NEW Walmart Official Coupon Policy
Walmart has finally issued an Official Walmart Coupon Policy online! I suggest printing off a copy so you have it on hand when you shop, just in case you have problems redeeming your coupons.
You can view and print the Official Walmart Coupon Policy HERE.
Walmart WILL accept the following:
- Manufacturer’s coupons
- Printed-at-home Internet coupons – WILL NOT accept printed-at-home coupons for items that require no purchase (“free” item coupons). B1G1 Free coupons require a purchase so these are valid. Coupons MUST be legible, have “manufacturer’s coupon” written on it, have a valid remit address for the manufacturer, valid expiration date, and a bar code that is scannable.
- Competitor’s coupons that feature a specific item for a specific price. For example, a coupon that says: Kelloggs Cornflakes $2.99. This is like price matching from a competitor’s ad. They will not accept any other store coupons that say, for example: $0.50/1 off Tide or 50% off Tide.
- Competitor’s Check Out Coupons or “Catalinas”. They MUST be legible, have “manufacturer’s coupon” written on them with specific requirements, a valid remit address for the manufacturer on them, a valid expiration date, and a scannable bar code.
- Soft drink container caps.
Wal-mart WILL NOT accept the following:
- Print at home internet coupons that require NO purchase.
- Other competitors store coupons for dollar or cents off a product, percent off a product, buy 1 get 1 free, or double-triple off. To make this clear NO Store coupons from other places will be accepted unless they are for a specific item at a specific price. For example: you have a coupon for Tide liquid detergent and the coupon states it is to be sold for $5.99. Wal-mart will then take the coupon and sell you the Tide for $5.99.
Wal-mart Guidelines and Limitations:
- Limit 1 coupon per item.
- Coupons must have an expiration date and be used prior to expiration.
- Coupons may exceed the price of the item. Change may be given or applied towards the cost of the basket purchase.
- We only accept coupons for the merchandise we sell.
- Coupons must be presented at the time of purchase.
- We accept the following with Customer Service Supervisor or Management approval: 40 or more coupons, any coupon over $20, or $50 or more in coupons in a single transaction.
What do you think? Will this make coupon shopping at Walmart easier?
Thanks, Consumer Queen!
39 Comments
beth
why dont they offer more coupons for healthier foods…. ?
Lise
Does this policy apply for Canadian Wal-Mart’s? I am wanting to start couponing, but wonder if it will be worth my time and energy here in Alberta. No stores double here either, and most do not accept coupons making my prospects rather dim. Anyone that can help? Please advise. Thank you and have a great day.
tonyap
I was going to go to wal mart but if they can stop you from even trying to save as much as you can, then they don’t back their guarantee. I do not see where any store has the right to stop you from using any coupon as long as it is for the products described. To stop you from trying to save as much as you can makes that company to me about worthless. So I wont be going to this store, I will find another store that likes to please the customers needs.
Tracy
I have a real issue here and need an answer, I thought Walmart matched any competitor ads no matter where they were from even if out of state or even in state but over 50 miles from their store, mine will not do it, so was just wondering if this is correct, thank you
Meagan
Usually “competitor” ads means a true competitor – i.e. a store in the same area. The whole idea is that you’re giving Walmart your business, instead of the competitor nearby. Honestly, 50 miles from the store is a very lenient and generous policy. Most stores that match competitors do a 5-10 mile radius rule.
I just took a look at their price matching policy: http://corporate.walmart.com/ad-match-guarantee
Looks like it’s for “local” competitors only. Hope that helps!
Abigail
Comptetitors need to be nearby. 🙂
newatcoupons
Does walmart double coupons? If wal-mart doubles coupons, can you please give me the the website to print the official information? I am new at couponing and there are NOT any stores in my area that will double coupons. Thank You in advance
Stephanie
Walmart does not double coupons.
audra dean
I am new to couponing and its really hard where i live. I live in eastern oklahoma and the only shopping we have is walmart supercenter, iga, and harps. so i use any advice available. thanks so much
Aditi
Help needed using Catalina’s @ Wal-Mart —
I did my monthly shopping trip @ Walgreen’s and had 3 x $10 register rewards left over = $30.
