Walgreens will be launching their new Balance Rewards program this Sunday, September 16th. This program reminds me an awful lot of Rite Aid’s Wellness Program, in that you earn points based on your purchases. You also get the sale prices only if you are a Balance Rewards member.
You can then redeem the Rewards for future purchases.
According to the short video on their website, here is the dollar equivalent:
- 5,000 points = $5
- 40,000 points = $50
How hard is it to earn points? The video provided these examples, which I’m assuming are hypothetical:
- Cookies = 100 points
- Toothpaste = 250 points
- Bread = 500 points
- Paper Towels = 1,500 points
- Laundry Detergent = 3,000 points
You can also earn points for doing things like getting a flu shot, filling a prescription, or participating in the Walk with Walgreens program (1 mile = 10 points). Also, online purchases qualify for points.
If you are interested, you can sign up for Walgreens Balance Rewards Program online, and I’m sure they’ll have in-store sign ups starting this Sunday. I decided to take a sneak peek at this upcoming week’s ad to see how these deals would be presented to the consumer. Here’s an example:
(Image taken from screen shot of ad at iheartwags)
In this specific example, you’d need to be enrolled in the Balance Rewards program to receive the sale of buy one, get one 50% off, and obviously you’d need to be signed up to receive your points. At the top end, you’d get 3,000 points for buying $15 worth, which is roughly $3. Also of note, there were a couple Rewards deals in the ad that clearly pointed to using coupons while still earning points.
In case you’re wondering, this week’s ad also has Register Reward offers, but I wouldn’t at all be surprised if they start to phase that program out as they make a push for customers to sign up for the new Balance Rewards program.
What do I think about all this? While the program may in fact be a good one, it confirms my decision to focus my attention here at The Coupon Project on grocery deals while only highlighting occasional drugstore deals. I personally like shopping trips that are hassle-free, single transaction, and don’t involve complex math equations done on the fly at the store. It seems that the drugstores more frequently change their programs and policies than grocery stores, making it difficult for the occasional shopper.
But what about you? Does this change your feelings about shopping at Walgreens more positive, or less positive? How are you feeling about shopping the drugstores in general?
Thanks for the heads up, Frugal Living NW!
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Part of the appeal of Walgreens for me was that there was no special program. I didn’t have to keep track of rewards or anything. I’d shop there every couple weeks or so when I needed to and be grateful for good deals and Register Rewards I’d then use later either at Walgreens or FredMeyer. Now Walgreens is no better than Rite Aid so I’ll probably skip them unless you bring something amazing to my attention.
Kind of sad about it, really.
I’m with Daizy on this one. So sad. The last points program we had down in the Portland area wasn’t very good and not very easy to use. We were one of the pilot programs. Everyone I know wasn’t very happy with it.
Ugh another card. I’m with you I like hassle free. RR’s allow me to plan ahead knowing I would be getting something tangible in my hand that I could use right away. Another card for my card key ring and another point system to manage. I’ll give it a try, if it is easy to track points and cash them in I may stay.
I want the RR!!!! i’m not shopping there anymore unless absolutely need it.
I stopped shopping at Walgreens and Rite Aid about 6 months ago. The planning for coupon trips that involved rewards took a while. Then it was EVERY time I went there, the shelves would be bare and my deals fell apart. Grocery store deals work better for me because like you said, they are straight forward and you can do everything in one trip.
I’m with everyone else. Sometimes I would go to Walgreens bc I knew I wouldn’t have to find a card. Now I’ll avoid them bc I have a card for everywhere else and I’d rather not sign up for yet ANOTHER one.
Ditto on all comments. Time consumption! RR’s are much more simple.
I’d be very happy to dump all the coupon/reward programs but I have not paid for toiletries(except for tax) for over 15 years thanks in a big way to Rite-Aid and Walgreens…just wish we could get CVS in the Puget Sound area..I always shop there when visiting in the midwest and I am never disappointed in their”deals”. A special treat when we go to Oregon and I do not pay tax on all those toiletries..My grown kids “shop” at my stockpile often and we donate the excess. I have done the “deals” for so long that it comes naturally to me and the blogs have really made it easy. Thanks for all your hard work!
I live in Portland, so I was in the test market for this program. It’s awful and obnoxious in pretty much every way and I quit shopping at Walgreens entirely until they got rid of the pilot program for the rewards card and went back to register rewards. Rite Aid’s points program is very different. The points you earn at Rite Aid have no cash value, they just help you to earn a potential “wellness discount” if you accumulate over a certain amount of points. It’s separate from the +up rewards, not in lieu of them, which is the case with Walgreens program. If Walgreens program was like Rite Aid’s I would still shop there, but it’s not. Oh well, one less stop on my errand runs, I won’t be going to Walgreens any more.