Learning to coupon can seen daunting at first, however once you learn its EASY! See my process for how I put together deals and transactions at CVS. From CRTs, to using Extrabucks, I go over all the information you need to start couponing at CVS.
First step of course is Signing up for a CVS Account! Download the app and sign up. It only takes a second and gets you on your way to getting CRTS. (CVS Store Coupons).
The most frequently asked question I get about couponing at CVS is, " When will I start getting more CRTs and better ones?" The answer is, the more you shop and the more transactions you do at CVS, the more CRTs you will get each week. CRTs are partially based off of how often you shop at CVS and what types of products you buy. When I first started couponing at CVS, it took me about 2 months of couponing once a week to start seeing a decent amount of CRTs. All accounts are different as well. We will all get the same digital coupons, but CRTs vary. For example, if 2 different accounts shop the same amount at CVS for the past year, come Sunday, one account can get a $3/$12 oral care CRT and the other account may not.
How to Use CRTs:
You can stack a CRT with a manufacturer coupon. This is because one coupon is a CVS store coupon and they other one is from the manufacturer. For example, if you have a deal Buy 2 Colgate Toothpaste Get a $3 ECB. And you buy 2 Colgate toothpastes for $3.49 each. You could use a manufacturer coupon (say $3/2 colgate digital coupon) AND a $2/$6 Colgate oral care CRT! This helps MAXIMIZE your savings!
Spend Amount CRT VS Other CRTs
A Spend Amount CRT is one that is an amount off of when you spend X amount. Keeping the same example as above, the $2/$6 Colgate Oral Care CRT is a Spend Amount CRT because it means when you Spend $6 on Colgate Oral Care, you will get $2 off. You can only use 1 spend amount CRT on that amount of product. For example, in the previous example, you are spending $6.98 on Colgate Toothpaste, and getting $2 off of $6 worth of Colgate already with your first CRT. So if you also have another $2/$6 Oral Care CRT, you would have to spend another $5.02 in oral care products to use that CRT. That would bring you to $12 in product value so you would be able to use 2- $2/$6 CRTs. See below an image to help better explain it.
Other CRTs are a dollar amount like $2 off Colgate. You can also stack this with a Spend Amount CRT and a manufacturer coupon. For example, using the same deal scenario you can use them both and lower your cost even more!
Colgate Buy 2 Get $3 ECB
2)Colgate Toothpaste $3.49 each
Use $3/2 Colgate digital coupon
Use $2/$6 Colgate Oral Care CRT
Use $2 Colgate CRT
Pay: $0 get back $3 ECB!
Extrabucks- same as CVS Cash
You can always pay with Extrabucks towards any deal EXCEPT when purchasing gift cards, tobacco, alcohol and a few others. (see CVS Coupon Policy). This helps lower your out of pocket cost. You CANNOT use Extrabucks to pay taxes either. So when you are checking out, ask how much is left (after the paper and digital coupons came off) BEFORE taxes. That way you can use your Extrabucks and pay the rest with Cash, Credit, Debit.
If you give the cashier a $5 ECB for example to pay for a cost of $3.49, you will lose the additional $1.51. You will not get an ECB back for that amount. So when you ask the cashier what is left to pay BEFORE taxes, and say its $17 for example. Make sure your ECBs that you give the cashier equal or is less than $17 so you don't wind up losing any ECBs.