I went to Wal-Mart and the cashier would not apply the rewards to my purchase. The cashier called the manager, after waiting 10 minutes, a manager never came to help us. The cashier then consulted two different off-duty Wal-Mart employee’s and they all agreed “no.”
What the cashier got hung up on is that it says at the bottom of the reward, “Redeemable only at Walgreens.”
I believe that my register reward complied with all the criteria (barcodes, expiration date, etc.) of Wal-Mart’s policy for accepting Competitor’s Check Out Coupons or “Catalinas”, as shown above.
Any thoughts? Thank you in advance for your help!
Michelle
This reply might be a year too late, sorry, but I saw you were never answered. I’m a cashier at Wal-Mart, and I’m not sure what Walgreen’s rewards are, but I know that if it’s from another store and says manufacturer’s coupon, we’ll take it. If it’s just dollars off your total purchase, we can’t. Like it’s stated above, it has to be a specific amount off a specific item. And if it says manufacturer’s but also says redeemable only at a specific place, we have to say no. I’m not sure why, but I think it’s because that falls in with the rules of the coupon (like what item and how much saved, it adds in where the money was saved) and if we don’t follow what it says, we don’t get reimbursed.
Ruby
Guess what a manager told me at WAlmart!!LOL!
1 coupon per transaction!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? Who does that lol!?
My first time couponing at walmart and LAST!
I was only suppost to pay @$5 for my haul and they wanted to charge me @$14!? I gave up and left everything at the register and walked away.TERRRRRRIBLE!
Kat
I used a $1/1 coupon (ip) for a .97 cent item at my local walmart today. My cashier didn’t even blink at it and i guess had already had a little troubleshooting since she knew to cover one part with her finger and it scanned just fine.
She was also great in working with me that we would scan an item and then do the coupon just to make sure it would work. I have a panic of getting to the end, the coupons not working and then the embarrassment of not having enough money or walking away from an order.
I only had like five items but she said she would suggest that to people with a ton of coupons. I did get the extra three cents off which was nice since I had a coupon of some sort for each item I bought.
Debbie
I am new to using coupons. What is a catlina?
Stephanie
@Debbie, A catalina is a coupon that prints at the register after you purchase specified items.
newatcoupons
I am new at couponing and I found a website called couponnetwork.com. It allows you to print catalina coupons on the internet. Have you ever used this website and what would you suggest for me? I’m in the beginning stages of couponing and seeking the best advice. Thank You
Stacey
Now they are putting a limit on how many coupons you can use? They sure will allow you to buy over 40 items WITHOUT coupons! That is ridiculous! We always have problems at Walmart!
Kelly S
The “40 or more coupons, any coupon over $20, or $50 or more in coupons in a single transaction” is not actually a limit on the number of coupons you use. It simply means that you will require a manager approval before the transaction can be completed or closed out. They just have to come over and type their special code into the register and then the cashier can continue their job. If you look at the official policy on Walmart’s sight instead of the summary above it gives a better picture. It could become an inconvenience or a problem if it takes a while for the manager to show up or if that manager decides to be difficult.
BEST couponing advice ever… Take a copy of the coupon policy with you and be prepared to stand your ground (intelligently and politely).
Debbie
Ok new at this…will walmart accept their coupon plu a manufacters coupon together
Stephanie
@Debbie, As far as I know, walmart does not offer store coupons.
Stephanie
@Debbie, I may have misunderstood…if you’re asking if they will accept a manufacturer’s coupon plus another store’s coupon (like Target) then no, they won’t.
Jennifer Wagner
I’ve had some really great experiences using my coupons at my Walmart in Southeast Kansas. Of course, I’m not an “extreme couponer”, but I usually have a stack of coupons for each transaction. I hope my Walmart continues to provide good customer service. That really sucks for everyone that’s had bad experiences.
Heartland Hannah
I tried my Walmart today and they absolutely refused to follow the new coupon policy and even worse refused to acknowledge it existed. Basically they made we wait at the checkout lane for 20 plus minutes until I gave up and just paid for the stuff. If I hadn’t had my elderly mother with me I would have just refused to buy the stuff and let them put it back, but I figured she’d had enough by then.
