I understand Rite Aid deals can get pretty confusing. In fact, I recently had a RA manager comment about how much of a pain the deals can be and he personally would rather they just put things on sale instead of making customers jump through hoops. I can't say I really blame RA...after all, you can't just expect them to hand out steals. Here's a little tutorial on how things work. Hopefully it'll help you score a great deal there.
First of all, some terminologies. I've bolded the abbreviations as that's what I'll use in my posts. I'll also try to post this list of terms in the bottom of my Rite Aid posts for references.
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W+ =
Wellness + - Rite Aid's loyalty program
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SCR =
Single Check Rebates - Rite Aid's rebate program.
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+UP =
+UP Rewards - Rite Aid's promo coupon program
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RAVV = Rite Aid Video Values - get coupons for watching ads
Now, I'll break things down and explain what things are. A glossary of sorts. I'm going to list things in order of how basic it is.
W+ =
Wellness + - this is Rite Aid's loyalty program. Basically, start here because you will need this card to trigger the deals. Wellness + works similar to grocery store club cards. You sign up for a card, which you can do in store or
online here. Either bring the card (and you'll get one that's credit card size and 2 smaller, key chain cards) with you to the store when you shop, or remember the phone # you signed up with and they can look it up that way. Once they've inputted your card in the register, if the item you are buying is on sale that week with W+ then it will automatically ring up the sale price.
Use this card every time you make a purchase, including prescriptions at Rite Aid because you get reward points. It's a tier system so you get special coupons after you reach a certain amount of points. Points reward details can be found on their
website here.
SCR =
Single Check Rebates - this is their rebates program. It sounds confusing but it's actually ridiculously EASY! The weekly ads will tell you which items qualify for SCR, plus they also have a separate flyer that lists all of the SCR for that month/period. Once you buy something that has a SCR, all you have to do is go to the
SCR website here, create an account or log into your existing account, click on
#2 Enter Your Receipts, click on the icon that matches your receipt (you can do this with in store or online purchases) and type in your receipt info. That's it! They will figure it all out for you! They figure out what qualifies for a rebate, and how much. They will send you an email confirmation, and you can either log back into your SCR account to request a check, or they will automatically send you a check when that specific rebate cycle/month is over.
The only trick is, you can only request ONE check per rebate cycle. Hence the name Single Check Rebate. So you have to make sure you are absolutely DONE shopping for that cycle before you request your check or just let it be, and they'll send it to you when that cycle is done. You can certainly input more receipts if you make multiple trips to buy SCR qualifying products, but you can only request one rebate check per cycle.
SCR qualifying items will be marked like this in the circular and often on the shelf space:
+UP =
+UP Rewards - coupons! Here's what happens and how it works: When you buy qualifying products, and it'll be in the circulars and in most cases, the shelf space where the item is will be marked with a special yellow tag indicating it qualifies for +UP Rewards, a special coupon will print out at the end of your receipt. You MUST use your W+ card to qualify for the +UP Rewards coupons. What these coupons do is give you a certain amount off on your NEXT purchase at Rite Aid. Of course, be mindful of expiration dates. Just tear them off the end of your receipt and save them for use on your next purchase at Rite Aid.
A qualifying item will look like this in the circular:
She shelf space of the item will often have a tag that looks like the price inset in the ad.
Note: +UP Rewards don't help you in your current purchase, and it doesn't actually affect the cost of the current purchase, but many bloggers, myself included, often factor that into the final price of an item or order. It only benefits you in your next Rite Aid non prescription purchase because it's a coupon you can use next time.
RAVV = Rite Aid Video Values - these are also coupons. Basically, if you go to the RAVV site and watch some ads (they range from 15 seconds to around 3 minutes) you will be rewarded with a coupon to use at Rite Aid for the item that you just watched the ad for. They are manufacturer's coupons that can only be used at Rite Aid. Each coupon has a unique barcode so it can only be used once. While you are watching the ads, you also earn points that when you reach a certain amount, you get a $ off general use coupon for Rite Aid. (You'll need to create an account for that.) Keep in mind you must keep the browser/tab of the ad you're viewing in front otherwise the ad pauses. You must also pay attention to at least the very end of the ad because you'll need to enter a code presented on the screen within 30 seconds or you will not get a coupon. The RAVV coupons are of benefit especially when you stack them with W+, SCR and +UP deals. Of course, you can get even more of a deal when you can find other coupons & rebates to stack with the savings Rite Aid provides.
In short, these are the steps to scoring the best deals at Rite Aid:
- Make purchases using Wellness+ card
- Purchase items that qualifies for Single Check Rebate
- Purchase items that qualifies for +UP Reward coupons (which prints out with your receipt)
- Use $5 off/$25 purchase coupon Rite Aid often releases (if your order is over $25. Make sure you give the cashier this coupon first.)
- Use any +UP Reward coupons from previous purchases
- Use manufacturer coupons
- Save any new +UP Reward coupons that prints out for future use
- Submit receipt info for Single Check Rebate
- Submit for any manufacturer's rebates (if applicable)
Sometimes Rite Aid will have other additional promos such as if you buy X amount of any specific brand or type of item, you'll get a gift card. In those cases you submit for them through the SCR website just like you would submit for a SCR.
I hope this tutorial is useful in helping you score some good deals at Rite Aid. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I read each comment left on this blog and reply as necessary. You can also contact me via email or Twitter.
Happy bargain hunting!
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