CVS Deals Discussion - April '10

[freesia39]

ALL discussion about CVS deals, coupons, and promotions for the month will take place in this thread. Please do not start a new thread, as they will promptly be CLOSED and you will be directed to post in the new thread.

 

Welcome to the joys of CVS Shopping! Here are some quick details to help you out:

 

What is the CVS Extra Care Program?

The CVS Extra Care program is CVS’s shopping card. You can sign up for a card in store or online at https://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/cvs/gateway/registerextracare?LOGINMSG=XTRACAREMSG

With this card, you will have access to their weekly and monthly sale prices. If you do not present your card, you will not be given these sale prices or qualify for the Extra Care Bucks rewards.

 

The greatest benefit of this program is the Extra Care Bucks portion.

 

What is an Extra Care Bucks?

Every month, along with every week, CVS runs sales on particular items where if you buy that item, you will receive a coupon at the end of your receipt with Extra Care Bucks (aka ECBs) that you can use on your next purchase.

 

For example, let’s say Garnier Fructis shampoo is on sale for 2.99 with $2.00 in ECBs. This means you will have to pay the 2.99 upfront for the shampoo, but at the end of your receipt, you will receive a $2.00 ECB that you can use on a future purchase at CVS. It’s like you only paid $0.99 for a bottle of shampoo!

 

At the end of each quarter, CVS will also add up all your spending, and give you a rebate in ECBs based on your spending, which is 2% of the total amount. That’s EXTRA money just for buying items at CVS!

 

Can I use manufacturer’s coupons?

Certainly! Using the example above with the Garnier Fructis shampoo – there are regularly coupons for 1.00 off your purchase of one (1) bottle of their shampoo. The item will ring up at 2.99, then you can use your coupon for 1.00 off, so you wind up paying 1.99 for the item. You STILL get the $2.00 ECB reward – so it’s like getting it for free!

 

Wow! Can I do this over and over?

Unfortunately, there are limits to all the sales. Check the weekly ad and the monthly sales books for the limits. When we post the sales here, we will also list the limits.

 

Can I have more than one CVS card?

The answer in general is no. However, if you have access to another address/name/phone number, you may be able to get a second card.

 

What about prescriptions?

Whenever you fill a prescription, make sure the pharmacy scans your card! Each prescription is 0.50 in ECBs that will be paid out at the end of the quarter.

 

Can I use the ECBs I earn to pay for prescriptions?

Unfortunately, no. They can only be used on store purchases.

 

CVS and Coupons

CVS has a great coupon program. When you sign up for your card, make sure to check that you want CVS to email you coupons and offers. This will put you on their mailing list for future coupons!

 

Most of the CVS coupons are for a certain amount of dollars off a minimum dollar purchase. For example, to start, CVS will email you a coupon to save $4.00 on a $20.00 purchase.

 

When entering your store, look for the CVS card scanning/price checking machine. Scan your card upon entry every time for additional coupons and incentives! Sometimes it's 3.00/10.00 of CVS products, or something FREE!

 

Stacking coupons - I am sad to report the end of coupon stacking, but you can read the details below in the spoiler.

 

Please note, your store may have a different policy regarding the stacking of coupons. IN ADDITION CVS has not been issuing as many e-mail coupons as in the past. Most stacking has been done via CRT coupons, which are the coupons that are generated at the end of your CVS receipt, or from the card scanning machine (if your store has one.)

 

Always make sure you give the cashier your CVS card to scan before you get to the total and start handing over coupons to make sure you get any sale prices.

 

CVS will sometimes have coupons for $3 off a $15.00 purchase, or $2 off a $10.00. The theory regarding CVS purchases are:

Your PRETAX amount is 30.00. You have a coupon for $4 off $20.00, $3 off $15.00, or $2 off $10.00. Hand to the cashier the coupons in this order:

1. The $4 off $20.00 coupon

2. The $3 off $15.00

3. The $2 off 10.00

As long as your total is more than the amount on the coupon, you can keep using coupons.

 

NEXT, give them your manufacturer coupons.

 

FINALLY, give them your ECBs.

 

Hopefully by this point, your out of pocket (OOP) amount is a small number. It may not be at the start, but with constant shopping and deal searching, you’ll build up a good amount of ECBs to use on future purchases.

