MONEYMAKER OF $1

Exciting, right?! Until you get stuck with three or four of these one-dollar RRs. That’s not that big of a discount, and since you can only redeem one per transaction, you’re likely going to get frustrated with having to come up with all these cheap transactions to use those $1 RRs in.

This is hard to explain until you’ve been in this situation. And those of you that have know exactly the frustration I’m talking about. Live and learn!  I’ve found it’s best to skip the $1 RR promotions (unlesss it’s something you really need) and stick to ones that are at least a couple dollars.

• Stop and take a breather.

Shopping at Walgreens can be frustrating. Even if you have a very coupon-friendly store, there are going to be times you’ll get upset at the fact that you just two two RRs expire, or because you didn’t work a deal quite right. Or you’ll get stressed because you realize at 11 PM that your $5 RR expires tonight at midnight and you feel pressured to make a trip to Walgreens and spend it.

When you hit that point, relax. Take a breather. Step away from Walgreens. It will all be OK. You’ve got enough free razors to last you three years.  You will be OK.  The deals will still be there when you’re ready to start shopping at Walgreens again.

More helpful information about shopping at Walgreens:

• Walgreens stores in Colorado Springs offer a 15% discount to military on Tuesdays.

Must show ID and check out at the beauty counter. Some local readers have said they’ve had trouble with receiving Register Rewards when they use their military discount, so just be aware of this. You should be able to receive the discount and receive your RRs.

• If you have questions or have encountered a problem, contact customer service.

You can contact Walgreens corporate by completing their comment form or calling 800.289.2273.