Shopping at Rite Aid

Rite Aid Shopping- I keep meaning to post some of the basics of Rite Aid shopping and here it is!

Wellness Plus Program
The first step to shopping at Rite is to sign up for their Wellness Plus Program. In order to get most of the weekly sale items, you now are required to have a Wellness Plus card. You earn points for each purchase and each prescription filled, and get different benefits at different levels. It's free and easy- you can sign up on online or in the store.

For every 125 points up to 375 points, you get a 10% off your purchase coupon and when you hit 500 points you get 10% off all your purchases and at 1000 points you get 20% off your purchases. You earn 25 points with each prescription purchase. I was worried that I would never earn any points since I usually try to keep a very low out of pocket, but to the best that I can figure it (and have heard from other bloggers) you earn points based on your price before manufacturer's coupons since Rite Aid is reimbursed for those. You also get a $5 off $25 coupon when you register and weekly emails with additional Rite Aid store coupons.

+Up Rewards
With the Wellness Plus card, you now can earn +Up Rewards. These print out on your receipt and are for money off your next shopping trip. They are treated like cash- you can use as many in one transaction as long as your subtotal (total before taxes) does not go in the negative. I really like the +Up Rewards program because unlike Walgreens Register Rewards program, they are treated like cash and you can also use manufacturer's coupons.

You can only earn one +Up Reward per transaction, and they are starting to limit the number per Wellness Plus card.

Single Check Rebates
Rite Aid also has a their own rebate program called the Single Check Rebates program (SCR program). I was at first very hesitant to shop at Rite Aid because I didn't like all the rebates. I figured they would take forever to get and would be a pain. Now, it's part of the fun of shopping at Rite Aid. Each month, a new booklet comes out with all the SCR's for the month- their month isn't necessarily a calendar month- the July SCR's were only good through 7/24, etc.

SCR rebates can be done entirely online- which is a great perk, since you can sometimes double dip with rebates (qualify for a SCR rebate as well as a manufacturer's mail in rebate). You simply enter your receipt information on their site and they qualify your rebates based on the information on your receipt. You do not have to mail in the original receipt and it usually only take a day or two to show up on your account. You request the checks at the end of the rebate period.

Rite Aid Video Values
Another great program Rite Aid has is their Rite Aid Video Values program. You register with the Video Values program and watch advertisements to earn coupons. These coupons can be stacked with manufacturer's coupons AND most in-ad coupons to get a great deal. You can usually also earn a couple $5 off $25 coupons from watching videos and also earn 20 video credits to earn another $5 off $25 or sometimes even a $5 off $20 coupon.

$5 off $25 coupons
Redplum usually has a printable $5.00 off $25.00 coupon for Rite Aid. You often have to extend your search radius to 50 miles, but you can get 2 of these coupons per computer. Most of the time, I make sure I hit $25 before coupons so I can use one of these coupons.

The Rite Aid Challenge!!
What I call the Rite Aid challenge is strategically using their deals with your $5 off $25 coupons and other coupons to pay the least amount out of pocket and get the most rebates and +Up Rewards. Sometimes you can save money by getting a couple free after coupon items so you can hit the $25 mark to get your $5 off. The first few weeks are definitely challenging and take some getting used to- but it can be lots of fun. I used to spend tons of money at Target each month, and although I still love Target, I shop at Rite Aid more often because I "buy" many of the items I used to get at Target for free or even get paid for getting them after rebates.

I also like to save any free product coupons I have and use them when they have either a SCR or an +Up Reward. That helps bring your total to $25 and turns that freebie into a money maker.

I'll try to get the Rite Aid coupon policy posted or a link to it for you to have with you. I had problems when I first started shopping at Rite Aid, but they seem to have worked out most of the problems with their coupon policy now. Their coupon policy is very clear about the different types of coupons. You can stack a BOGO manufacturer coupon with a BOGO in-store sale for 2 free items. That's a nice part of their policy!

Last month, I got paid $9 for buying $350 in products- these are everyday items like diapers, toilet paper, paper towel, toothpaste and personal care items. Check out my July deal picture here.

Have you started shopping at Rite Aid yet? Do you like it? Let me know if you have any questions- it took me a bit to get used to shopping there but it's definitely worth the effort!