There is no uniform coupon policy that every store uses. In fact, there are sometimes significant differences in each store’s coupon policy.
The intricacies can become quite complicated when sifting through the policies, but we’ve done our best to highlight the most important factors, starting with whether the store accepts coupons.
The chart below covers 10 popular national stores where consumers are most likely to use coupons. We will cover regional store policies in a future post.
Please leave a comment if you’d like to know about a store’s policy that we might have overlooked and we’ll do our best to find you the answer.
Doubles
Stacking [1] [1] [1]
Printables
App
Rainchecks
Overages [2]
Matching [3]
Rewards
Dollar General
Dollar Tree
Whole Foods
Trader Joe's
Big Lots
Coupons
Doubles
Stacking [1]
Printables [1]
App
Rainchecks
Overages [4]
Matching
Rewards
Walmart Couponing Policy: Walmart has one of the most consumer-friendly couponing policies of any major store. Not only does Walmart allow coupons and have a liberal price-match guarantee, it is one of very few places that will actually give cash-back for overages. One downside is that they don’t permit stacking.
Target Couponing Policy: There are several factors contributing to why Target is the favorite place to shop for many couponers. They have arguably the best app of any store (it’s called Cartwheel) and allow buyers to stack app discounts on top of manufacturer coupons on top of Target printables. Unfortunately, Target does not accept overages.
Walgreens Couponing Policy: Walgreens is another popular store among couponers and with good reason. They have an extensive rewards program that provides outstanding discounts and they permit some stacking of coupons. Their refusal to price match does put a slight damper on their coupon-friendliness.
CVS Couponing Policy: Some couponers prefer CVS to all other stores and it becomes clear why once you examine their attractive coupon policy. They have the best app other than Target and boast an exceptional rewards program. They even allow some stacking. The only real negative is that they reject the concept of overages.
Rite Aid Couponing Policy: Rite Aid sits a step below its drug store brethren when it comes to couponing. On the bright side, they do give rainchecks and are cool with some restricted stacking, but their lack of a rewards program or a lowest-price guarantee drop them down a bit among couponers.
Dollar General Couponing Policy: As one of the rare stores that accepts overages (although it doesn’t give cash-back), Dollar General certainly has its fans among couponers. Dollar General also has a decent app and allows some stacking, but gets marked down for its refusal to offer any sort of price matching.
Dollar Tree Couponing Policy: Given the fact that the Dollar Tree sells nothing priced at more than $1, it’s impressive that it accepts any coupons at all. Asking for much more than just basic coupon acceptance, however, is clearly unrealistic as the Dollar Tree refuses stacking and overages and doesn’t have an app.
Whole Foods Couponing Policy: Despite its “Whole Paycheck” reputation for being expensive and overpriced, Whole Foods does actually have a fairly liberal coupon policy. They not only accept coupons, but they also allow stacking (with limits). Though their app doesn’t have coupons, their web site has a solid section of printables.
Trader Joe’s Couponing Policy: Trader Joe’s is beloved by many for its low-cost items and unique selection of products, but don’t count couponers among the store’s ardent fan base. Trader Joe’s makes no bones about the fact that it doesn’t believe in coupons.
Big Lots Couponing Policy: Big Lots offers very low prices by stocking close-out and clearance items. Given this business model, the have decided to reject all coupons. There is one saving grace, though. Big Lots has launched a substantial rewards program that does provide fantastic discounts at times.
