Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Official Coupon Policies for Walmart, Kmart, CVS, Publix & Walgreen's

Walmart: print (Walmart employees and managers don't always know or understand Walmart's official coupon policies. It is a good idea to carry a copy of it with you.)

Wal-Mart accepts the following types of coupons (see guidelines below):

  • Manufacturer coupons (Cents Off)
  • Free merchandise (or manufacturer's Buy-One-Get-One-Free) coupons
  • Store coupons
  • Pharmacy (Advertising and Promotional) coupons
  • Internet coupons
  • Soft drink container caps

The following are guidelines and limits:

  • Wal-Mart only accepts coupons for merchandise we sell and only when presented at the time of purchase.
  • Coupons should have an expiration date and be presented within the valid dates. Wal-Mart will not accept expired coupons.
  • Internet coupons should be legible and say "Manufacturer Coupon." There should be a valid remit address for the manufacturer and a scannable bar code.
  • Only one coupon per item is permitted.
  • Use of 40 or more coupons per transaction will require approval by Customer Service Manager.

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K-Mart:

Kmart's official coupon policy is not open to the public. Apparently it isn't open to Kmart store employees either because they seem to be clueless when it comes to coupons.
Personal note:
Couponing at Kmart stores is usually hit and miss. I suggest strongly that you shop at Kmart with the knowledge that you may be leaving all your items at the register in the end, leaving without them. Just remember not to leave your coupons behind with them. And, as always, never get rude or visibly irritated. It usually doesn't help. Stay nice and keep a smile on your face. The items in your cart aren't yours until you pay for them and you have no right to them until you have handed over the cash.

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CVS:
CVS does not release their official coupon policy but they do offer this information.

  • One manufacturer coupon can be used with a CVS coupon
  • Internet manufacturer coupons are accepted
  • Printed CVS coupons can only be used for the card it was bar coded for by the person it was emailed to. CVS internet printables are not to be shared.
  • Expired coupons are not accepted
  • Each store is permitted to vary slightly in their coupon acceptance terms

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Walgreens:
This is the policy emailed to those who request Walgreen's coupon policy.

  • Walgreens issued coupons are accepted
  • Manufacturer issued coupons are accepted

Per the following guidelines:

  • We will accept one Walgreen's issued coupon and one manufacturer coupon for the same item, unless either coupon prohibits such use.
  • "Walgreens" Roto Ad coupons, IVC (Instant Value Coupon) coupons, and a manufacturer’s coupon can be used towards the purchase of any one item.
  • Walgreens does not provide cash back if a coupon is presented from more than the purchase value of the item.
  • Walgreens does not accept coupons from other retailers or coupons for products not carried in our stores.
  • All valid coupons must be presented to the cashier at the time of sale.
  • When purchasing a Buy 1 Get 1 free item, only one coupon can be applied towards the purchase because the customer is only purchasing one item.
  • If a coupon states "good on any size of the product" and does not specifically exclude trail sizes of this product, the coupon can be used to purchase trial sized products.
  • Walgreens does not accept expired coupons.

My personal Walgreens experience - only one like coupon per order. This means you can not buy two toilet paper packs and use 2 identical $1 off coupons on them. This really is a silly policy but it is new and is spreading throughout Walgreen's across the country. Congratulations if your Walgreen's has sense enough not to follow this new policy.

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Publix:

Publix does not have an official coupon policy that anybody can locate, however, after researching a bit I found a pretty accurate list of coupon rules for Publix stores.

  • Publix doubles manufacturer coupons only in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee, but not in Florida.
  • Publix accepts Printable 'cents off' coupons but not 'free' printable coupons.
  • Publix issues store coupons as well as manufacturer coupons in their bi-weekly Advantage Buy fliers.
  • It is up to each individual store whether to accept competitor coupons or not. Some stores do, and some don't.
  • Publix does not accept expired coupons.
  • Publix will generally accept two coupons on a buy 1 get 1 free sale because they still view it as if you are purchasing two items. However, it is up to the individual store whether or not to accept buy 1 get 1 free coupons on a buy 1 get 1 free item.
  • If you have more than $50 in coupons the manager will have to approve them.
  • You cannot use more coupons than items you are purchasing. If you have 5 items in your cart but want to use 7 coupons on them you will have to add two more items into your cart.

2 comments:

MamaOnABudget said...

Thankfully, my Walgreens will accept multiple manufacturers coupons - including print outs - on the exact same items. It's odd to me that they wouldn't. They're being reimbursed the face value PLUS $.08 on each coupon.

Yesterday I bought 2 4-packs of Scott TP (raincheck from last week) with 2 $1/1s and 4 boxes of Cheerios with 4 $1/1s from the Challenge.

If you have the time, I'd write headquarters to get the word on their official policy. Let them know that the rules keep changing at your Walgreens and you wanted to know their exact coupon policies. If they started that at mine, I'd be polite about it but inform them that I'd then be tying up their lines while they rang up 4 separate orders for my 4 boxes of Cheerios, 2 separate orders for my TP... not to mention that their manager would have had to write up two separate rain checks for my TP last week, etc.

Cubby's Gal said...

I did end up writing Walgreens corp office and my local manager called me the next day telling me they were all confused and now that new policy was scratched!

YIPPEE!!!