RETIRED CVS Coupon DISCUSSION: questions, scenarios, & chat for ALL coupons (including Manufacturers) that can be used at CVS

Click here for: How to make a PDF file (the basics)


FAQ:

Q: Will (insert coupon) BEEP?

A: There are two types of e-mailed coupons. Product-specific coupons and $ off coupons. In most cases, product specific coupons will NOT beep at the register, regardless of whether you rec'd them in your email or not. On the other hand, $ off coupons WILL likely beep if you did not get them directly in your email. The cashier's screen will pop up with a message along the lines of "Coupon not valid for card scanned"

Q: Will my cashier push a beeping coupon through?

A: YMMV....that is up to the cashier/manager. Some users have reported that even if they have received a coupon directly from CVS, it still beeps, so CVS will probably push your coupon through as a courtesy to you. There is no official policy to push through beeping coupons, so DO NOT EXPECT THEM TO PUSH THEM THROUGH for you.

Q: What are 12-digit and 13-digit coupons? What's the difference?

A: A coupon barcode that has 13 digits is one-time-use. Once it has been used, it cannot be used again. If you try to use it again, the coupon will beep and the cashier's screen will say "Coupon already redeemed on [date]" 12 digit coupon are multiple-use coupons, and can be used many times.
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Disclaimer: The following information is based on what the CVS register system will allow. Individual store policy is still YMMV.

CVS Coupon Guide

% off CVS Coupons
- % will not be taken off of the amount of any CVS Coupon including $x/$xx and manually printed ECBs (either printed from register or from coupon machine), Quarterly ECB, Beauty Club ECB, or Green Bag Tag ECB used in the transaction
- % is effective on some sale/ECB/clearance items

13-digit CVS q's
-some expire promptly on expiration date given
-one-time use only: once scanned, that particular 13-digit q can never be used again, even if you void the order & start afresh; on the 2nd attempt, register will say already redeemed on mm-dd-yyyy
-$/$$ limited to one purchased-based coupon per transaction

12-digit CVS q's found in-store or in newspapers, magazines, and other publications
-expire 15 days from expiration date given
-limited to one coupon of the same barcode per transaction

12-digit CVS $/$$ q's emailed periodically
-always beep as "not valid for card scanned" if you did not directly receive the email
-often beep anyway even if you did directly receive the email
-sometimes work without beeps if you directly received the email
-most expire when they say; on a rare occasion, certain ones expire 15 days from expiration date given
-limited to one coupon of the same barcode per transaction in certain areas
-limited to one purchased-based coupon per transaction
-see additional info here

12-digit CVS product-specific q's emailed
-work without beeps even if you did not directly receive the email
-expire 15 days from expiration date given
-limited to one coupon of the same barcode per transaction

9-digit CVS q's from register receipt
-work only on EC Card for which they were issued
-expire promptly on expiration date given, and in some cases, at the exact hour/minute issued
-limited to one coupon of the same first 5 digits (of the 9-digit code) per transaction
-if used in a transaction that is then voided (so you get CRT back), next time you use it will beep "not valid for card scanned" even though it is for the right EC card.
-if expired & beeps "expired" and you get it back, next time you use it will beep "not valid for card scanned" even though it is for the right EC card.

9-digit CVS daily recurring q's from price checker/coupon printer
-examples: $2/$10 CVS Brand, $1/2 Gold Emblem Candy, $2 Gold Emblem Water 6pk or larger
-work only on EC Card for which they were issued
-CVS Brand $/$$ expire on the expiration date noted
-CVS Brand product-specific q's are good though the very last expiration date that will be available. For example, if a $1 Skin Care coupon printed last week and is also printing this week, the last one of these will be issued on Saturday 4/17, good for a week from Saturday (4/24). That means that all of them you have will actually work thru the 24th.
-most of the time, can use multiples per transaction... although you just never know with CVS...
-if used in a transaction that is then voided (so you get CRT back), next time you use it will beep "not valid for card scanned" even though it is for the right EC card.
-if expired & beeps "expired" and you get it back, next time you use it will beep "not valid for card scanned" even though it is for the right EC card.

9-digit CVS $/$$ or product-specific q's from price checker/coupon printer
-examples: $5/$25, $1 Almay, $4/$20 Playskool, $2 Colgate Toothpaste
-work only on EC Card for which they were issued
-expire promptly on expiration date given
-if used in a transaction that is then voided (so you get CRT back), next time you use it will beep "not valid for card scanned" even though it is for the right EC card.
-if expired & beeps "expired" and you get it back, next time you use it will beep "not valid for card scanned" even though it is for the right EC card.

