New to shopping at CVS?  Here is an easy-to-use guide to help you!

CVS Extra Care Card

The first thing that you should know about shopping at CVS is that CVS has a customer loyalty card called the CVS Extra Care Card.  Extra Care Cards are Free and easy to obtain.  The next time you are in the store, you can pick one up at any register.  You should bring this card with you every time that you shop at CVS.  Here’s why:

1.  CVS specially priced items and sales are only available if you use your Extra Care Card
2. You earn 2% back on all of your purchases.
3. You will only earn Extra Care Bucks (more info below) if you have an Extra Care Card
4. You can scan your Extra Care Card at the coupon center every time you shop for possible bonus coupons!
5. If you register your Extra Care Card online, CVS will occasionally send you coupons that you can use in the store.
    

Extra Care Coupon Center

CVS has an Extra Care Coupon Center that is usually near the registers at the front of the store.  It looks like this:

You should visit the Extra Care Coupon Center before you begin shopping and scan your Extra Care Card.  It will print any available coupons or Extra Care Bucks that you have available.  CVS allows one manufacturer coupon and one CVS coupon per item.

ECB – Extra Care Bucks

Extra care bucks are CVS incentives that you earn by purchasing items that have ECBs as promotions.  Once you purchase the item that has the promotion, your Extra Care Bucks will print at the bottom of your receipt.  If you purchase two items or promotions that earn Extra Care Bucks, they will each print separately.  You can cut these off and put them in your coupon binder, bag or box depending on how you organize your coupons.  These bucks can be used like cash the next time that you shop. 

There are two different ways to maximize your savings by using Extra Care Bucks.  The first way is commonly called “Rolling ECB.”  Rolling is when you use ECB to purchase items that also include ECB.  This is when you make an initial purchase that gives you ECB as a reward.  You are out of pocket all of the money for your first, initial purchase.  Then, you come back to the store and use your ECBs on your next purchase.  However, instead of purchasing an item that isn’t on sale, you only purchase items that also have ECBs attached to their promotion.  So it works like this:

You purchased three promotions that included ECBs totaling $12.00.  The next week, you check your CVS Matchups and find two more promotions including ECBs that you want to purchase.  The total out of pocket for these items is $13.00, with NEW ECBs totaling $8.00.  Your purchase will look like this:

Item one: Cost $3.00, ECB earned $3.00

Item Two: Cost $7.00, ECB earned $3.00

Item Three: Cost $3.00, ECB earned $2.00

Total Price: $13.00, ECB earned $8.00

ECB from previous shopping trip: $12.00

$13.00 Total minus $12.00 ECB = $1.00 Out of Pocket

$8.00 earned ECB to use on your next shopping trip

You have now successfully ROLLED your first ECBs. 

 The next way that people use their ECB is to use them in the same trip that they earn them.  You can do this by making separate transactions for each purchase.  If there are multiple ECB deals that you are purchasing, you would make each purchase a separate transaction.  That way, you can use the ECB from your first purchase to pay for your second purchase.  Then, you can use the ECB from your second purchase to pay for your third purchase etc.  

An important thing to keep in mind is that each ECB that you earn should be used IN FULL when you make your purchase.  For example, if you have an ECB worth $8.00, you want to make sure that your total purchase, AFTER all of your coupons will cost at least $8.00 before tax.  If your purchase only costs $5.00, you can use your ECB… but you will lose the $3.00 that you have left in ECB.  You will not receive cash back and you will not receive an ECB for the remaining amount.  CVS usually has limits on the amount that one person or household can purchase and still earn ECBs.  You can still purchase the item after you have reached your limit, but you will not receive any additional ECBs for doing so. 

CVS Deals:

You can find great CVS deals by using our CVS Matchups here at Coupon Spice.  You can also find your own deals by checking the CVS Weekly deal ad and the CVS Monthly ad.  One of the great things about CVS is that you can use a Manufacturer coupon, a CVS coupon and earn ECBs on the same promotional item.  CVS will often run deals that earn as many ECBs as the price of the item, so it is like getting the item for FREE.  If you have a coupon for the same item, you can actually earn more ECBs than what you paid for the item.  For example:

CVS is running a deal on Tylenol.  The price for the Tylenol is $5.99 and you earn $5.99 in ECBs for making the purchase.  You have a manufacturer’s coupon for $2.00 off any Tylenol purchase. Your coupon will make the price of the Tylenol $3.99, but you will still earn ECBs in the amount of $5.99.  By purchasing this deal, you are making a $2.00 profit!

Coupon Order:

As with any store, it is important to give your coupons in a certain order to maximize your savings.  At CVS, you should give your coupons in this order:

First, use any coupons that are for an amount off of a specific total purchase, i.e. $5.00 off a $25.00 purchase.  By using these coupons first, you can ensure that you meet the total price requirements for the coupons.

Manufacturer and CVS coupons

Extra Care Bucks should always go last.  That way, you can make sure that your final total will be high enough that you do not waste any ECBs.

CVS Coupon Policy

You can find their coupon policy here:  CVS Coupon Policy

CVS Matchups:

You can find my matchups for CVS here: CVS Matchups.  I have done the work for you, but remember that your ad may be slightly different than mine depending on your location.  If you have any questions about shopping at CVS, please let me know!