CVS 101

I love shopping at CVS! Before you go, there are some things you should know.

EXTRACARE CARD
This is CVS' loyalty card. You must use this card when you shop at CVS to get sale pricing and earn "extrabuck"s or ECBs. You can sign up for an Extracare Card at your local CVS.
After doing so, head over to cvs.com to register your card online.
Then you will be able to track your spending which is important for ECBs.

EXTRACARE BUCKS or ECBs
ECBs are CVS exclusive coupons that you can earn for buying special items. The items change every week. ECBs can be spent on anything in the store. There is usually a limit of how many ECBs you can earn per special item purchased. You can find out which items will earn ECBs by checking out the current ad or looking for special markers on tags in the store.

For example (taken out of the ad):
Buy 2 Nivea Products and Earn $5 ECB
Limit 1

So.. you would buy 2 Nivea products and when your receipt prints, you will have a $5 ECB. You can only earn the ECB once.
Do not throw away your receipts! You must keep the printed ECB in order to use it!

MAGIC COUPON MACHINE
There is a coupon machine in CVS. Scan your card there everyday up to two times to receive CVS coupons.

CVS COUPON POLICY
CVS accepts most manufacturer coupons. You can also "stack" manufacturer coupons with CVS store coupons for more savings. CVS manufacturer coupons can be found  here.

Here is a copy of the CVS coupon policy.

BEAUTY CLUB
This program is an extension of the ECB program. For every $50 you spend on beauty products, you will earn a $5 ECB through the magic coupon machine.
For more information and to register click here.

SPENDING CASH BACK
You can earn up to 2% of your seasonal spending back. It is important to register your card online in order to track your seasonal spending. At the end of the season, up to 2% of your total dollar amount spent will be awarded to you in an ECB from the magic coupon machine.

Be sure to sign up for the CVS newsletter so you do not miss out on additional savings! Also, be sure to log into your account frequently because CVS has been known to put out high value coupons that can be loaded to your CVS card.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
So how do you put this program to use?

Let's look back at our Nivea sale example for a sample scenario:


Buy 2 Nivea Products and Earn $5 ECB
Limit 1

Nivea Products are on sale 2/$5
I have a manufacturer coupon for $3/2
I have a CVS coupon for $1/2 (remember you can use a CVS coupon and a manufacturer coupon)

Before coupon total: $5
After coupon total: $1
I also earn a $5 ECB for buying 2 Nivea Products


So in essence, CVS paid me $4 to buy these products!


This is just an example. 

CVS SALES CYCLE
CVS sales run Sunday through Saturday. At 24 Hour stores, the sale usually starts on Saturday evening.
You can call your local CVS on Saturday to find out if they started the sale so you can beat the coupon crowd on Sunday morning. Sadly, if you do not get to CVS early to pick up deals, the shelves will be clear by the time you get there. You can always request a raincheck, but you will not always be able to earn ECBs on rainchecked items.

GREEN BAG TAG


The Green Bag Tag is a small tag you can affix to your shopping bag or key ring. Every time you make a purchase at CVS, have the cashier scan your tag. Every 4th purchase, you will receive a $1 ECB! They will add up! You can find these near the registers.





Happy Shopping!