Notes:
-actual CVS q's begin with 4
-9-digit CVS q's from your receipt or the price checker/coupon printer are called CRT's
-using expired CVS q's is YMMV, even if they work without beeps; some stores take them, some don't
-exceptions may occur due to store-specific programming of their registers
-exceptions may occur due to glitches in the system, especially on Wednesdays, but usually revert back by the following day
-exceptions may occur due to cashier error
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What do I do if I've lost my card but have a phone number associated with my ExtraCare Bucks account? Check this post for more information. [http]

Before starting a discussion about coupons , PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING:

COUPON ACCEPTANCE
As a general rule, stores should accept your coupons because they got you in the door and build sales. The official corporate policy is that CVS will accept one Manufacturer's coupon and one CVS coupon per item. Extra Care Bucks do not count as a coupon for purposes of this rule.

When you get into the fringe scenarios, however, it will vary by district, store, and even by cashier. Some stores have been instructed to "take all the coupons a customer has", some limit you in various ways. Some stores allow multiple "Save $X on $YY purchase" coupons, some don't. Some stores allow the use of coupons past their printed expiration date, some do not. Please note that the newer Save $x on $yy purchase coupons limit you to 1 per transaction.

USAGE OF EXPIRED COUPONS
Historically speaking, CVS coupons do not beep* until 2 weeks after the expiration date printed on the coupon. Some stores take the coupons until they beep, even if it is past the expiration date. Other stores have a policy to NOT take coupons once they have expired.

So, until something changes in their system, a $/$$ coupon that is expired will NOT beep until it is 2 weeks past the expiration date. Given that, please calculate what 2 weeks past the expiration date is and don't ask this question in the thread.

Since some stores have a 'no expired' coupon policy, and we do not want to abuse their kindness in giving us these coupons, please don't be upset if your store won't take the expireds. It happens. Key here is that once a CVS coupon expires, it is even more YMMV than before.

* "beep" : When the CVS register system alerts the cashier that the coupon was not accepted, we refer to this as a coupon that "beeps".

USAGE OF "Save $X on $YY purchase" COUPONS - STACKING AND SUPERSTACKING
The official corporate policy as of Apr 2010 is that you may only use one of these per transaction. Using more than that is YMMV and depends on your store's policy.

An item that is FREE as part of a B1G1 by CVS cannot be counted towards your minimum purchase required to meet the $xx.

This is to keep consistent with how CVS would officially count how much you spent when there is an ECB deal that requires buy $xx and get $yy ECB. (See below for example):
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When CVS has their "Buy x of product, and earn $xx ECB" promo, and the items are on sale B1G1 Free, do both of them count toward the promo?

If the ECB deal is buy a specific amount of $$ in order to obtain the ECB, then only the one you pay for counts. The free one will NOT count.

If the ECB deal is buy a specific number of ITEMS in order to obtain the ECB, then both items will count.
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In other words, we need to have the minimum threshold for the $xx be calculated in the same exact manner as how CVS would do it when they (CVS) offer a B1G1 sale.

Any deal scenario or discussion that talks about using these type of coupons without the total being greater than the minimum threshold of each $x/$xx coupon and/or counts the free item towards the $xx minimum threshold for a CVS B1G1 sale will be deleted.

SlickDeals does not condone fraud, the discussion of fraud, or anything resembling fraud. Any scenario where you try to cheat CVS by inappropriate purchasing & returning, using coupons to buy gift cards, or any other fraudulent usage will be removed and you will be subject to warnings for illegal activity.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR COUPON BEEPS
Please do not call the CVS customer care line to complain because a store didn't allow you to stack multiple $X off $YY purchase coupons, or because they wouldn't let you use an expired coupon, or because they wouldn't let you use a coupon for a 6.0 oz colgate on the 4.2 oz package (that coincidentally is generating ECB), etc. DO NOT EVER CALL ABOUT STACKING $x/$xx COUPONS!

CURRENT KNOWN PROBLEMS WITH PARTICULAR CVS COUPONS
*will be updated as issues are reported*

SELF CHECKOUT

Q: What does "coupon not accepted" mean?

A: This is a generic error message that appears when a coupon is either expired, requires cashier intervention (such as a BOGO coupon that requires price input), has already been redeemed, etc. In order to use the coupon, a self checkout attendant will have to enter in the coupon him or herself.

