GIVEAWAY ALERT! Make sure you reach the bottom of the post to enter the giveaway!
Have you all heard of the "Drugstore Game"? I've seen it applied to CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid to a certain extent. It's where you take out a certain amount of money- let's say $20.00- and make it last as long as possible through rolling rewards that you get at the register. I had tried a couple times with a little luck, but this time I wanted to document my transactions at Walgreens, my chosen store, to answer the question- is the Walgreens Game worth the effort? Do you actually save money with all the time you spend with this?
Before I begin, I want to lay out where I started and how I found the deals, for those unfamiliar with couponing.
- Here is an in-depth explanation of what Register Rewards and Balance Rewards are. Basically, Register Rewards print out after your transaction and typically expire after a couple weeks. Balance Rewards are put on your Walgreens card and don't expire for a long time. I received and used a mixture of both.
- I already had some Balance Rewards on my card, due to their healthy choices program and buying items in the past. I didn't use any during these 3 transactions, but was prepared to do so.
- I used I Heart Wags and The Krazy Coupon Lady to find the deals. They both lay out the steps to get items for free, or even make money from your transactions.
With that being said, here are my three transactions and how they all panned out in the course of 4 weeks.
Transaction 1:
Buy 3 items, receive a $9.00 Register Reward
Bought: Crest mouthwash $5.99
Oral B battery-powered toothbrush: $5.99
Oral B floss twin pack: $5.99
- Used 3 $1.50/1 coupons
Final Cost: $14.77 OOP, received $10.00 Balance rewards, $4.77 total
I'm not sure what happened, but for some reason the $9.00 Register Reward didn't print. I went back later that day, and since the Register Reward couldn't re-print, the manager instead put 10,000 points on my card, which is equal to $10.00.
Transaction 2:
Buy 2 Colgate Total toothpastes 2 for $5.00, get a $3.00 Register Reward
- Used: $1.00/1 Colgate Total coupon + $3.00 of my Balance rewards from last time
Final Cost OOP: $1.36
This transaction frustrated me. I went into the store looking for the toothpaste, and the price tags weren't correct. An employee had to look up the ad to make sure I was buying the correct ones. When I got to the register, I had to explain the same thing to the cashier, who ALSO had to look at the ad and change the price. Then when he took my coupons, they wouldn't scan. At all. And he gave them back to me and shrugged. Luckily I had a digital coupon on my Walgreens card, so I was able to get at least $1.00 off. Then my Register Reward didn't print, so he had to call a manager to go to a different register and get it printed for me. My total price OOP should have been zero after coupons and rewards, but since the one coupon didn't work, I suppose $1.36 is better than full price.
Transaction 3:
Blue Diamond Almonds, 6 oz: 2 for $5.00
Bought 4, used: Two $2.00/2 printable coupons
-$3.00 Register Reward from previous transaction
-$3.00 of my Balance Rewards
Total Cost OOP: $0.00
This one, at least, went a lot smoother. I took my 4 containers of almonds to the register and asked if I could use Register Rewards and Balance Rewards on the same transaction, and the cashier shrugged and said, "I don't think so." After standing there for about five seconds, she said, "Well, I can try it." Luckily it worked, and I was able to get all of them without spending anything out-of-pocket that day.
That was also pretty much the end of my rolling $20.00. I still have Balance points left, but since I had reached the end of my cash, I didn't want to continue and take out more money to pay for things. Plus, I hadn't found anything good in the next couple ads so I'll just save my points for another time!
So, is the Walgreens game worth it? It's a great way to save money, if you do it carefully. Items at Walgreens retail for a lot more than grocery stores, so you really have to pay attention to your coupons and rewards to make sure you're really getting a good deal. However, if you lack patience, this may not be for you. Price tags can be wrong, coupons may not scan, cashiers may not have a clue how to ring things up... now, this is not giving you permission to blow up on the cashier when things go wrong. I was, honestly, all smiles when the problems came up, although on the inside I was grumbling. Things happen, and you just have to be prepared for it.
Would I do it again? Eh, maybe. I took Allison with me each time and trying to wrangle a toddler while working out issues can be tough. Plus I had to go back to the store one of these times to get something fixed, so it took more time than I'm used to with couponing. I'll probably do it here and there when there are amazing deals, but it's not something I'll do every week.
If you think you'd like to try your hand at the Walgreens game, I've got a gift card to help you get started! I'm giving away a $20.00 Walgreens gift card to one lucky winner. The giveaway ends Monday, September 5th, and will be mailed out to you soon after! Good luck, and don't forget to share this with your friends to give them a chance, too!
