I went shopping at Walgreens yesterday to snag a few great deals and test out the new Balance Reward Program. Overall things went very smoothly with only a few minor gliches. Here are a few things I learned from my experience:
- Offers are unlimited unless stated in the ad. This applies to point offers and sale prices. I have a feeling that after this soft launch and after people use the new system for a few weeks, that they will start to limit Balance Reward deals much like CVS has limits attached to the card.
- Multiple point items can be purchased in the same transaction and multiple points will be awarded.
- Points are credited immediately and can be used in the following transaction (unless the system is “offline” which in this case you will have to register your receipt online and your points should show up in 1 or 2 days — the register was “offline” for one of my transactions yesterday and my points have not shown up yet. I plan to give it a couple more days before I call).
- If you wish to redeem your points in a transaction, just tell the cashier this is what you wish to do. A screen will appear on the pin pad and you make a selection of the point value you wish to redeem.
- Now, this can get tricky because the system will allow you to redeem more points value than the amount you owe. See example below.
Here is an example of one of my transactions yesterday:
My total after coupons was $10.89. The option screen on the pin pad said I could redeem the following:
- $10.89 for 18,000 Balance Reward Points
- $10 for 10,000 Balance Reward Points
- $5 for 5,000 Balance Reward Points
– Obviously in this transaction, the smartest move if you wish to redeem your points and lower your OOP, would be option #2. Then I would only owe $0.89 OOP. If I chose option #1. I would owe $0 OOP but would forfeit the additional 7,921 points. Yikes! Or, I could have chosen option #3 and owe $5.89 after point redemption.
- You can only start redeeming points in $5 increments. For example, if your total is $4 and you want to redeem 5,000 points or $5, you most certainly can do this. However, you can not roll over the extra 1,000 points you aren’t using. In this scenario, you will pay $0 OOP but will lose the extra $1 in Balance Rewards.
- Knowing this, I really like the $50 for 40,000 points becuase essentially it’s like getting a free $10, however, I can’t remember the last time I spent $50 after coupons. Essentially you could redeem less, (in $5 increments) but then your rewards aren’t worth as much, so what was the point in saving them up? An example of this would be if your total was $10 after coupons. Say you have 40,000 points ($50) and you decide to redeem 10,000 of them ($10) to pay $0 for your transaction. You could certainly do that, but then you would be left with 30,000 points ($35) and they are no longer worth as much. You essentailly forfeited an additional $5 in points for partially redeeming as opposed to redeeming all at once.
- If you use Balance Rewards to pay for a transaction, you will NOT earn any additional points for that transaction!
- If you use RR to pay for a transaction that produces Balance Rewards, you WILL earn the points.
- Knowing this, it would be best to use your RR to pay for transactions that produce Balance Rewards and Balance Rewards to pay for transactions that produce RR’s. I am hoping the RR will stay around for awhile so we can continue to flip them like this.
Additional thoughts:
- My first thought when I was thinking about spending vs saving points was this: It might be best to save the points and get something high-dollar that we typically don’t have coupons for, ie: Printer Ink or maybe some Christmas, Birthday, or other gift items.
- However, I also like to spend the least amount OOP at a time, so it is going to be really hard for me to pay upfront. I just have to know that I have money set aside for a future purchase…and seeing those points accumulating at the bottom of the receipt helps!
- Basically, you can spend your rewards up front (as they accumulate) and pay less out of pocket now, but forfeit the bonus $10 reward later, or you can spend more OOP up front and save your points up until you have 40,000 which will essentially give you that $10 bonus. Basically it’s whatever works best for you!
Did anyone else brave the first day of shopping with the new Balance Reward program? How did you like it? Did your transactions run smoothly? I’d love to hear your experiences!
My Name is Josie and I live in sunny Southern California and I am a stay at home mom to three beautiful boys. We all know that living in California is a task of it's own and saving in California IS possible! I started this blog mainly to share all the awesome deals out there and show others how to save in any area of life. Even though you may make the commitment to be frugal and pinch your pennies doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice!
I already learned a few of the things you posted, and you helped clear a lot up (such as when you redeem them and how it works, etc)
I already have 10,000 points, because I bought 1 mitchum deo yesterday, then when I realized it was unlimited and we had the $1.50/2 q’s I went back tonight and bought 4 more. I spent $4.72 oop (had $2 in RR I used on today’s transaction) and I earned 10,00 points, or $10. Pretty darn nice!!
