Last but not least of the drugstores: Walgreens

Well we finally got to the last of the drugstore coupon policies: Walgreens. I think you will find that you tend to favor one of the drugstores more then the others. Everybody has different opinions on what is their favorite but I am personally a Rite Aid girl. Now don't get me wrong I will shop at any of them for a great deal but Rite Aid just happens to suit my fancy.

Until recently Walgreens was not the most coupon friendly location. The primary reason for this was that they had no corporate coupon policy which left all couponing decisions up to the managers of the individual stores. If you were lucky you had a great manager who let you use coupons (like the should) but if you weren't lucky they gave you tons of hassle about it. The Walgreens closet to me unfortunately fell into the second category (although one about 5 miles away def. fell into the first). But worry no more - in the last month Walgreens put out a corporate coupon policy that alleviates any questions and is very coupon friendly.

Walgreens does not have a savings card. All shoppers receive the savings.

Walgreen accepts manufacturers coupons.

Walgreens has their own coupons usually found in booklets or in the weekly ad. These can be combined with a manufacturers coupons. Walgreen coupons do not count in your coupon to item ratio (more on this in a minute).

Walgreens offers what they call Register Rewards commonly called RRs (similar to UPRs from Rite Aid and ECBs from Walgreens). They are printed after you buy certain items in the store and can be used on your  next purchase. To find out what items print RRs check your local ads. For example RRs will state $3 off your next $3 or more purchase (or whatever the amount is for the item you bought). You can only receive one RR per item per transaction. So if you want to buy 2 Huggies which are printing $5 RR you must put them in two separate transactions to get both RRs or else only one RR will generate. Also you can not roll RR which means you can not use the first RR you earned to buy the same identical item. In the example above you would not be able to use the $5 RR you earned in your first order to earn a second $5 RR in your second order. The second RR would simply not print. You can however use RR earned from other items to purchase it. Multiple RR will print out for separate items purchased in the same transaction (for example $5 from Huggies and $2 from Clorox).

Walgreens implements what I call an equal coupon to item ratio. So if you buy just one item but want to use a manufacturers coupon and RRs they will not allow it. You must have the same amount of items as you do coupons. So if you are not purchasing other items you will need to buy a filler item. These are small items such as pencils, candy, clearance items, something that is less then the coupon amount in order to use both coupons.  Walgreens coupons do not count in your coupon to item ratio. This can be a big pain when shopping at Walgreens but a lot of the time it is more then worth it!

Always hand over your manufacturers coupons first before your Walgreens coupons. This will prevent lots of beeping and unnecessary frustration. In fact I normally hide my Walgreen coupons until after all manufacturers coupons are rung through because cashiers love to grab the Walgreens coupons if you set them out. Do what you want but don't say I didn't warn you!

Don't be afraid to ask for rainchecks at Walgreens. They do give them out and it is great for when the deals are already gone upon your arrival!

Check here for Walgreen's corporate couponing policy!

Happy Walgreens Shopping!