Learn The Art of Couponing: Couponing Decoded with FTM – Week 6
Welcome to week #6 of our Couponing Decoded Classes!
Each Saturday we will post a topic and we will all work through that topic together throughout the week. That will give us all time to discuss and work through any questions that you may have. The goal here is for everyone to share feedback and ask questions, because we all interpret things differently and learn differently. The main discussions for this class are going to take place over on our Kroger Facebook page. Click here to join in on the discussions.
We’ve covered quite a bit over the past few weeks and hopefully you are beginning to understand it all. Feel free to reference back to the previous week’s lessons for any refreshing you may need, and remember practice makes perfect!!! Here are the direct links:
- Week 1 – “Learning the Basics” CLICK HERE TO SEE THE POST
- Week 2 – “Getting Started” CLICK HERE TO SEE THE POST
- Week 3 – “Rebates & Digital Coupons” CLICK HERE TO SEE THE POST
- Week 4 – “Planning Your Shopping Trip” CLICK HERE TO SEE THE POST
- Week 5 – “Following The Rules” CLICK HERE TO SEE THE POST
This week’s focus is: Catalina Offers
Catalinas are coupons that print out of a little printer at the cash register called a “Catalina Printer”. They are triggered to print by the items that you purchase and come in a few different types. Sometimes they will print out manufacturer’s coupons that can be used on a specific brand and quantity. Other times they print off a specific dollar amount that can be used on your next purchase of ANY item. And other times they will spit out a specific dollar amount that can be used on your next purchase of a select group of products. Here is an example of each:
The Catalina coupons above are ones triggered by purchasing specific items in a specific quantity. Each one will print out specifying the product for which it was awarded. In this case it was Ice Mountain Water, Speedstick Deodorant and PowerBars. They are all “Manufacturer’s Coupons” which means they can be redeemed at almost any store. On the coupon it states save “On Your Next Shopping Order” meaning you can redeem them on ANY product in a future shopping trip.
This Catalina coupon above is a little different. Note that it says “Store Coupon” not “Manufacturer’s Coupon” on it. This coupon can only be redeemed at the store printed on the coupon, in this case Kroger. It was also triggered by purchasing a specific quantity of a specific item.
The Catalina coupon above is a traditional manufacturer’s coupon. It may have been triggered by a product you purchased, or could be completely random. It can be used at any store on the product and quantity stated. These are not the Catalina coupons we are usually referring to in deal posts, as they are just regular coupons. But sometimes these coupons are a higher value than ones available in inserts or by printing.
How do I know what products have Catalina Offers?
Catalina offers are sometimes store specific and sometimes they are available at multiple stores nationwide. Trial and error or a Catalina announcement are pretty much the only ways of knowing about these promotions. Prior to a Catalina starting, a Catalina announcement may print out like the one pictured above. This gives us a heads up on what products will trigger the Catalina and how many you will need to purchase to receive a specific dollar amount. This Catalina announcement lets us know that several Campbell’s products will trigger a Catalina to print between 1/25/2016 and 2/21/2016 and there are a few different dollar amounts available:
- Buy (3) or (4) get $1.00 OYNO (On your next order)
- Buy (5) or (6) get $2.00 OYNO
- Buy (7) or more get $3.00 OYNO
Because it states “Buy (7) or more” you will only receive one of these printouts per transaction. So, on this offer you would want to split up your transactions if you plan on purchasing more than (7) of the included Campbell’s products.
The Catalina announcement above states “Buy any (2) participating Colgate Oral Care Products”. This means that for every (2) of the included products you purchase you will receive a Catalina printout. No need to separate transactions on this one, multiples will print out in a row on a single transaction.
The key to Catalina offers is matching them with sales and coupons to maximize your savings. This often results in super cheap deals and even FREEBIES!!! Any time we post a deal about a Catalina offer you will want to be sure to check it out as these are some of the hottest deals available. CLICK HERE to see some of the current Catalina offer matchups available!
We do keep a running list of Catalina offers, that we know about, on the Kroger Deals page of our blog for your reference.
CLICK HERE to see the current list of Catalina offers available as of the date of this post, 2/6/2016.
Hopefully this answers a lot of your questions about Catalina offers. Come on over to our Kroger Coupon Deals Facebook Page to ask questions and join in on the discussions for this week’s class. There are lots of HOT Catalina offers right now, so I will post a roundup post on them monday morning that we can all work on putting together a shopping list for!
Happy Couponing!