 

We have come across some stores that will not allow you to stack their money off coupons unless your total equals the amounts of the coupons. For example, if you want to use a $4 off $20 coupon along with a $3 off $15 coupon, some cashiers may say that your total must be $35.00 before you can use the coupon. This rule varies from store to store and from cashier to cashier. We cannot say that CVS will always stack, because the policies are always changing.

 

 

What do they do about B1G1 (buy one, get one free) coupons? I have 2 coupons for the B1G1 covergirl lip product. If I got 2 lip products and used the two coupons would I get both for free or do the B1G1 coupons ring stuff up for 1/2 price?

 

CVS rings up the first item at full price and the second item rings up free. So if you have a BOGO free coupon, you would get both items free.

 

PLEASE NOTE: YMMV (your mileage may vary.) Some stores may not process it, some cashiers may be confused, but in general, the above should happen.

 

 

How to use your ECBs

Please note that you cannot use your ECBs:

- on pharmacy co-pays

- on the purchase of gift cards

Also, ECBs are tied to YOUR card. You will not be able to use the ECBs that are earned by other people. You must also present your card in order to use your ECBs.

 

Please note that your ECBs do have an expiration date and to be mindful of it. If they do expire, you may be able to have customer service reactivate them. Please contact CVS customer service at 800-SHOP-CVS.

 

ECBs can only be used on the PRETAX amount of your purchase. If your pre-tax purchase is 3.99 and you only have a $4.00 ECB, you will not be able to use that ECB – you must use smaller denominations.

 

I bought something that comes with ECBs but it didn’t print out. What gives?!

Check to see if you had previously hit the limit on the offer. It will print on your receipt. Also make sure you bought the correct item or version of the product. If you had not hit the limit, please contact customer service at 800-SHOP-CVS and they will add it to your card to print the next time you are in store.

THE GROUND RULES:

1. Post your experiences shopping at CVS, the deal combos you have found, and the unmarked clearance/ECB deals you have found at your store. Also post your general location if you are comfortable.

2. Do not post links to non CVS authorized coupons. They will be edited out. Authentic CVS coupons come from cvs.com or are located at akamaitech.com.

3. Keep non CVS chatter to a minimum. This is first and foremost a deals discussion. Anything going too far off topic will be deleted.

 

If you have links to printable coupons for items on sale this week at CVS, also post those for others to share.

 

Play nice!

[freesia39]

Monthly Deals - April

The monthly deals now are called "Clip free coupons" Is this the end of the monthly free ECB deal in the monthly book?

 

 

Weekly Deals:

Check your Local CVS for your weekly deals, as the deals are regional:

http://cvs.shoplocal.com/cvs/default.aspx?citystatezip=%20ZIP%20Code

[freesia39]

April Rewards are available! If you used the double bucks coupon, it should be good!

[AndreaInNC]

If you got the P&G couons in Sunday's paper - you can use the bogo free Head & Shoulders and it would be a good deal!

 

Buy 2 Head & Shoulders pay 4.99. Use bogo free coupon and only pay 4.99 - you get back $2 ECBS so 2 bottles of shampoo for 2.99!

 

Also free Stride gum after EBC this week as well.

[targetmom3]

This may be a stupid question for all you experts, but this week they have a deal where you get $15 of Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakquel if you buy $20 in P&G products and I have a lot of P&G coupons. So my question is will I need to have $20 before or after the coupons? TIA:o

[freesia39]

This may be a stupid question for all you experts, but this week they have a deal where you get $15 of Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakquel if you buy $20 in P&G products and I have a lot of P&G coupons. So my question is will I need to have $20 before or after the coupons? TIA:o

It should be before coupons. :)

[freesia39]

This week:

 

Get 3.00 ECB when you buy a multipack of Oral-B Toothbrushes.

 

Oral-B Toothbrush: 5.29 for Advantage Plus 2-pack

- 2.00 Oral-B Coupon from P&G this past Sunday

- 4.00 ECB

+ Easter Candy only at 50% off

 

Total OOP 3.66, 3.00 in ECB back. I also got 4.50 on rewards, and I forgot to get the gum! Argh!

