CVS is one of my favorite place to shop for almost everything from food to baby needs to all the drug store usuals. I think I’ve done a pretty good job mastering the in-store deal stacking, e.g. see How To Save 82% Off Baby Formula (And More).
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Now, here is a good example of CVS online savings using a CVS coupon code stacked with more savings.
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How I saved 62% on a product that is very hard to ever find on sale —
Item: Dr. Scholl’s Custom Fit Orthotic Inserts
CVS Online Cost: $54.99
Amazon Cost: $49.99 with free Prime shipping (tempting, but this is better)
Dip 1: CVS Save-A-Thon Online Sale — Use CVS Coupon Code SAVE30
CVS online sales often run 20-30% off, but have a lot of exclusions. Be sure the code applies to the product(s) in your cart. The common CVS coupon codes SAVE30 and SAVE20 entered in the shopping basket screen.
Exclusions for the current sale are:
Offer available online only. Expires 9/19/15 at 11:59 PM ET. To receive the 30% discount, enter coupon code SAVE30 at Checkout. The 30% discount cannot be combined with another product sale running at the same time. You will receive the larger discount. The following products and brands are excluded from the discount: Baby Food & Formula, Essie, HP, IMAK, Jawbone, Lift Chairs, Misfit, Oraquick, Prevagen, Preseed, and Zanfel. The 30% discount also excludes prescriptions and gift cards and is not valid for orders placed on CVSphoto.com and CVS/pharmacy Optical. Savings are not transferable. No cash back. Tax charged on pre-coupon price where required. Tax and shipping charges are not applicable towards your order total. Free standard shipping applies to a nonprescription order that totals $49 or more after all discounts have been applied. There may be an additional shipping and handling surcharge associated with particular items in your order. You will be notified of any such charges during Checkout if they apply to items in your order.
Savings: -$16.50
Dip 2: Veterans Advantage Savings Coupon
While this savings program is a paid membership program, I have found the benefits quickly cover the annual fee. See the membership qualifications here to see if you are eligible (you do not personally need to be a veteran) and the membership fee options.
This 20% off coupon has some pros and cons:
PROS – Redeem in-store or online; free shipping included; no limit to coupons used; no limit on redemption value (Step 1 CVS coupons above are typically maxed at $99.00); in store: 20% off retail price, NOT discounted price after applying other discounts; able to be combined with other coupons and CVS ExtraCare Card savings.
CONS – Not applicable to sale items; excludes prescriptions and other excluded items; must print out hard copies (TIP: each coupon is exactly half a page in size, so print two on the same piece of paper each time); short life span of one week from printing; online: 20% off sale price, NOT discounted price after applying other discounts.
Savings:
-$7.70 for stacked 20% off sale price (I would have saved $11.00 in-store with 20% off retail price instead)
($5.49 free shipping benefit)
Dip 3: Manufacturer’s Rebate
Don’t forget to check the product’s website for additional coupons and rebate options. This product has a $10 rebate promotion running until the end of the year. Score!
Savings: -$10.00
Dip 4: Earn Miles/Points/Cash Back For Online Purchase
Make your purchase with your favorite earnings credit or debit card. I’m going with my trusty United MileagePlus Club card (a great credit card not just for the 1.5x miles per $1; see One of MY Favorite United Club Card Benefits and Why!)
SUMMARY
$54.99 Retail price
-$16.50 CVS ExtraCare Coupon
-$7.70 Veterans Advantage Coupon + Free Shipping
-$10.00 MF Rebate
$20.79 (62% off retail!)
Happy savings!
OT: And don’t forget to look for extreme clearance items for some charity giving!
http://travelblawg.boardingarea.com/cvs-clearance-charitable-donations/
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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission.
You can get cvs gift cards for 18% off via gift card granny which is stackable with coupons which would save you even more.
Absolutely, Eric! And I love giftcardgranny too!
I discussed this added stack/dip to achieve more savings in my post How To Save 82% Off Baby Formula (And More), but didn’t mention it for this online savings example because I didn’t see where you can use a CVS gift card for an online purchase. If you see otherwise, let me know! Thanks!
While CVS does have good sale prices, their non-sale prices are atrocious and it’s becoming like Kohls or Macys when you don’t want to shop there without a “feel-good” coupon. Last week, I went to buy deodorant and I had a manufacturer’s BOGOF coupon covering the retail price up to $4.29. CVS’s non-sale price is $5.29! (Typical for CVS in my experience). But it was on-sale that week for $4. However if it was not on sale and I had one of the 25% off non-sale item coupons, then it would be $3.96. I didn’t even check that coupon center… Read more »
Very good point about what good are sales and coupons when the original marked-up price eats that savings!
Sometimes it is worth saving the MF coupons, etc. to stack with the sale or BOGO deals that top even the stacked 50% off regular priced savings. Other times, certain products just never or very rarely go on sale, such as the hi-cal baby formula I mention in my previous post.
Interesting about the Veterans Advantage program – I was not aware of this before your post. I can’t really find all that much about the benefits online other than discounts with “leading travel providers and retailers.” I’m not really interested in the insurance or prescription drug plans, but the discounts sound interesting. Are there any other worthwhile discounts besides CVS? A little confused on the savings. You say, in store: 20% off retail price, NOT discounted price after applying other discounts; -$7.70 for stacked 20% off sale price (I would have saved $11.00 in-store with 20% off retail price instead),… Read more »
Thanks for the comment, Greg. 1. Other Veterans Advantage discounts that catch my eye include Amtrak (15% off you and family; website remembers your number) and United, Lufthansa (5% off you and family). 2. From my experience, using the Vet Adv. 20% off in a brick and mortar store takes the percentage off the full retail price as opposed to its use online takes the percentage off the already reduced price. (I’m not that great at math, but I know when a sale item is 50% off and the sign says “take an additional 25% off” it does NOT total… Read more »