Many of you have emailed me – asking if I have heard about the upcoming Rite Aid Wellness Program changes. Like you, I have read many rumors and have heard various things in store.
I did inquire to Rite Aid for an official response – and they are not yet releasing the details. I guess I will refrain judgement until I read all of the changes.
One thing I don’t like, is the MUST BUY part of the pricing in this weeks ad. For example, this upcoming week, Extra gum is 3/$2.00. With the must buy 3 to get the wellness price, we really start losing out on our deals. For example, if the gum is $.67 each and there is a $1.00/2 coupon, it is no longer $.17 each, it is now $.33 each, plus we have to buy an additional pack. Even though the price is the exact same, our cost per unit is up – and we have to spend more.
$.67 each = $.34 out of pocket with the $1.00/2 coupon
2/$3.00 = $.99 out of pocket with the $1.00/2 coupon
Note: the only way around this would be to have 3 coupons and buy a total of 6.
If you have followed FTM for awhile, you know that I used to be in love with Rite Aid. I am finding it harder and harder and harder …
What are your thoughts on these changes..
angie says
I would have to say the only way to deal with this in a good way is FTM and other rite aid coupon bloggers to have to do more work-unfortunately for you guys. This could be good because it is a way to get the coupon blogging competition down to a few with a slew of followers. If you post the matchups and list a few transaction ideas-for instance…Sunday you buy certain items-get $20 in UPs, then Monday you buy certain items, use your UPs towards those, then Tuesday so on and so forth. It allows you to do the multiple transactions with using your UPs towards the good deals while still maintaining your 24 hour period. It will not be good for those far away from Rite Aid but that is the only place I have in my small town within walking distance. The research is the hard part and it may be a good idea to hit up iheartriteaid.com to see the upcoming ads 4 weeks prior to release so you can do so many weeks at a time. I am wondering how this is going to affect rain checks, though? After that mega sale on thnxgiving at CVS, I have really cut down at Rite Aid. The extreme couponing show has really affected us in maryland after the fraud. Btw, I did write the show and the broadcasting commission several times about not including a disclaimer and now they do because most of us normal couponers do not do things that way.
Melissa says
What scares me is the sentence that says “+UP Rewards must be used in one transaction and any unused portion shall be forfeited”. So, let’s say we have $20 +UP stored on our card and we do a transaction for only $10…does that mean we lose the rest?
Ruth says
The employees at Rite Aid got the notification about all the changes. They are being trained on these new changes right now and the fact that the you have to wait 24 hours to use your UPR is true. There are two Rite Aids in my small town and a Walmart is opening here soon so they will probably go out of business. These new changes basically make it impossible to coupon at Rite Aid.
Yes, the show Extreme Couponing had the premise of helping people to save money but it is actually destroying couponing. The inserts in the papers are getting worse and the stores are changing policies but we all knew that this would happen.
christy says
on the 3/$2 sale you only had to buy 2 to get the sale price,so u could still use a $1 on 2 coupon to get the good deal. and as for the 2 for $ sales it included everything in the group pic. for instance you could get a peanut butter and raisins to get the 2 for 4. as for great couponing coming to an end dont blame the stores, its the extreme couponing making it hard for everyone. in my area we dont even get coupons in the sunday paper unless you have it delivered to your home. and the other weekend went to walmart picked up the other local paper and my cashier actually checked my paper to make sure the coupons were there because people are stealing them out of the paper in the middle of the store. really, what are we coming to that we have to steal coupons out of someone else’s paper right in the store.
Ruth says
The stores have to adjust to dishonest people and there are a lot of them out there. Hopefully, Extreme Couponing won’t do well in the ratings so it can go off the air. It doesn’t accurately portray the reality of couponing and it gives a lot of people a false picture of the cost of couponing.
Tami R. says
Okay, I have had enough of Rite Aid. Seriously, after the change in policy about the BOGO deals, and now this craziness? I have been doing this coupon thing for a little over three years now. It has saved me so much money and helped my family out soooooo much, I don’t know what I would have done without it. But with the new EXTREME Couponing phase, things started getting ugly for us legitimate couponers. Rite Aid used to be the exclusive go-to store for the best deals for me. Now with everything they are pulling, they have lost me as a customer. I literally have been to Rite Aid twice in the last three months, and one of them was to fill a prescription. I don’t even bother with them as far as weekly deals anymore. They have to realize that they have only hurt themselves with abandoning their loyal couponers with their crazy policy changes. I have my 20% discount for this year, but I can guarantee, I will NOT reach that goal next year as I have lost all hope for Rite Aid. I wish they paid attention to these blogs and what actual customers are saying about them. I don’t foresee them making it in the future with business like this. Walgreen’s and CVS don’t really do it for me either. I’m so afraid that the time of GREAT couponing is coming to a close. I wish not, but feel it is true. I guess I will be thankful for it for the time I was able to provide for my family when I needed it the most. Okay, off my soapbox now. Good luck fellow couponers!
sarah says
I started following your blog b/c of your frequent rite aid updates. I still shop there some b/c it’s so convinient, but not nearly as much as I used to. At the beginning of 2011 I was pretty sure I would reach gold level buy the end of the year. things have slowed down so much that there is no way I’m gonna reach gold status now…and I’ll have to start over again Jan 1…not worth even trying now…ps.i will still follow your blog even if i don’t shop at rite aid so much :)
Sue F. says
Guess it’s time to learn all about CVS!
