Store Coupons

There is a second type of coupon called a "store coupon". These are coupons that are created by the marketing departments of a particular merchant to help drive sales and move product. These coupons are store-specific and generally redeemable ONLY at the store that provides the coupon. The coupon will be labeled as a "Store Coupon" or a "Target Coupon" or a "CVS Coupon" or a "Walgreens Coupon". They will have bar codes, but usually only work with the registers in the originating store chain. In some hyper-competitive regions, a few stores will gladly accept and honor "competitor coupons". It never hurts to ask.

When shopping at CVS or Walgreens or Target or some regional grocery chains, you are allowed to COMBINE one manufacturer coupon and one store coupon to purchase a single item. Yes, that's right. You can "double-dip" and receive even more savings.

Many consumers are unaware of this. In fact, some cashiers are not aware of this either, although most store management will gladly clarify their policy and accept both coupons.

Using two coupons on a single item often gets confusing since some coupons will have miniscule print indicating that the coupon is valid on one item. And yes, that is true. You can not use multiple manufacturer coupons or multiple store coupons on a single item.

But the store policy is often to accept both a Manufacturers Coupon and a Store Coupon. When I am checking out and hand over my coupons (one by one), I will often tell the cashier that "Here is a coupon for X" and "Here is a Store Coupon for X". That seems to reassure them that I know what I am doing.