Walgreens: Balance Rewards woes

 

At Walgreens today, I finally had earned enough Balance Rewards points to earn $5 off my next purchase. Woohoo! But since this wasn't the first time, I wasn't sure of the rules. I thought I had heard that if you used the Balance Rewards reward, you couldn't earn points on that transaction. But I wasn't sure.

So I asked my cashier, who was the assistant manager, if you could earn points when you used the Balance Rewards discount. He said yes, you could.

So instead of dividing my purchases into two transactions, I did it all in one. And when I checked my receipt... the points I was supposed to earn weren't there.

I pointed this out, and suggested he return my points-earning items and resell them. But he pointed out correctly that I would lose my $5 savings that way. After checking with the manager, he gave me a credit of the 1000 points I should have earned directly to my card.

So it all worked out in the end, and I admit I should've been clearer on the Balance Rewards rules, but it would've been nice if the assistant manager actually knew how his store's rewards program worked!

And... if my experience wasn't clear: If you use Balance Rewards money to pay for a transaction, you will not earn Balance Rewards points on that transaction. Got it? Hope I remember that next time.

Here's what I got:



2 Honey Nut Cheerios @ $1.99 = $3.98
- 2 $0.50/1 Honey Nut Cheerios cereal
= $2.98 for two, or $1.49 each

4 Betty Crocker cookie mix @ $1.50 = $6.00 (earn 1000 Balance Rewards points)
- 4 $0.50/1 Betty Crocker Cookie Mix
= $4.00 for four, or $1.00 each

1 Goody Colour Collection Contour Clips @ $2.00 (receive $2 RR)
= $2.00 (free after RRs)

2 Xtra laundry detergent, 30 loads @ $2.99 = $5.98
(I had seen in a matchup that these were $1.50 each, but I neglected to check my own ad.  It wasn't available at my store, but I didn't realize that until... uh.... just now.  Oops.  Always check your local ad!)

- $5 off next purchase (Balance Rewards)

Tax: 48¢

Total spent: $10.44
Total saved compared to Walgreens full prices: $19.15
Received $2 RR and 1000 Balance Rewards points

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