CVS Coupon Policy 2016
As most of you already know, CVS released a new Coupon Policy over a week ago. The policy has much more detailed information and left us with some unanswered questions. These questions were listed in our original post announcing the CVS Coupon Policy update. You can review the new policy here.
As I had mentioned originally in our original post, the majority of the coupon policy is just reworded items and basic information that was not in the old policy. Information such as “All Paper Coupons must be presented during checkout in order to receive credit” is pretty obvious. My theory on the majority of items listed in the policy is that CVS needed to put some type of guidelines in place to allow their employees to, more easily, enforce their existing policy. So, spelling things out in detail was a way CVS felt that could do that.
Through my travels and discussions with employees, couponers, coupon clearing houses and even store corporate offices, I have seen and heard of rampant misuse of coupons. Using multiple store loyalty cards (as many as 20 cards for one person) and clearing out store shelves happens way too often. Using coupons on items that they are not meant for just because “the cashier didn’t know better” is just a small portion of the things I’ve seen and heard about. It’s frustrating and embarrassing and gives couponers a bad name.
With all that said, although the changes to the coupon policy, at first glance, look as though they may not be in our favor, for the most part, almost everything remains the same as we know it except. Here are a couple of items they will be enforcing more:
- Not accepting ECBs, CVS coupons or manufacturer coupons that are expired
- You can only use one item, brand, or category specific CVS Pharmacy coupon and one manufacturer’s coupon
Here is the CVS/Pharmacy response to our general questions regarding the policy
“We have policies and procedures in place to reduce any confusion and ensure that customers have a consistent, positive experience when using coupons or rewards in our stores. We have also provided our staff with tools to more easily and consistently enforce our existing policies. CVS Pharmacy will continue to accept CVS Pharmacy coupons (ExtraCare® Coupons and other CVS Pharmacy store-issued coupons), ExtraBucks® Rewards and Third-party Manufacturer Coupons in retail stores.
The new processes and tools that we put in place were implemented to help ensure a consistent experience for customers across all CVS Pharmacy locations, and should have no impact for customers who want to continue to use their valid coupons.”
CVS/Pharmacy Response to our questions
New Policy
“CVS Pharmacy coupons generally cannot be used on sale, promotional or clearance items. Other restrictions may apply. Language at the bottom of coupons may provide additional coupon acceptance rules.”
Our question: First, we would like to clarify which CVS Coupons they are referring to. Does it include all or any of the following: CVS coupons from coupons.com, CVS coupons from the red box, CVS coupons mailed, CVS coupons printed at the end of your reciept or CVS coupons from the CVS app. Second, what are the considering promotion? Does that include products that are included in ExtraCare Rewards deals?
CVS/Pharmacy response:
“CVS Pharmacy coupons can be applied to all non-promotion or non-clearance items. Clearance or promotion items are typically discounted products tied to a sale, such as “Buy One Get One,” ExtraBucks Reward deals or items featured in the CVS Pharmacy weekly ad. As coupon exclusions may vary, we recommend customers to always refer to the language at the bottom of each coupon for additional details.”
New Policy:
“You can only use one item-, brand-, or category-specific CVS Pharmacy coupon and one manufacturer’s coupon per qualifying item unless prohibited by either coupon. We honor manufacturer limitations
CVS/Pharmacy response:
“CVS Pharmacy customers will continue to be able to stack one manufacturer coupon with one store (CVS Pharmacy) coupon for each item purchased, as long as all requirements are met, as nothing has changed in terms of how coupons can be combined.”
New Policy (located in the FAQ section):
” Percent-off coupons may be used on non-promotional/non-sale items:
Our Question: This goes back to the first question…what is considered promotional? Previously we have been able to use percent off coupons on items included in an ExtraCare Rewards deal as long as it was not on sale. Has this changed?
Example:
1. Buy 2 Pantene Get a $5 ECB with Pantene being full price. Use 25% off coupon that works towards the full price of the Pantene.
CVS/Pharmacy Response:
“Clearance or promotion items are typically discounted products tied to a sale, such as “Buy One Get One,” ExtraBucks Reward deals or items featured in the CVS Pharmacy weekly ad. CVS Pharmacy customers can continue to use percent-off coupons on items as long as the item is not already discounted as part of a promotion or sale. As coupon exclusions may vary, we recommend customers to always refer to the language at the bottom of each coupon for additional details.”
Our Comment: I believe that this has remained the same because of this statement, “CVS Pharmacy customers can continue to use percent-off coupons on items as long as the item is not already discounted as part of a promotion or sale”. We’ve already known that to be the case. The deduction of the percentage off is really out of our control and the control of the cashier as the register will automatically that the discount on the qualifying items. However, it is nice to know ahead of time, what you’ll be getting money off on. Makes planning easier.
New Policy Regarding using expired ECBs
Nothing was mentioned about no longer accepting expired Extracare Rewards. CVS has always accepted expired Extracare Rewards previously but there have been rumors that they will no longer be doing that. We’d like confirmation on that.
CVS/Pharmacy Response:
It has always been CVS Pharmacy’s policy to honor all coupons and rewards that are within their expiration date. Nothing has changed in terms of what coupons are accepted within our coupon policy itself, and our policy prohibits the use of expired coupons or ExtraBucks Rewards.
Speak out on the Changes to the CVS Coupon Policy
We’d love to hear your questions or concerns about the new CVS Coupon Policy.