Card3 Un-Retires: 2010-07-28 = $8.60

For most of the past year, I have juggled using two CVS cards.  I had gotten the first card years ago while on an East Coast visit.  That card always gets a reaction from cashiers, as it is the "old-style" logo and somewhat worn.  The card for my second household was acquired when CVS began a massive expansionin Southern CA.  Having both cards has worked nicely, as often the coupons vary.  No one has yet figured out the coupon algorithm, but many many times, my East Coast-originated card will generate different coupons from the West Coast-originated card.  I rotate them and rest one or the other from time to time.

I also acquired a third card when CVS expanded wildly in Southern CA.  This card seems to generate the same coupons as my other SoCal card.  I rarely use the card, only pulling it out when the good deals are limited by card.

In early July, when some school supplies were offered for Free After Extra Card Bonus, I pulled out Card3 (for my third household) and made a few minor purchases, never much more than a dollar, rolling the ECBs just like the cards for my first two households.  I was about ready to re-reture Card3 when BOOM, out of the blue came a nice STORE Coupon "Save $4 on $20+ Purchase".

Well, I couldn't put that to waste, so I made a small investment and started up Card3 once again.

I began with 1.99ECB.

Regular Prices:
5.99 NyQuil Sinus (12ct)
5.99 DayQuil Sinus (12ct)
4.99 Kotex U
3.79 M+Ms
2.99 BioTrue (4oz)
2.99 BioTrue (4oz)
0.99 CVS PantiLiners
0.99 CVS PantiLiners
0.99 CVS PantiLiners
0.99 CVS PantiLiners
0.89 Dove Chocolate Bar
0.89 Dove Chocolate Bar
0.89 Dove Chocolate Bar

33.37 TOTAL Regular Prices

Sale Prices:
1.49 NyQuil Sinus (12ct)
1.49 DayQuil Sinus (12ct)
4.99 KotexU
2.50 M+Ms
2.99 BioTrue (4oz)
2.99 BioTrue (4oz)
0.50 CVS PantiLiners
0.50 CVS PantiLiners
0.50 CVS PantiLiners
0.50 CVS PantiLiners
0.50 Dove Chocolate Bar
0.50 Dove Chocolate Bar
0.50 Dove Chocolate Bar

19.95 TOTAL Sale Prices

Coupons and Discounts Applied:
4.00 STORE Coupon "Save $4 Off $20+ Purchase"
0.79 STORE Coupon "Any Dove"
0.79 STORE Coupon "Any Dove"
0.79 STORE Coupon "Any Dove"
1.49 MANUFACTURER Coupon "Any NyQuil"
1.49 MANUFACTURER Coupon "Any DayQuil"
1.00 MANUFACTURER Coupon "Any M+Ms"
1.00 ExtraBuck
0.99 ExtraBuck

12.34 TOTAL Coupons and Discounts

Since I did not have many product coupons, my balance came to $7.61, plus an additional $0.86 in local tax, for a Grand Total of $8.60.  I began with 1.99ECB, spent all of them, but earned back a whopping 11.97ECB (5.98ECB for BioTrue, 4.99ECB for KotexU, and 1.00ECB for CVS PantiLiners).

My nearly eleven dollar expenditure ($8.60 + 1.99ECB) yielded nearly twelve dollars in future in-store ECB.  I would have been one dollar better off had I not mistakenly purchased four boxes of CVS PantiLiners @$0.50.  For the past few months, CVS has set up their registers to only yield one set of ECB for certain month-long deal items.  The Free After ECB PantiLiners were available to be purchased in sets of two all month long, but only generated one lonely 1.00ECB in a single transaction, instead of the 2.00ECB I had expected.

Oh well.  Now I have 11.97ECB loaded on Card3, the card for my Third Household.