Grace says
Well that just stinks big monkey ballz. LOL Rite Aid used to be my favorite drug store and like others have said, I’ve made few and fewer trips this year compared to last year. Deals aren’t as great and the limits and changes with coupons made it even worse. And now THIS. Come on Ride Aid!
James says
I talked to an employee and she tells me there will be no more up+ rewards printed on receipt…it will be a credit on your up wellness card. This way you can only use the up+ rewards against your card and not use it on someone elses card.
Shannon says
Yes I have heard this too James.
Sarah says
If they’re going to do it this way I really hope the make the expiration dates longer– at least a month. I usually spend my UPs the same day I earn them because it’s a 30-40 minute drive to the area where Rite Aid is.. there are other reasons to go up there, but the Ups expiring in only two weeks makes me nervous to hold on to them. Ugh.
Sharon says
Rite Aid should change to printing the name on the +up like CVS does and only have them work in conjunction with the card they were purchased with. Looks like CVS is going to be more and more popular. I’m not a fan of Walgreens because of all their rules and one of our 2 stores stopped accepting internet coupons so I stopped shopping there.
Alex says
I think as the popularity of extreme couponing grows, we are going to see this more and more. I go across the state line (only 6 miles further than the one that is less than a mile from me) so that I can take advantage of tax free shopping. Many times the merchandise has been “cleaned out” by other stock pile enthusiasts. I will still shop there because I still find the deals fantastic, but I think, as I said, we will be seeing this a lot more when it comes to the drug store deals. :(
Karen says
Shannon:
I feel the same as you. When I started couponing to stock up about 2 years ago, I quickly feel in love with Rite Aid. Prior to that, I never shopped at Rite Aid as it was just not conveinent to my location from the closest stores. When I discovered how much I could save at Rite Aid I was sold and it became my favorite for deals. This past year though, I found myself shopping less and less each week, at first I thought it was because my stockpile is so abundant and I really didn’t need to get too much more for a bit….but now that I think about it…each week when I check your RIte Aid deals, it seems that there is less and less that is a good buy at RIte Aid, and it’s not because I am so stockpiled. It’s a shame the changes…wouldnt they rather sell 2 of them and get a profit then demand you buy 3, which makes me buy 0 and they get no profit (I’m referring to your example above)? I think if we just refuse to buy they might reconsider. At least I’m hoping!
Thanks for sharing and if you get any more advance notice of changes, I can’t wait to read them. If I were to write a letter about this, who would be the best person to address it too?
Cheryl Fox says
They do have to be able to stay in business. If the rewards don’t come until the next day, how can you know for sure if there is a mistake. Too confusing!
Suzanne says
That’s what I am worried about Cheryl. Cvs neglected to give me my ECB’s one week with an Aveeno deal. I noticed it when I got home and was able to get it straightened out. Without the printable UP rewards, I would worry about not getting what I am entitled to. I just stopped shopping at my local grocery store because they just recently became “coupon unfriendly.” I am running out of great places to shop at.
Jenn M says
Message I got Nov 29th from my fav. cashier at my very coupon friendly RA….
~~~
Hey Jenn, hope you are feeling a little better tonight. Well, the word from *manager* is (and no way of telling if he has this right because no one else has seen or heard this), after the first of the year there are going to be major changes in the Wellness program. No more using your phone number, must have the card. So STUPID because what if you run in with no wallet, but cash to grab something which was on sale? No multiple cards, only one allowed per customer.And the dumbest of all, not being able to use the + ups the same day, must wait 24 hours. Nice for out of town people. So, not sure if all is correct, but we are going to have a lot of pissed off customers!
~~~
So sounds like more then a few unwanted, deal breaking changes are coming….
Ruth Bennetch says
I have to agree with everyone else. Rite aid used to be so much fun to shop and I became good friends with my cashiers…. but now I don’t hardly ever go. The deals aren’t any good and they are getting harder to please with all the changes. The manager at my store is fed up with them too. Ugh.. I guess I just have to do CVS which isn’t as fun as it was in the past either. I thought it was just me not feeling like I wasn’t getting good deals anymore. Thought I was losing my touch.. thanks to you all for making me feel better, tho’ I hate that it is getting harder for everyone else too.