Oh, and I agree, I think after this week or the next they will probably put in limits!
It seems to me that when you use your card it will only print out 1 RR for a RR item. (like Kleenex) I did multiple transactions & it is not printing when I buy 3 but did when I bought the first 6.
Yes I went and braved it today and pretty much agree with everything u said to a tee. I did like that the rewards covered tax. It took me over an HR to check out because I was the first customer using coupons, Res and paying with reward points. After 7 voids we figured it out! Also I was told they can only manually adjust 1 coupon down for a clearance item or like $.99 wet&wild using $1/1
I definitely agree with all the points u made regarding it. Thanks!!
Once they do that there screen freezes and u can only pay after that. So the wanted me to do 4 transactions when I bought 4 nail polishes!! Hopefully they fix that. I did also experience offline issuse but was lucky enough after all said and done everything was online. I just really hope they keep RRs around for a bit! The hardest part is going to be to save all the points cuz everyone likes less pop up front. Overall I spent $12.97 and walked away with 7,000 points and $4 RR I did 2 transaction using 5,000 points to pay for my 2nd RR transaction and scored 28 items. Not to bad! We will see how this goes! Definitely a little more planning before I make my trip and my head was spinning after the HR long checkout but I actually liked the points a lot better then I though I was going too. I guess time will tell overall
So balance rewards can cover tax?
That would be a nice little bonus if this was true. Anybody know for sure?
Josie- In your example where you redeemed your points, if you had chosen option 3 $5 for 5,000 Balance Reward Points, would you lose the 13,000 other points remaining on your card, or would those stay on your card? Thanks again for posting this. I printed this post and put it in my binder
My experience wasn’t good. My points didn’t print on my receipt because I was told by the cashier that computers have been on and off line since yesterday. I was told to call the 800 number to have it fix. When I called, they couldn’t find my info from my receipt and told me to call Friday, because computers were overwhelm. 8( big disappointment. I was counting on those points to buy more thing, but now I have to wait until Friday.
It seems as though they r phasing out rr
the week if 9/30 has very little rr. I’m going to use my PTS this week to earn rr next week then save them till I have enough for ink
I’m pretty bumbed as well. I couldn’t sign up for. card, nor could I redeem any points, and to open it all off….my RR were not printing. What a sloppy experience, but at the end of the day the Mgr printed the rewards for me.
Thanks for sharing your experience Josie! I’m waiting until all the glitches are out of this system before I go back to Walgreens, but I’m feeling a lot better about it knowing what to expect.
Me too!
do you guys know if the points are tracked on your receipt/card? for instance, i want to buy the coke 3/$11 but limit is 3. you get 5000pts if you spend $15, so i was just gonna buy another one in a separate transaction.
They told me that you have to buy all the same in the same transaction. Cvs has 12 packs for 2.22 dr. Pepper included I have $1/2 so that’s a better deal. Less oop
At the bottom of your receipt it breaks it down for you. Example: It shows you how many points you had before your purchase, (if any) how many you accumulated on the day you shopped, and how many points you used if you decided to use any that same day. HTH.
The manager at my Walgreens told me that they are getting rid of RR starting the first week of October – seems pretty quick but has anyone else heard anything?
I haven’t heard anything but If they take away the Register Rewards I think they might loose some business. Even though we will be earning points it’s going to be a hassle of rounding it off to what works the best with out forfeiting or sacrificing points. It’s bad enough Walgreen’s Isn’t on everyone’s good list.
They forgot to ask my card until after they scanned all my items and coupon. The manager said they can’t input my card at the end so they have to redo the transaction.
i wonder if that’s what happened to me. I didn’t get the points the first time, she had scanned my card at the end (but didn’t ask for it in the beginning). the manager had to re-ring the entire order. Then it said “offline”. he told me to come back another day and have them fix it. They didn’t tell me I could call, and I didn’t realize it could be done online. Online right now is saying that Balance rewards is currently unavailable. I don’t know if that’s just my account, or the entire system. I’m hoping it shows SOMETHING so I can try to get the 3000 points added to my account!!
I had a good experience at Walgreen’s. I happened to go in on Saturday, the day before everything was supposed to start. The cashiers and even the manager all know me there. They told me that everything had been turned on a day early and if I wanted I could sign up for Balance Rewards right then. I did and my cashier pointed out some deals that I could take advantage of to earn points. I did that too! I typically go in every Sunday morning, but I wanted to take advantage of the Suave deal. I did go back Sunday like I usually do, and earn about 7000 points. So far, so good!
