How to Play the Drugstore Game and Get Free Stuff

Submitted by: Kira @ Tip Hero  12/20/2010 9:55 AM

It's easier than you may think to get something for essentially nothing, especially at drugstores like CVS and Walgreens. Skilled "couponers" are especially good at this. By taking advantage of customer rewards programs at these drugstores and combining offers with other coupons, they get household necessities for free, and sometimes even earn more on top of the free. Here are the basics for being successful at playing the drugstore game yourself: Sign Up, If Necessary: at CVS, you'll need to request a loyalty card. At Walgreens, you don't need one. Find a Rewards Offer: study store ads or check out blogs like Mashup Mom, in which deals at CVS and Walgreens are posted each week. Look for items that you are running low on. Buy the Item with Cash: be sure to purchase the exact size and variety of the item in the ad. Get Your Reward: after you pay, the cashier should hand you your reward. The Extra Care Bucks (ECB) will print out at the bottom of your receipt at CVS and your Register Rewards (RR) will print out from a dedicated printer at Walgreens. Use the Reward to Buy Items That Pay Rewards: if you earn $4 in rewards one week, all you have to do is spend them on an item that costs $4 and pays $4 in rewards. You'll pay nothing except the tax! Here's another way to take advantage of deals: Using coupons can sweeten the deal. For instance, drugstores frequently advertise toothpaste at $2.99, with a $2 ECB or RR rebate. This means that your price after rewards would be 99 cents. Sunday newspapers often have $1 off coupons for the same brand of toothpaste. If you use that coupon, you pay only $1.99 (plus tax) for your toothpaste and get $2 in rewards back. Free toothpaste! To read more about effectively playing the game, head over to the Baltimore Sun's Play 'the drugstore game,' win some steep discounts.