1. Register Rewards are manufacturer coupons that can then be used to purchase anything in any Walgreens store. So, if you are purchasing an item for $5 and you are using a $3 RR to pay for it, it will then only be $2 that you pay out of pocket. They expire in about two weeks after they are issued, so make sure to keep an eye on those expiration dates.
2. Your before-tax total has to be over the amount of the RR. So, you cannot use a $3 RR to buy three times that are .99 each, because your total would go negative. In this case, your RR would beep at the register and the cashier will not accept it. A good solution to this is to purchase a filler item. Filler items are very inexpensive items (.01-.25) that can be used to make sure your total doesn’t go negative. Make sure to check out the clearance section for fillers and the seasonal section for things like pencils. So now, you could by your three .99 items, plus one .05 filler and pay for all these with a $3RR and your total will be .02 plus tax.
3. You can only earn one of the same RR in a transaction. For example, you cannot purchase five packs of Huggies and expect to get five RRs back. You will only get one. To get around this, you can do five separate transactions. Make sure to be courteous and go to the end of the line for each transaction.
4. You cannot use a Register Reward earned from an item to purchase that same item and expect to get another RR. For example, if you had already bought Huggies diapers once and earned a RR, you cannot use the RR you just earned to pay for your next transaction. If you were to do that, your new RR would not print. You can however, use a RR from another product to purchase a different product that will produce a RR. For example, let’s say that this week Dove Men’s Body Wash is $5.99 with a $6 RR making it FREE after the RR. Huggies diapers also have a RR deal this week that is giving you a $3RR when you buy one pack. You could purchase the Huggies first, and then purchase the Dove and use the Huggies RR to pay for the Dove, so your out of pocket cost for the Dove would only be $2.99 before any other coupons and tax, and you would earn a $6 RR back. This concept is called rolling Register Rewards.
5. You can use multiple RRs in one transaction. For example, if you are buying a $25 item, you could purchase that with five $5 RRs as long as you added four filler items to satisfy the coupon to item ratio which I discuss below.
There you go! Now you are all ready to shop at Walgreens. I know it might be a little intimidating, but the only way you are ever going to learn is by getting out there and doing it. 
Make sure to give yourself some grace for mistakes! Trust me, I’ve made my fair share of mistakes at Walgreens and it was never something that couldn’t be fixed.
If you Walgreens vets have anything to add to this for first time WAGers, please leave a comment!
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
New to Wags here…if I use RR to partially pay for a purchase and then return an item from that purchase, how will that affect the amount of money I get back? Thanks!
Amanda,
It really depends on the manager, but they will most likely give you a credit on a gift card. I have had managers refuse to refund me the money a few times, but that is actually not correct of them to do since the manufacturer will be paying them for the RR I used previously (just like a MQ). When that has happened I just did my return at a later time with a more reasonable manager.
Jennie
Thanks Jennie!
You are wonderful! I have never understood all the RR things. Seriously, you made my day!
Does the total have to be $25 before or after coupons to get the $5RR?
Brandi~ in most cases it has to be before coupons.
Jennie
oh this is so hard hope it gets easy soon
Thank you so much for this painless overview!
My question is are you using the RRs that are printing during your transaction or you have to go purchase things first and use the RRs on the next trip?
Amanda~ RRs print after you pay, so you will need to use them on a future transaction.
Thank you. I am relatively new to this (1.5 months in), and Walgreens is definitely the store I struggle with the most (but also one of the ones where I can save the most). Just learning that the RR’s actually count as coupons themselves is very helpful to me. I think that lacking this vital information caused that register/coupon scanner to hate me!
What does MQ stand for? I have seen that several times and don’t have a clue! Betsy
Hi Betsy, MQ is ‘coupon short hand’ for manufacturer coupon
Does in ad coupon count towards coupon count or is it as store coupon and doesn’t count?
In ad coupons are considered store coupons, so no…they do not count toward your total.
First, thank you for doing this! I have been trying to coupon for awhile now but after planning a shopping trip I would arrive at the store only to realize that the trip I planned would not work because the couponer I was “following” was in a different region and the sale didn’t apply here in Colorado.
Second, does Walgreens have coupon book in the store or do I have to print them from the Walgreens website?
Third, if there is an experienced couponer in the Colorado Springs that wouldn’t mind allowing me to tag along on a trip, I would be very thankful.
Also, I have two kids with autism, we are all on a gluten free diet and if anyone would like my coupons that I can not use, you are welcome to them.
Thanks!
Hi Rebecca~ I’m so glad that this was helpful for you! To answer your questions…
-The monthly Walgreens coupon booklets can be found at the front of the store, so no you do not need to worry about printing them.
-You may want to post your third request on this week’s Walgreens post, it might be more noticed there.
I hope that helps and welcome to Bargain Blessings!