Last week, I decided to put the CVS spend $30 on select items and get a $10 gas card promotion to the test. I'm always skeptical when retailers push you to spend in order to get something back, but I'm always on the prowl for a true bargain. So, if you want to try to "earn" the gift card, here are a few pointers.
- The $30 minimum spend is BEFORE coupons, not after. This is the real trick to making this worth it. If the specially-marked items can be matched with a manufacturer's coupon, this can be a really great deal, because you can walk out of the store with a $10 gas card after having paid next to nothing.
- Sometimes, they have good deals on things you actually need. Last week, it was Arm & Hammer laundry detergent. It made it worth it for me to try.
- Many of the items in the $30 promotion are luxuries-- things you don't need and wouldn't normally spend money on if you didn't have to. Like candy. This is the slippery slope.
Bearing this in mind, I hit the CVS last Wednesday, armed with the sales flyer and a fistful of coupons. My target the 2/$4.97 Herbal Essence and Aussie products, as well as the $2/7 laundry detergent. I had $4 worth of coupons for every two hair products, which brought the price down to about 50 cents each. And, I had two coupons good for $1 off 2 laundry products.
I bought four laundry detergents for a total of $14. Halfway there.Actual cost: $12 after coupons
I bought four hair products for a total of $9.94. Actual out of pocket: $1.94
Total left to needed to earn gift card: $6.06. The six cents proved to be the hardest. I couldn't find anything I wanted or needed worth $6.06, although I had a coupon for $1 off two bags of M&Ms. Total $6. I still needed to spend 6 more cents to get the card. Of course, nothing on special cost six cents, so I ended up buying the cheapest thing possible to get the card: a $1.87 candy bar.
I wasn't too thrilled about this. I realized this is how they make money on this. I spent $7.87 (6.87 after coupon) on candy to earn the $10 gift card. Was it worth it? It was fun to try.
This deal isn't all bad though. If you are organized and get and save multiple copies of all of the Sunday coupons circulars, this can be a real boon.
For instance, if I had had more copies of the coupons for hair products, I could have loaded up on super cheap (to me) but high-quality shampoos, conditioners, and styling products for a cost of less than 50 cents per product, while earning almost $2.50 per item toward the $30 minimum spend.
Since I didn't have more than two copies of each coupon, the better strategy for me would have been to cherry pick. Just go in and get the hair products and laundry detergent, and skip the gas card promotion. I would have left without a gas card, but spending less money and having purchased only items I know I use-- and at a deep discount.
What strategies do you use to score deep discounts at CVS?
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