Karen says
I used to go every week, but when they reduced the scr deals and replaced with UP rewards it ruined it for me. I hardly go there at all now.
Suzanne says
Wow, totally disappointing! I find myself skipping my weekly shopping trip to them more and more. Not worth my gas to get a few packs of gum.
Holly G says
I had also heard about the +UP’s not being able to be used until the next day as well.
Shannon,
I had sent an email asking about the points calculation. Did you get that? My points were not being added for my RX or for mani q’s & CS told me that it was only your OOP that counted.
becca says
i dislike rite aid. i just wait until walgreens has the sale. the last time i went to rite aid they treated me like a coupon criminal. they were so upset that did 3 seperate transactions so i can roll my money over. The manager and the cashier started talking like i wasnt even there, they said ” rite aid should change the rule so people didnt abuse the system”.. well i wanted to just roll my up rewards over to the next.. i will never go there again. Even my kids told me to never go back there again..
Ruth says
I hope you called customer service and did the survey online. Rite Aid does address any customer service issues and they put a lot of pressure on the managers to keep their customer service rating high. However, some managers just shouldn’t working in their field because they just don’t have the skills to deal with people.
Michele says
Sadly Looks like Rite Aid is going to lose alot of business. I am finding Walgreens even with all thier wierd rules to look better and better. I use to love Rite Aid, but now I find my self looking forward to Walgreens.
Limerick says
Aw, I hope they don’t make it where you can’t use the +UPs until 24 hours later… The closest RA to me is 20 minutes away, and making multiple trips a week would be quite an expenditure in gas. :(
Kristin says
My boyfriend works at rite aid and said that the up rewards will be added to your card instead of printed. I like that but apparently they won’t be available for 24 hours which totally destroy multiple transactions.
Barb says
So does that mean you use your UP rewards every time you use your card? …like you have no choice but to use them? If so, that kinda sucks.
Kristin M says
I stopped shopping with the newest coupon policy (changing bogos, how many like coupons per trans, etc)
I used to be in love with Rite Aid too. The love affair is over.
Melissa S says
Yes Shannon I to remember the good old days when Rite Aid was actually fun to shop at. I can’t even remember the last time I was excited about a sale there. I used to be all excited to get out my flier from the newspaper and check out the sales now it just stinks every week. BOO @ Rite Aid!
KellyJ says
I haven’t liked Rite Aid for quite some time, my local store won’t let me use a store coupon with a manufacturer coupon and that is right in the coupon rules allowed. Each store can pretty much make up their own rules and it’s just not fair so I just stop shopping there.
Sharon says
Kelly,
I think I would contact customer service about them not taking a mfg & a store coupon or possibly talk to the store manager and have the coupon policy with you. I know it’s a hassle but sometimes you can get really good deals.
Brittney says
I agree, I used to shop exclusively at Rite Aid because the deals were too good to be true. Now I am doing most of my shopping at CVS and barely Rite Aid anymore because of the changes.
Heather says
They are probably not making the money they want to make anymore, but that does stink. I hope not much else changes I love Rite Aid too.
Beth Ann Austin via Facebook says
Amy I heard the same thing from a friend of mine; she was told that by a cashier at our local store and the cashiers there are all friendly so I’m sure it’s true unfortunately :( Also I think she mentioned they would load to the card instead of printing out… that part is ok by me because I am so disorganized it will be easier than keeping track of the printed ones!
Rachel T. says
That’s what my store said too: you must wait 24 hours to use +UP rewards and that they will load onto cards and not print out.
Lydia says
Yuck, I don’t like that at all! I’m with you Shannon…Rite Aid is starting to lose my love too.
Sharon says
I’m not liking the idea of them loading to your card because how do you know how much you have on your card unless you have access to a computer and can check before each shopping trip. Then what happens when one doesn’t load or it doesn’t take off at checkout. I guess it’s a wait and see situation
Ruth says
You must wait 24 hours to use your Up Rewards but they will still print out on your receipt. You do have the option to load onto your card but since now everyone has access to Riteaid.com, this was just a misunderstanding.
Amy Brandt via Facebook says
One of the unfriendly cashiers at my store claims that one change is that when +UP rewards print on your receipt, you must wait 24 hours to spend them. Just speculation by her, I’m sure (I hope).
Nicki Reynolds Sekelsky via Facebook says
ug! everytime i master the new changes, they just roll out more of them :(
Katie Landry via Facebook says
This makes me sad! I hope they dont change things too much. If you have 3 coupons and you can get that many up rewards on one card then it might be ok. But most of the time the limit on a good deal is low! :(
Carly Guerrero via Facebook says
I know Walgreens is changing at the first of the year.
Ruth says
No changes at Walgreens, just RiteAid for now.