Jaime is a Nutrition Coach through the ISSA and professional writer. She has 4 years experience coaching and 9 years experience in writing. She enjoys cooking easy meals, running, and learning more about food.
Jaime specializes in helping women with ADHD learn to meal plan and cook healthier meals without getting overwhelmed.
Thank you for sharing your ideas....I have wanted to play the Walgreens game but really was not sure how to even get started....Thank you for sharing with us today and after reading your post I think I am ready to give it a try....
Awesome! Good luck! =)
I have done the Walgreens game once. I can't remember how much I saved or started with, but I know that I got some items for free. Mostly toothpaste and mouthwash. Luckily, I didn't have any of the problems with the coupons or register rewards printing. I tend to forget to bring back the RR before they expire though...
I think that's my worst problem is actually remembering to use my Register Rewards. Especially when there's nothing really good that week!
Ive never played this game and I've never heard of it! I am totally going to try now!
Another convert! 😛 You may enjoy it!
I haven't heard of this game, but it sounds like too much effort for us (with a 2yr old and 1 yr old in store? No thanks!) 🙂
Girl, I hear you. 😛 Toddlers make for interesting store trips.
I haven't tried this before but it sounds like it could be pretty fun!
I think the most fun part of it is actually finding the deals online. =) I like being able to calculate and visualize how much I can get!
Interesting. I must have seen this before although I don't remember exactly. Nice game.
If you do it right (AKA spend a little more time than what I have), you can really save a ton of money!
I've had very similar frustrations at WalGreens, especially trying to get toothpaste deals. I've had better success at CVS, but I won't go with my small children. It just makes it too crazy and there is all that candy up front for the kids to get into while I'm trying to work the coupons and the extra bucks. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who has struggled to make Walgreens work. I now understand he difference between register rewards and balance rewards Thanks!
Girl, I hear you. Kids make things much more difficult. 😛
Wow such a fascinating game. I'd love to take the challenge and try to see if i can have success too. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome! Good luck! =)
I've never played it, but I definitely try to get as many rewards as possible when I shop at those stores!
It's definitely addicting seeing how many rewards you can get!
it always seemed like there were 'extreme couponers' in my area, because whenever i would go to my local CVS/Walgreens/Target/etc, shelves would be cleaned out, and we would have like 2/3 to choose from! I would never have problems with the actual staff at these places, but as you said, the cashiers would NEVER know what we were (me and my mom) talking about and half the time, they would say the coupons were never valid and never wanted to accept the 'printed out ones'
Yeah, when I go buy my items, I try to only buy 2 or 3 and not clear the shelves. Extreme couponers can ruin it for everyone else, unfortunately.
I haven't been doing the Walgreens game, but I had been the CVS one for a long time. I'm throwing in my hat on CVS b/c they have a new computer system, and it makes all kinds of errors. I don't have the time to keep going back and straightening everything out. CVS items are more than other places, too, you have to be very assiduous about coupons, discounts, sales, etc., but it just gets too hard when their receipts are very complicated and I have to do up an excel sheet to show the manager. Pls tell me walgreens game is better than cvs hell! like a bad boyfriend ya keep going back after you forget why you broke up, I'm outta there! not going back to CVS.
I haven't done CVS too often, but it may depend on the particular store you go to. Some employees are well-knowledged, but others have no idea what you're talking about. =( I think it's just the luck of the draw!
Yes, I have done things like this before but unfortunately, the Walgreens closest to me is not coupon friendly and almost always gives me a hassle and they are horrible about pricing things properly.
I wonder what it is about most Walgreens stores that they're this way? They've had their rewards system for awhile now; you'd think at least someone would have an idea of how things work!
Yes I have many years ago but last time I tried it the store had numerous issues with my coupons and I had a very unfriendly cashier but I would be interested in trying again!
Good luck! Unfortunately this seems to be a common theme among Walgreens stores; I hope they can get things situated!
I've done it many times! I love saving money at Walgreens!!!
Awesome! I've been keeping an eye out for the weekly ads recently to see if there are any other great deals. =)
I do the Walgreen's game all the time! I like getting rewards and using coupons on products and getting stuff free or almost free. The last game I did was for the Almay makeup.
Cool! I've heard you can get awesome deals on makeup at drugstores; I don't ever wear makeup so I'm pretty clueless as to what's a good deal there. =)