Can your points be used to buy Gift Cards??? (Sorry if this was already addressed and I missed it)
No, they have the same limitations as Register Rewards; no alcohol, gift cards, prescriptions, and other items “prohibited by law”.
Josie- In your example where you redeemed your points, if you had chosen option 3 $5 for 5,000 Balance Reward Points, would you lose the 13,000 other points remaining on your card, or would those stay on your card? Thanks again for posting this. I printed this post and put it in my binder
Elizarae, no you would not lose the remaining points. It would just take off the 5,000 points you wanted to redeem and leave the rest. Hope that helps!
I had a pretty good experience yesterday. I got 12 ID gums for 6000 points, 4 halls for 2000 points and two lipton tea bags for 250 points. When my receipt printed it said I had gotten 6250 points. When I thought about how many points I was supposed to have gotten, I got online and looked up the balance rewards website then called the 800 number. the lady was super helpful and could already see my transaction. She then just quickly added the 2000 missing points. Hope others have good luck too!
Hi Josie!
I want to make sure I completely understand the new rules for the point system. I want to use the Mitchem deodorant deal as an example for this scenario. When you say:
If you use Balance Rewards to pay for a transaction, you will NOT earn any additional points for that transaction!
(1) I purchase 3 deodorants and accumulate 6000 points.
(2) I purchase another 3 deodorants in a second transaction, using 5000 ($5) to help pay for the items.
With this rule, are you saying I will not accumulate my 6000 points for the 2nd transaction?
Thanks!
PS. I have saved so much money following your blog! Your the best!
Joi, yes, that is correct. If you use points to pay for an item that gives points, you will not earn additional points. So in your scenario, if you use 5,000 points from transaction #1 to pay for 3 deodorants in transaction #2, you will certainly pay your transaction total down, but you will forfeit any additional points in that transaction. That is why, as long as Register Reward offers are still available, it will be best to flip flop the two. Using RR to pay for items that accumulate points, and using points to pay for items that accumulate RR’s. Hope that makes sense.
Thank you for clearing it up!
Since I am not a big Walgreens shopper because it’s further away from my house, I think I am going to unclip my rewards until Thanksgiving. I still have register rewards to roll and buy things. I am not sure how the deals will look for Thanksgiving, but if it’s free after RR then it’s great to use Rewards Points then I won’t have to calculate filler items and what not. Since the more point accumulated is a better pay out, if my transaction is big full of FARR then I am getting the better end of the deal. I see the flaw in my system after Thanksgiving, but I’ll start saving away when summer rolls around.
My check out experience was a mess. 1 1/2 hours just to check out, with my 3 year old. BA did not enter something correct when I signed up for card because when I entered my zip code to redeem my points on second transaction it said it didn’t match. Neither BA or manager knew how to correct it so everything had to be returned on both transactions because my receipt said I had 22,500 points but I couldn’t use them. I had to create another card with my husbands phone number because mine was already used. Then when she rang items up the second time the totals were different at the end and I didn’t receive all of my points. I was so frustrated I didn’t care. I paid the dollar extra and didn’t get 1,000 because I was going to be late for church. I think I will like it but will be very sad to see RR go.
I went to one Walgreens and everything went super smooth. Visited another one on a different day and it was a mess. I think at that store the system had only 1,000 pts for the mitchum that matched the add, but with the tag stating 2,000 pts. I waited until 3 different people could figure out how to add my extra 2,000 missing points. The first store automatically gave me my 2,000 pts each mitchum. I went back to store #1 to get two more mitchums and they had pulled the tags. I think Walgreens figured out they had stores mismark them and getting them “free” was over. However, the cashier and managers were super nice and apologetic for my delay and finally got me my pts. at store #2, by scanning a special barcode they had for 500 pts. I had to redo the transactions though. So far, can’t complain. I don’t usually have 6 Q’s of one thing, so wanted to take advantage of free deo. when I could. I am finding less and less free things, and I think that trend is going to continue at the drugstores.
I forgot to add that I asked about using point rewards on photo and they seemed to think it would be fine, so if you’re wondering about saving up pts and not sure how to spend $50 you could get prints made and get that extra $10 for saving up the points.