Q: Can Self Checkout scan all types of coupons?

A: Generally, self checkout can scan any manufacturer or store coupon, however there are some technical and policy limitations. Technically, not all machines can yet scan the new GS1 bar codes (the long bar codes). This can vary by store or even individual machine. Machines also might have trouble reading fuzzy or mis-sized bar codes on IPs. Try to print from a laser printer whenever possible.

Occasionally, coupons will scan but will then throw the error, "unknown barcode scanned". This message requires an override from an attendant. This has happened before, for example, with RIB coupons.

Policy-wise, CVS may program a store coupon so that it cannot be scanned without cashier intervention. For example, a "free 14 ct CVS bandages" CRT might not scan at SCO so that the cashier has to verify that the free item is in fact a 14 ct CVS package of bandages.

Q: How will BOGO coupons scan at SCO?

A: Answer needed.

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The following is an example of starting a discussion about stacking $x/$xx coupons and should be avoided, instead one should please read the above about coupon acceptance instead.

Quote : Not that it would be wise to attempt it and attract unwanted attention, but as an example to facilitate understanding here : On a $35 purchase transaction of at least 9 items, a register could accept all the following unique coupons ? $5 off $30 #1, 4-1583, 1-13-08 $5 off $30 #2, 4-1817 , 1-13-08 $4 off $20, 4-1584, 1-13-08 $4 off $20, 4-3037, 1-21 $5 off $15, Times Union 1-13 $3 off $15, 4-1585, 1-13-08 $3 off $15, 4-1587, 1-27 $2 off $10 4-1575, CVS Brand, 1-13-08 $2 off $10, 4-9924, 1/31/08

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The official policy on coupons as far as SD goes is that we allow all coupons to be posted with the following exceptions:

• Altered coupons - warnable offense
• Posting a scanned version of a coupon that was printed out at Coupons.com - warnable offense
(note: providing a link to where to print out the coupon at Coupons.com is OK)
• Scanned manufacturer's coupons - warnable offense
• One-time use coupons (useless anyway)
• Coupons asked to be removed by the source (for example, Lowe's and Target have both asked us to pull coupons off SD)
• Please note that CVS has asked us to not allow attachments, this includes *.JPG, *.PDF, and *.DOC to be posted here. Direct links to CVS coupons will still be allowed.

As for the coupons posted early, as long as they are hosted by the retailer on the retailer's server, we'll allow them. As a compromise, we'll hide the posts until they are 'officially released', but we will allow them to be posted.


This is an email I received from Corp regarding coupon use (2007) - NeedNewShoes

Quote : Dear Ms. Jen : Thank you for taking the time to contact CVS/pharmacy with your inquiry regarding CVS/pharmacy coupon policies and proceedures. I hope that the following information will help to clarify things for your group. We value our savvy coupon shoppers at CVS/pharmacy. As of June 2007 however, we are no longer accepting expired coupons. Like many companies, we cheerfully reset expired coupons for many years to accommodate our wonderful customers. The recent change in proceedure can only be attributed to loss prevention. CVS/pharmacy will accept coupons printed from the Internet. They must have a legible barcode that scans at the register. If the coupon does not scan at the register, the cashier should politely inform you that we are unable to accept your coupon. We do not allow manual overrides at the register for coupons printed from the Internet. Our registers are set to allow 1 CVS coupon and 1 manufacturer coupon per item. However, the staff should be allowing customers to use Extra Bucks in combination with other CVS coupons since these are coupons you have “earned.” In addition, similarly they should be allowing the use of “offer at the register” coupons which would be an open offer of $3 off of $15 or a certain dollar amount off of a specific item. Since our registers are programmed to only accept 2 coupons (1 CVS, 1 manufacturer) per item if the number of coupons exceed the items purchased a member of management will need to assist the cashier in processing the coupons. I apologize in advance for any inconvenience. But once again, I thank you for contacting us. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us again. Sincerely,

Post from 4/4/10 re CVS coupon policy (original post here)

