CVS/Pharmacy -

CVS Extra Care Bucks Program

CVS has a rewards program called Extra Care Bucks, or ECB's. First thing's first. Make sure you have a CVS Extra Care Card. If you don't have one, sign up for one the next time you go in before you start shopping. When you purchase certain qualifying items, you receive ECB's for it. When an item has an ECB promotion going on, it will usually be in the ad, labeled on the store shelf, or both. For example, Crest Toothpaste is $3.99 a tube, with $2 in ECB's when you purchase one. When you take this purchase to the register, have them scan your Extra Care Card. After they scan the toothpaste (and whatever else you've chosen to purchase) and you pay for it, watch for the receipt. At the bottom of your receipt, your ECB's will be printed. It will have a barcode and an expiration date. The next purchase you make (you can do a second transaction if you'd like) hand your ECB slip to the cashier before you pay for your purchase. The $2.00 will come off your total just like a coupon. There are some restrictions on ECB's but not too bad. The ECB deals will have a limit on them per household. Say for the toothpaste it says "Limit 2" that means you can buy as much toothpaste as you want, but you will only get the ECB's twice for that particular promotion. Pay attention to these limits when planning your purchases so you aren't wondering where your ECB's are when you've already reached the limit on that specific product deal.

Extra Care Bucks Slip

Example of ECB's Tag

CVS Coupon Terminal

Another place to get these ECB's is at your local store's coupon center. In most all CVS's there is a big red terminal. You simply scan your Extra Care Card and see what it gives you. Sometimes it will be Extra Care Bucks, sometimes it will be a coupon for a certain item. It can also print out $/$$ coupons. This means it can take money off any purchase of a certain dollar amount. They're typically $3 off any $15 purchase. What you get at this terminal is somewhat random, and somewhat dependent on what you typically purchase. I always scan my card more than once every time I go in to CVS. I've been able to scan it three times before and get coupons each time. These coupons are "store coupons" which can be stacked with manufacturer coupons like we discussed on the Match - Ups page of this website. So this little machine can be very helpful in your upcoming shopping trips. Just remember to scan your card every time you go in.

Coupon Terminal

Terminal Coupon

CVS Green Bag Tag

This is a newer thing at CVS I think it's been around since 2009. At the front of your store, there should be a stand with the current ad. Also on that stand there should be some green reusable shopping bags. Get one of those, and then over by the register there should be "Green Bag Tags". They look like a leaf, and are on a brown tag hanging on the racks by the register usually. Each item is $1, so you'll be spending $2.00 on these plus tax. The deal with this fancy little tag is you get ECB's for scanning it. Attach this tag to your new bag and with every shopping trip, have them scan this before you pay for your transaction. For every fourth scan, you will get $1 ECB printed on your receipt. This tag can only be scanned once per day, so even if you do multiple transactions you can only scan this tag once.

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