Help please! Walgreen rebate tips

[Kris10Leigh]

I shopped at Walgreens today with rebates in mind, for the first time. I found it a bit overwhelming and am sure the process could be simplified. I was hoping for some tips and answers.

First, I do not subscribe to the newspaper, so I have to walk in an pick up the rebate catalog. Or I suppose I could go online. At any rate, I walked in and started shopping on the spot. It was crazy! I hid in the back of the store and paged through the catalog. As I found something I could use I ran to that aisle. I zig zagged my way back and forth. It was humorous. I found a couple "spend $20 get $10 back" deals. There were a couple BOGO's I used. All in all, I saved $17 at the register and get another $26 back in rebates.

How do I maximize my savings? For the "spend $20 get $10 back deals", will coupons apply as well? Then does the regular price count toward the deal, or the sale price? For instance, keeping it simple, let's say I want to buy for hand soaps regularly priced $5.00. They are on sale for $2.50 each. How many do I need to buy? 4? or 8?

Any other tips, tricks, suggestions? ANYTHING would be appreciated! I'm new to this.

[mjrube94]

FWIW, I've been doing Walgreens rebates for a few months, and this is what I've found:

In your example, if Walgreens has the soap on sale for $2.50 each, you'd need to buy 8 to qualify for the "spend $20 get $10 back" deals. However, if you had coupons for $.50 off each, you'd still only need to buy 8. (In fact, what makes the Walgreens rebates so great is that you can often combine the rebate with a coupon to improve the deal, or in some cases, make money on the deal).

I wouldn't recommend walking around the store with the rebate catalog. There's nothing wrong with doing it, just that you'd probably have more success taking your time at home and mapping out a strategy, finding coupons, etc.

The Walgreens website is pretty easy to navigate. They list all the rebate items, along with instructions on redeeming them. Also, they list the weekly sale ad, so you can compare the two. Usually, certain items in the rebate catalog will be on sale during different weeks of the month (encouraging you to come to the store multiple times). Also, as others have noted, depending on your store, they may or may not always have the stuff in stock.

You can have the rebate sent to you in the form of a Walgreens gift card. If you do this, they'll add 10% to your total. I usually opt for this, then use the card to purchase the next month's items. THey also have a phone number where you can track the status of your rebate.

All in all, I've found them to be easy to use, and I've been able to try new items, or stock up on things for free or close to it. If this works for you, check out Eckerd and RiteAid, as they have similar programs. Good luck!

[crazyBMB]

I have used the Walgreens Rebates for quite some time. You just need to go to the website or get the book and choose what you want before you go in. If you have ever been there before it will work well for you, and since you have an entire month, no hurry. Good luck! It's worked well for me.