Quote : Dear XXXX, Thank you for contacting CVS/pharmacy. Your e-mail has reached the Customer Relations Department. We appreciate the time you took to contact us with your inquiry. Our registers are set to allow 1 CVS coupon and 1 manufacturer coupon per item. Free coupons or "offers at the register'"(OAR's) are unearned and issued to you as a valued member of the CVS/pharmacy ExtraCare program. These coupons take the form of "open ended" coupons such as $3 off $15 or a certain dollar amount off a specific item. In any given transaction our registers will allow only one "open ended" coupon per transaction. CVS Extra Buck coupons are earned when you make a qualifying purchase. These print out instantly at the register upon reaching the threshold for the offer. You can use more than one Extra Buck coupon provided the purchase threshold has been met for each offer amount on a per-transaction basis. In the case where a particular item is on sale for "buy one get one free" (BOGO), you are only allowed to use one manufacturer's BOGO coupon. For instance, if Revlon lipstick is on sale for BOGO, you can use one manufacturer's BOGO coupon. You would get both items free and pay any applicable tax. The use of this coupon/sale combination can be limited by the Store Manager after the first purchase. If our store is running a sale for BOGO, you can use two manufacturer's coupons for a specific dollar amount off. For example, if Revlon lipstick is on sale at our store for BOGO, you can use two $1.00 off Revlon lipstick manufacturer coupons. In your case, you were buying four Herbal Essences hair care products. You had two manufacturer coupons for buy one get one free, thus you would have only been charged for two products plus tax. You could also use the CVS coupon for $1.00 off two herbal essence shampoos. Though one of the shampoos were free from the manufacturer's coupon, you are still purchasing two items so the $1.00 coupon is allowed. I am very sorry for any problem you had at the store and the cashier's obvious lack of training on proper coupon procedure. The Shift Supervisor was correct in that you could use all three coupons. If you would like to provide me with the location of the store you visited, I can certainly make the District Manager aware of the issue so this can be addressed with the Store Manager and staff. Again XXXX, thank you for contacting us. We value your business and look forward to serving you in the future. Have a wonderful weekend! Sincerely, Danielle CVS/pharmacy Customer Relations 08169638

SD's official policy regarding the use of BOGO q's with $/1 q's here
[quote]
FYI - the B1G1 Guidelines - Keep in mind all sections that address "14" coding
B1G1 Coupon usage guideline.
Guidelines Regarding a B1G1 manufacturer coupon with a regular manufacturer coupon.

Thanks to another user who helps out in the RA threads for the template on the guidelines.

A) B1G1 coupons say buy X get Y free. So if the coupon is coded "01", the coupon is actually only applied to the one that you get free, in this case Y.

There is nothing to say that you can not use another coupon on the one product you are actually buying, in this case X. So YES, you CAN use a $1 off 1 coupon on X.

However, If the coupon is coded "14", then the coupon attaches to both items and you will not be able to put an additional coupon on the "X" item.

Example: Buy 2 HE products use one $1 off 1 HE and 1 X B1G1
This is YMMV according to many stores and only allowed if the coupon is coded "01".

If the coupon was coded "14" then you cannot do this as the register will beep. Asking the cashier to force through that coupon in this situation will be considered illegal activity and will not be allowed here on SD.

The manufacturer can choose the coding in this case ("01") or ("14") and this determines if the manufacturer will allow you to do the above or not.

B) Using the example above you can NOT use a $1 dollar off 2 items because that coupon applies to 2 products.

Example: Buy 2 HE products and use $1 off WYB 2 HE products and 1 X B1G1. <--- This is illegal activity.

OK to do: If you buy a total of 4 products you can use 2 B1G1 coupons + $1 dollar wyb 2. In this situation you have 4 products: The 2 B1G1 coupons applies to 2 products and the $1 dollar wyb 2 applies to the other 2 products for a total of 4.
Again, this can only be done if the B1G1 are coded "01" -- if they are coded "14" then you would only be able to use the 2 B1G1 coupons only. This is YMMV according to many stores.

C) The rule of thumb is that you can NOT have more coupons than products.
Example: Buy 2 herbal essences use two $1 dollar off 1 product and 1 X B1G1. <--- This is Illegal activity

There is too many coupons for the number of products. See number 1 for the correct scenario.

D) WYB VS. AND: If a coupon says Save $1.00 on X WYB Y, you CAN use a coupon $1.00 off 1 coupon on Y. If a coupon says Save $1.00 on X AND Y, then you can NOT use another coupon on either X or Y because the coupon applies to BOTH products.


Example of an abusive situation:

You cannot abuse the system like this: Buy two of product x and use a coupon of $5 off 2 products of x AND also the $1 off product x just because the $5 off 2 products is only coded for 1 product ("74").