Here are some basic rules for CVS:
CVS uses a loyalty card. Limits are set based on card purchase. Get yourself a CVS card and use it with every transaction. This is how you earn special promotional discounts and Extra Care Bucks (ecb's).
ECB's print out at the bottom of your receipt. ECB's are like cash and can be used on anything (except the usual excluded items, alcohol, tobacco, etc). You can roll them into your next deal, including the same item (unlike Walgreens). You can buy one thing, get an ecb, turn around and use that ecb on the same thing. Since CVS uses a loyalty card system and can limit the amount of "deals" you get per card, they don't have to worry about all the catalina hijinks that Walgreens has to do with not being able to use an rr to get an rr for the same product, etc.
After I do my first transaction, I use the edge of the counter to tear off my ecb's from the bottom of the receipt and then use them in the next transaction- or if I'm on the last transaction, I put the ecb in my CVS envelope so I know where it is. (those receipts tend to get lost)
This is not a great week to start at CVS.
So I'll tell you this- If you're starting out, and will be near a CVS, go ahead and stop in and get a CVS card. Register with it online and enter an email address and they will email you a $4/$20 coupon.
If you shop before Tuesday, pick up these free after ecb deals (only good Sunday through Tuesday):
Transaction 1
Halloween Nylon Treat Bag $.99
Total: $.99+tax
Earn $.99 ecb
Transaction 2
4-in-1 Carving Tool $1.99
Use:
$.99 ecb (from trans.#1)
Total: $1+tax
Earn $1.99 ecb
Transaction 3
4-in-1 Carving Tool $1.99
Use:
$1.99 ecb (from trans.#2)
Total: $0+tax
Earn $1.99 ecb
This is a good intro to CVS. You'll spend around $2 and have $1.99 ecb's to roll next week.
We're starting small.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I recently shopped with a friend (showing her the ropes) and we did the exact transactions and I ended up paying 1.00 more oop than her. I think it must be because I had her hand over the ecb's before her coupons and I ended doing the reverse, I was curious if it made a difference and it did. Now I just need to get my hands on her receipt so I can analyze it.
ReplyDeleteMy question is do you think it matters the order we give store coupon, manufacturer coupons and ECB's?
Yes, it does make a difference. If you pay ecb's first, tax is based on the price after ecbs- if you do coupons first, tax is added, then the ecb's come off.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent point I should have mentioned- Always hand them the ecb's first, then the coupons. If you know you're going to need them to adjust the ecb- which they can, tell them when you hand it to them. This is why it's good to know exactly what your transactions are going to be because if you hand over your ecb's, then your coupons, and the last coupon is over the amount of the subtotal, they won't be able to take the coupon.
Thanks, love these posts on how to maximize your couponing at the drugstores.
ReplyDelete