Shopping sales is an easy way to stretch your grocery budget. But did you know that San Antonio area drugstores have loyalty and bounceback programs to help their regular customers save even more? Here's a look at the savings programs available at the one of the major drugstore chains in the city -- CVS.
CVS offers a free loyalty card program, called Extra Care, to its customers. Customers can sign up for the free card in the store and register the card online. The card works in three separate ways -- first, customers can scan the card at a kiosk located by the store doors to print additional coupons good for discounts on store-brand and other items.
These coupons aren't advertised anywhere else in the store, although sometimes you can stack them on top of a sale price. Coupons change out weekly, so it benefits customers to stop in frequently as well for their crack at a good discount.
Secondly, CVS offers bounceback coupons, called Extra Bucks, on certain sale items. For example, one week CVS might offer Colgate toothpaste on sale for Extra Care customers for $2.99, with a $2 Extra Bucks coupon that will print off on the customer's receipt when she purchases the toothpaste.
CVS allows customers to match coupons to Extra Care sale prices, so you can frequently snag free or close to free product. In the scenario above, a savvy shopper would bring in this coupon to pay only $2.24 out of pocket for the toothpaste, and receive a $2 coupon for her next purchase. Essentially, the toothpaste will only cost her 24 cents.
For the most significant savings, you can roll your Extra Bucks from one purchase to the next. You can see an example of rolling here or go here for a more in-depth look.
Finally, CVS sweetens the deal for its Extra Care regulars by offering quarterly Extra Bucks Rewards. Extra Bucks Rewards are coupons that equal two percent of a customer's spending at CVS for the quarter -- so if you spend $100 there over the course of three months, for example, you will receive a $2 coupon for use next quarter. Since everything you purchase at CVS with an Extra Care card counts towards Extra Bucks Rewards, including prescriptions, this program can frequently result in a nice little coupon four times a year.
The CVS multi-tiered loyalty program has won the company many fans online, and there are communities set up to help newcomers maximize their savings at the store. CVS cashiers are also very familiar with the ins and the outs of the program, and many will even offer shoppers tips on how to stack their coupons for the biggest savings. All in all, the CVS loyalty program can really help shoppers save on their grocery, household cleaning, and health and beauty purchases -- as long as shoppers know how to work the system.
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