With these rebate programs, you can stock up on so many bath and beauty items for free or close to it each and every week!
CVS offers two different savings programs:
- You earn ECBs by purchasing qualifying items, which you find in the weekly store fliers and on shelves.
- Go to the store and purchase the qualifying products. Be sure to have the cashier scan your CVS card or your ECBs won’t print. ECB’s are linked to your card and they can only be used by you. If you do not have a CVS card, you can request one in stores or online at www.cvs.com.
- Your ECBs should print at the bottom of your receipt once you pay for your transaction.
- You can then apply the ECB’s to future transactions until they expire (approx. 4 weeks from issue date). If your ECB expires, you will not be able to use them so pay attention to the expiration dates.
- You must use the entire ECB amount in one transaction. You cannot split it between multiple transactions.
- There are limits on the number of ECB’s you can earn per item. Sometimes you can buy 5 toothpastes and get ECB’s for each item and sometimes the limit is only 1 per customer. Limits are clearly written in the weekly sales fliers and they apply per card.
- One of the great things about ECB’s is that even if you use a manufacturer’s coupon to lower the price of the item, you still get the full ECB rebate amount. For instance, if you buy an item that costs $2.00 and there is also a $2 ECB reward when you buy that item, it is going to be free after ECB. You will pay $2 at the register, but you will get back a $2 ECB coupon to use on other items you need in the store. If you have a manufacturer or store coupon for that item, you will pay less than $2 BUT you will still get back the full $2 ECB, even if you paid less than $2 by using a coupon. Isn’t that fabulous?! That is called a money-maker.
- If the store is out of an item that generates ECB’s, get a raincheck. You can then come back the next week when it is in stock and get the item for the sale price and the cashier can manually generate the ECB indicated on the raincheck. You can still use any manufacturer coupons as long as they are not expired.
Your goal is to buy items that you use that generate ECB’s (using manufacturer coupons if available). Then take those ECB’s and roll them into other qualifying ECB deals each week. Then take the ECB’s that print from those deals and use them on other ECB deals. The key is to roll the ECB’s from one ECB deal to another and keep your out of pocket expense very low.
CVS corporate phone number: 1-800- SHOP CVS
Each Sunday on the Smart Shopper blog, I post the best CVS deals (and let you know which coupons match the deals). Use that list to help you figure out the best ECB deals.
Walgreens has a rebate program called Register Rewards. Just like ECB’s, the rebate – called a Register Reward (RR) – prints out at the end of the transaction when you buy qualifying items. The RR is a coupon that is not attached to the register receipt. It actually prints out from a machine near the register, but not from the register itself.
How RR’s Work:
* RRs expire quickly. Pay close attention to the expiration date.
Just like with CVS, your goal is to buy items that generate RR’s (using manufacturer coupons if available). Then take those RR’s and roll them into other qualifying RR deals each week. Then take the RR’s that print from those deals and use them on other RR deals. The key is to roll the RR’s from one RR deal to another and keep your out of pocket expense very low whi8le purchasing items you use. Remember not to roll RR’s into other RR deals from the same manufacturer – you won’t get the new RR.
Walgreen’s Corporate phone number: 1-800-925-4733
Rite Aid has a rebate program called Single Check Rebates (SCR). With this program, you purchase the rebate items listed in the monthly single check rebate booklet (found in stores and online) and receive your rebate back in the form of a check.
- Pick up the SCR booklet at the store at the beginning of each month.
- Use the booklet and the weekly sales ad to identify items that qualify for rebates. I will also identify good rebates in the weekly good deals list I issue every Sunday here on the blog.
- Purchase the qualifying items.
- Keep in mind that some SCR offers are good only for one week and not the whole month – make sure you read the offer dates.
- If you use a manufacturer coupon to lower the cost, you will still receive the full rebate amount listed in the booklet (unless otherwise specified). Sometimes this means you make money on the item. For example, if toothpaste is on sale for $2.99 and the rebate is for $2.99, the toothpaste will be free after the rebate. If you also have a $1 manufacturer coupon, you only pay $1.99 at the register (plus tax, if applicable), but you will actually receive the full $2.99 rebate. Aren’t money-makers super!
- Save your receipt and enter the receipt information online. You can sign up onine or manually submit your rebate using the form in the SCR Rebate Booklet and then mail it in. You may only request one rebate check per month so wait until you have completed all the rebates you plan to do for the month before requesting the check.
- Once your rebate check arrives in the mail, use that rebate money to pay for the rebates you buy during the next month so you keep rolling the rebates into more good deals every month!
- Rite Aid will automatically issue the check at the end of each month when the rebates for that month are over.
Although these rebates are not instant, like CVS and Walgreen’s, they are still a great way to stock up on bath and beauty items and more all year long. Purchase the rebate items you use this month, and then roll the first rebate check into the rebate deals for the second month, then use that rebate money for the third month’s deals, and so on. Ideally, you only pay for the rebates the first month, and then just keep rolling the rebate money each month into more free or almost-free rebate items you use.
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