[lukesmom01]

Has anyone tried to get the Crest whitestrips 3D professional that they had in the ad for $5 off? I have been to 6 CVS and all of them are out of the professional ones. Does that seem strange? That's not that great of a deal since they are more expensive than Target and Walmart anyway. But I had EC bucks I was going to use for them so that's why I really wanted them from there.

[txsupermom]

My CVS has been marking lots of things down to 75% or 90% lately. Picked up a Lexmark printer (model x2650) for 5.99! It was originally 59.99. Also, binoculars, alarm clocks, storage containers, food storage containers, packs of washcloths, 2-pack of towels, blankets, solar lanterns, glass digital bathroom scales marked down 90%. These were a lot of the items that were put out during Christmas. If anyone is interested, I can take a pic and post.

 

Also, the dog treats that I found for 90% off are pictured below. I took a picture to send to out of state friends and figured I'd post them here too.:)

 

I'm sure each store will vary, but worth scanning if you have time (IMO).

[HansieDZ]

My CVS has been marking lots of things down to 75% or 90% lately. Picked up a Lexmark printer (model x2650) for 5.99! It was originally 59.99. Also, binoculars, alarm clocks, storage containers, food storage containers, packs of washcloths, 2-pack of towels, blankets, solar lanterns, glass digital bathroom scales marked down 90%. These were a lot of the items that were put out during Christmas. If anyone is interested, I can take a pic and post.

 

Also, the dog treats that I found for 90% off are pictured below. I took a picture to send to out of state friends and figured I'd post them here too.:)

 

I'm sure each store will vary, but worth scanning if you have time (IMO).

Those are some awesome scores!

I have never found anything at my CVS more than 75% off.Could be because there are only 2 on this side of town.....

[alexusrydr]

Has anyone tried to get the Crest whitestrips 3D professional that they had in the ad for $5 off? I have been to 6 CVS and all of them are out of the professional ones. Does that seem strange? That's not that great of a deal since they are more expensive than Target and Walmart anyway. But I had EC bucks I was going to use for them so that's why I really wanted them from there.

I have not tried them but I just bought them yesterday from Target. There is a $10 manuf coupon and I went through my coupons and found a $10 Target coupon plus they are on sale for $6 off.

[sweetsali]

Went to CVS on 4/16 and got 8 rolls of toilet paper and 4 CVS brand of trial size lotions all for FREE. Got the Q's at the scanner:D

[AndreaInNC]

need to hit CVS on my way home then! Thanks for the info,

[rondadeal]

I found that $1 stuff & Easter was scanning 75% though signed 50%. The glass scales were on 25% off though.

[AndreaInNC]

great Hershey candy deal when you combine it with this:

http://www.hersheys.com/kissesmovieticket/

 

Buy $10 worth of Hershey candy, get $5 in ECB. The link above will give you a free movie ticket via Fandango when you buy 4 bags of Hershey's candy.

 

Also the Green Bag Tag is free after ECB this week. Earn $1 every 4th visit.

Edited April 20, 2010 by AndreaInNC
fixed link

[txsupermom]

Easter at 90%. Found 6 baskets containing toys and candy. Ranged from .79 to .99. No plush to be found. Lots of 50% signs in the office supplies (packing tape, pens, markers, etc.) and noticed some of those croc style shoes that have fuzzy lining marked down 75% (3.xx).

[freesia39]

Revlon is get $3 ECB when you buy $10, but when I was in store they also had signs all over the Maybelline stuff. When I scanned my card, I got a $3 coupon for Revlon.

[brithug00]

as of 5/2 there is a nivea 4.00 off coup in the sunday paper, and the Nivea body washes are on sale this week for 4.88. Very large bottles, assorted fragrances, several also have free samples attached to the bottles (just make sure they are ringing up 4.88 too) so, i got the giant bottle of nivea for .88 plus i noticed a small box of the Secret Clinical deoderant was on sale for 1.50, and there is a coup in sundays paper for 2.00 off the clinical only. I normally wouldnt even have clipped it, because i use the regular strength but im glad i did! So with the 2 coups, the two items rang up for .38 plus tax. Lots of random things in my store with 50-75% off marked, but i always double check at the scanner, many times it rings up a completely differnt price-and my store is wierd about price checks...understaffed and busy!

