Drugstores carry everything from health and beauty items to school supplies and kitchenware, often at relatively low prices. We looked at three nationwide chain drugstores to decipher their rewards programs and let you in on the potential perks and pitfalls.
Rite Aid
Sign up for a Rite Aid Rewards account to be eligible for several discounts at Rite-Aid and to earn reward points for purchases. If you sign up in your local store, make sure to register your account online as well. Downloading their app is the easiest way to ensure quick access to any coupons, points or other rewards you may want to use, but it is not required to join the program.
When you sign up, you’ll instantly have access to members-only sale pricing and discounts throughout the store — just make sure to check the weekly ad. You’ll also get e-mail deals and offers.
You can earn 10 points for every dollar spent on qualifying products and up to 750 points per qualifying prescription. (Prescriptions through government programs earn 10 points per $1 copay.) You can also earn 250 points on qualifying vaccinations (excluding COVID vaccines).
Each 1,000 points is eligible for a $2 BonusCash redemption, but points expire after 30 days. You can also earn extra BonusCash by buying certain products. (As with the other drugstore programs, BonusCash isn’t really cash; it’s a discount deducted from your subsequent purchases.)
If you’re looking for more coupon opportunities, their digital coupon feature (formerly referred to as Load2Card) is a convenient tool that lets you select coupons online, load them directly into your Rite Aid Rewards account and redeem them at your local Rite Aid store or online. All the coupons you want, with absolutely no printing required. You can also “stack” coupons for bigger savings, meaning you can use both a Rite-Aid coupon and a manufacturer’s coupon toward the purchase of a single item.
Rite Aid also has a wellness program for those 65 and older, known as Rite Aid Rewards 65+. The free program includes 5 times the points on eligible purchases on the first Wednesday of each month, as well as special monthly activities featuring a different health topic each month. Membership also includes a free pharmacist consultation, which includes a review of your medications, your immunization needs, free pharmacy services, free blood pressure screening and discussion of Medicare Part D questions. You can sign up online or at your local Rite-Aid.
Find other deals and exclusive offers at Rite-Aid’s Facebook page, or on Twitter, @riteaid.
Walgreens
Join Walgreens’ myWalgreens reward program by signing up online, on their app or in-store at checkout.
The program helps you earn 1% Walgreens Cash rewards on qualifying purchases in-store and online, including those made at the pharmacy. (However, a prescription with a $0 copay won’t earn Walgreens Cash rewards because you didn’t pay anything out of pocket for the prescription.)
If you want to earn more, buy Walgreens branded products — they’ll score you 5% in Walgreens Cash rewards. Once you’ve earned enough points, you can redeem your rewards on Walgreens purchases. $1 in Walgreens Cash reward is worth $1 off your future purchase. However, Walgreens Cash rewards can’t be used towards the purchase of prescriptions or other pharmacy items.
AARP members earn 10% Walgreens Cash rewards on Walgreens branded health and wellness products, 7% on Walgreens branded beauty and personal care products and 3% on other qualifying beauty and personal care products. Make sure to link your myWalgreens and AARP memberships to use these benefits.
Walgreens Cash rewards expire 12 months after they are originally earned. If you have not used your Walgreens Cash rewards in a transaction for six consecutive calendar months, then your membership will be deemed inactive and all accumulated Walgreens Cash rewards will be forfeited.
Watch the company’s Facebook page or Twitter feed, @Walgreens, for special offers.
Photo: Deposit Photos
CVS
If you haven’t shopped at CVS in a while, you may be surprised to learn that the mile-long receipts with their rewards and coupons are a thing of the past. CVS has gone (mostly) digital with their member rewards program called ExtraCare.
Now, you get an ExtraBucks Rewards coupon in the CVS Pharmacy app and on CVS.com every time you shop. Send it to your ExtraCare card, where it will be ready for you to redeem.
If you choose not to redeem rewards digitally, you’ll receive a quarterly printout of your accumulated rewards balance (a minimum purchase may apply). For digital users, ExtraBucks Rewards that are unused and have not been sent to their ExtraCare card will be reissued on a printed coupon at the end of the quarter (minimum balance may apply).
You earn 2% back in ExtraBucks Rewards every time you shop with your ExtraCare card. You can also earn on CVS purchases made through Instacart or Shipt if you provide your ExtraCare card number. (Rewards aren’t available on some items, including prescriptions, alcohol, postage stamps, newspapers and magazines.) Your membership will also allow you to automatically snag the sale prices seen in their weekly ad. And, you get a $3 ExtraBucks Reward on your birthday.
Sign up for ExtraCare Pharmacy & Health Rewards with your same ExtraCare card and earn up to $50 in rewards per year. You can also enroll your family members — including your pets! — to earn points faster.
Joining the ExtraCare BeautyClub is another way you can earn rewards points. You can earn $3 ExtraBucks rewards when you spend $30 a month on beauty items.
The 2% back in ExtraBucks Rewards expires 90 days from the end of each calendar quarter following their date of issue (March 31, June 30, Sept. 30, Dec. 31).
For couponers, you can combine an in-store coupon or deal with a manufacturer’s coupon. The store’s coupon policy page includes an example of a “buy one, get one free” shampoo deal, and using two “$1 off one” manufacturer’s coupons to receive both bottles of shampoo free.
The company also has a Facebook page and a Twitter feed, @CVSPharmacy,that announces exclusive discounts and online sales.
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I’ve found all of those stores prices, especially Walgreens, are super high, even with a reward card. I did like Walgreens drive-thru pharmacy when my daughter was little (she’s disabled).
But I prefer Target for its pharmacy. Love the packaging, the color coding, and the rewards – fill 5 Rx (or faster b/c they run 2X specials) and get a 5% off coupon for a day’s shopping in-store and another to use online. You can stack it with RedCard (5%), Target coupons, Cartwheel, and manufacturers coupons.