CVS Store Guide

CVS may be intimidating to those of you who don’t know how to follow their store guidelines. I promise that after you get familiar with how they operate, you will never look back. CVS is similar to Walgreens, but they have their own set of rules and quirky terms to follow.

The very first thing you need to do before you save oodles of money at CVS is to sign up for an Extra Care membership. You can simply do that by going into the store and filling out a form that takes no longer than 5 minutes. You will be able to score some sweet deals instantly. Or, you could sign up here. I must warn you that if you sign up online, it could take up to two weeks to get your ECB card via mail.

Here is how CVS's Extra Care program works:
Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) are similar to RRs offered at Walgreens. ECBs are like money that you can spend in CVS on whatever you'd like. ECBs always print out at the end of your receipt. They key to making sure that you get your ECBs is to make sure you have the cashier scan your red card (it doesn't matter if it is at the beginning or end of the transaction).

**Every three months CVS does something really awesome with all of your purchases either from in the store or online. You get 2% cash back! You will earn 2% cash back on every purchase in store and online. These rewards will print off at the end of your receipt just like your ECBs.

**Another way to earn free ECBs is through their pharmacy. For every two you buy at CVS, you earn one ECB. Pretty awesome!

Much like RRs at Walgreens, certain items will be advertised as free after your ECBs. Forr instance, if a certain toothpaste is priced at $2.99, but CVS's ad says that they are offering $2.99 EBBs, then the product would be essentially free. As referenced above, your ECBs will print out at the bottom of your receipt.
*One area that CVS is different from Walgreens is right here. Where Walgreens doesn't have a limit on the number of times you can purchase an item and get a RR, CVS is different. CVS will often have a limit on the number of times you can purchase an item. That way, you cannot keep rolling your ECBs in the same way that you can at Walgreens).

***Please note that CVS does have the same coupon policy as Walgreens. You can use a MQ and an in-store coupon at the same time.

*Another quirky thing specific to CVS is that most stores have a machine (or a coupon kiosk) that you can print off additional CVS store coupons just by scanning your card! Be on the lookout for that!

Also, always always hand over your coupons in this order, especially if you have a special coupon like a $5/20 coupon (which they can periodically send random coupons like this if you are signed up for their e-mail). If you do not, then you will not get as much money off of your order.

First give them the $5/20 coupon manufacturer and additional store coupons.
Then give all your CVS coupons
Then hand over any MQ
Last give your ECBs