[AndreaInNC]

thanks for the heads up! I always clip coupons - if I don't use them, I toss them. But I got so tired of seeing something on sale, and knowing there was a coupon for it from last week - so I just clip them all now!

[brithug00]

i agree, i used to only clip the coups i def would use, but i now clip almost every one. you never know when there will be a great deal, or even free items if youve got the right coup. I always check out these websites with coupon match-ups now too, before i go to the store..i learn about sales i never heard of, and can organize my coups.

[freesia39]

Free stuff this week!

 

Crest Pro Health Mouthwash or Toothpaste: Get 3.50 ECB after spending 3.50, plus coupons in this past Sunday's paper = $$ maker.

U by Kotex Liners or Tampons - get 4.99 ECB after spending 4.99, plus coupons I previously clipped a while ago.

[AndreaInNC]

I actually got an email from CVS last week reminding me I had ECBs that were expiring soon!

[freesia39]

I did the free deals this morning, unfortunately the mouthwash size didn't match the coupon that is out there. I'll go back and pick up toothpaste so I can get more, but it was a great ECB morning!

 

Crest Pro-Health Mouthwash: 3.50

U by Kotex Liners - 4.99

 

- 1.00 Kotex coupon

- 3.00 ECB

- 4.00 ECB

 

OOP 1.28. Pre tax was 0.49, and my tax was 0.79. They've been charging tax on the pre coupon prices it seems. Grr. Tax here in CA is 9.25%

 

Got 8.49 in ECB back!

[brithug00]

Woohoo! Lots of 75% off almost all brands of makeup..awesome deal if youve got coups too! This mayyy vary in different stores, but i almost missed the little tags on the packaging. The manager who was ringing me up said it all went straight to 75% on monday-and it usually goes 50% off first, so it might be different other places. Like i said, it was almost all brands, the discontinued colors he said, but there were a lot! I got lip pencils for 25c lipgloss 1.50, eyeliner 74c, a bronzer pallette for 1.25. The only brands thatdidnt have any stickers were neutrogena and covergirl for some reason... anyway, look for the little green circle stickers. I would check the price scanner just to be sure!

[freesia39]

I'm definitely going back tomorrow then and checking the makeup aisle! I never have enough eyeliner.

[noehlp]

I got a $3 off $15 in my email today

[rondadeal]

I got a $3 off $15 in my email today

Lucky you!

 

There is a $1 coupon on coupon.com off the deoderant that is 2.99 with 2.00 in bucks, so makes it free, I also used a $3.00 off 2 Pantene (it exp r4/30 but my store didn't seem to care) making it $1 for 2, and I had a couple $2.00 off Crest mouthwash making that a $1.50 money maker, and $1 off Kotex U making it a $1 money maker. I paid in 2 trips so I could use all Extra bucks, ended up with all the product, and $10 in bucks instead of the $8 I started with! Great shopping trip at CVS:)

[freesia39]

You weren't kidding about the stickers being TINY on the clearance makeup. I found some L'Oreal eyeliner at 75% off. There were some lip items at 75% off, but I wasn't interested. There was also some Cover Girl and Sally Hansen at 50% but nothing I wanted. Luckily the L'Oreal Eyeliner worked for me, plus I had 1.00 off coupons for each.

 

Breakdown from the top of my head:

 

Mentos Gum - 0.99

Eyeliner: 2.49

Eyeliner: 2.49

Pro Health Toothpaste: 3.50

 

- 1.00 coupon on L'Oreal Makeup

- 1.00 coupon on L'Oreal Makeup

- 0.55 coupon on mentos gum

- 0.75 coupon on Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste

- 3.50 ECB

 

OOP 3.05, Got 3.50 in ECB back, still at 8.49 ECBs for the next month.

[sweetsali]

What happend with thread? It used to be full of helpful posts. Did people venture out to other boards?

[AndreaInNC]

I just haven't been shopping at CVS much. Nothing that I really need. I finally got tired of housing all the free toothpaste and shampoos I'd collected from CVSing and donated a bunch to our local food bank.