All About CVS

by Debbie Clark (DealDebbie) | More from this Blogger

24 Sep 2009 04:10 AM

I haven't written much lately about CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens, and they are really three great resources for deal hunters.

CVS has a rebate system called Extra Care Bucks, or ECBs. It works like this: You get a 2% percentage credited to you for eligible items you purchase, or $1 for every 2 prescriptions regardless of cost. Every week, CVS has special sales offering additional ECBs. For example, one week you may see a sale of toothpaste at 2 for $5, with a $1 ECB. That means that buy that item, the cash register will generate a coupon for $1 off your next visit. Pay close attention to the expiration date, as you don't want to lose this value.

Of course, you are not going to pay $5 for two tubes of toothpaste. You are going to use coupons. Your out of pocket expense will be whatever the amount is after coupons. If you have high value $1+ coupons, you are better off with this. Hopefully, you've obtained multiple newspaper inserts with coupons, or printed the maximum allowed (usually 2).

Next time you shop at CVS, you'll repeat the process - buy something that offers ECBs, pay with coupons, and use the ECBs you earned on the previous trip. You can get to where you are paying nothing but sales tax. And, your monthly ECBs will accrue, and will be printed on your register tape as a coupon quarterly.

To participate in the ECB program, you need a CVS card. This is free, and you can get one at any CVS. It tracks your purchases, and makes certain that you stick to the limits of each ECB offer. It also makes it possible to participate in the ECB program with online purchases too. You can take advantage of online promotions, and still earn ECBs, and you can print your ECBs online.

The ECB program excludes alcohol, tobacco, lottery, gift cards, money orders, postage stamps, pre-paid cards, special order home health care, and only allows the $1 for two prescriptions to be credited. You cannot use ECBs to pay for any of the above items, including prescriptions.

As more people are using the ECBs, stores are finding that they run out of hot sale items quickly. Sales at CVS start every Sunday for the week, but many stores will honor both the current week's sales and the next week's sales on Saturday night, so they don't have to re set the register when they open.

We'll talk about Walgreens and Rite Aid in the next articles.

Learn more about Debbie Clark (DealDebbie)

I'm a veteran deal hunter with two grown sons. I have been clipping coupons and doubling up with rebates and sales and points rewards since they were babies.

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