I even showed them their own Walmart website with the coupon policy and they said maybe their store just wasn’t adopting it. I also called Walmart corporate customer service and they weren’t helpful either.
I’ve never had good luck with our Walmart in eastern Iowa. I gave them another chance with this new coupon policy, but I’m now done with Walmart. New studies say that Target is now cheaper, and from my trip today I can definitely say that the large majority of grocery items I buy ARE significantly cheaper at Target.
Jennifer
We sure do!! Me again!! I also hate walgreen’s!! Their RR expire very quickly and are manufacturer’s coupons so with me it seemed like I never really got the money back because almost EVERY time I had to get some crappy filler item so that I could even use it! CVS’s ECBs last about twice as long and work without buying crappy filler items! 🙂
Rae
@Jennifer, I agree. I used to be at Wags 1-2 times per week back when they had the ESR program. Now I go 1-2 times per YEAR and no matter how well I plan, my plans always get messed up because something will be out of stock so then I have to rework my plan trying to get the whole item equal to or greater than coupons ratio back on track… ugh not worth it to me at all. Then half the time they won’t have stuff I need the next couple weeks to roll my RR on and since you have to use fillers, buying stuff I don’t need doesn’t end up truly being free like CVS. I just stick to CVS as far as drugstores go. When I move back to Cali, I’ll add RiteAid too again but will still avoid Wags.
Jennifer
I guess Jennifer’s think alike! Because I’m going with the Jennifer’s above! Wal-Mart is a headache and since I have Kroger and CVS I really don’t even have to shop there! And even the few times a year I do go to Wal-Mart, there’s always a problem! So to get rid of one more problem in my life, I stay clear of them! Just like I did with Walgreens! It’s that simple! (:
Jennifer
Regardless of what this policy says, my store will still not allow B1G1 printable coupons, claiming that it is giving something for free which is fraudulent. Ugh!
Greg
It looks pretty straight forward, I’m relatively new at couponing. It clears up the policy for me. As to what you’d be losing or what you’d be gaining I guess it’s their right to implement whatever policy they want.
It seems that after viewing shows like extreme couponing it changes the corporate perceptions of coupons, they may feel they need to tighten down in every area including coupon use. It’s sort of like we have them and they are great PR but we really don’t want everybody actually using them that will cost us money. I think they’ll start implementing more and more restrictions until one day it will be hardly worth it. But for now I use as many as I can where ever I can and really appreciate the savings.
Amber
Did anyone find out if the register rewards count as Catalina coupons?
Jennifer
Regardless of wal-mart saying this is their policy, the store will still cause several headaches and make it not worth while when trying to use coupons, even with the policy. It may start out ok because they are informing everyone of the new policy, but eventually the cashiers and managers will be just as much of a pain as they are now.
Rebecca
@Jennifer, I agree!
Kris
The coupon lady for the TLC show wont like the new policy since she using more coupons than they will be allowing now.
I too wish they Walmart would double.
I also agree with Walgreen Reigster Rewards, they do say MFG coupon.
But I disagree with the purchasing an item to get a item free. I go into store just to do deals all the time for free, why should I have to purchase something when it is coupon, they will get their money regardless.
Jessica S
It might be a little too late for me. I’ve changed over to Target because they offer their coupons as well as accept manufacturer coupons. Add in the 5% savings from the Redcard and I’m hooked. Sorry Wal-mart.
Amber
Do the register rewards from Walgreens count as Catalina coupons? I took some in today WITH the coupon policy in hand and after getting two managers, I got rejected.
The register rewards say “manufacturer coupon”, they are not “Walgreen bucks” as they were called by the Walmart managers.
Should I try another Walmart?
Mary
Im glad they are taking the catalinas. I always get a bunch from giant eagle. I do wish they would double, that’d be the icing on the cake!
kimme
Walmart has won back my business because of this new coupon policy. I tried to avoid them at all cost (from horrible experiences using my coupons) but with this new policy I will definitely be shopping there again!
Jean
I just got back from my local Walmart. I took along a copy of the coupon policy and talked to several managers confirming that they are going to honor the policy at my store before I shopped. Two of the managers knew and acknowledged the new policy, but they stated that it is so new that they are just getting the cashiers up to speed. My experience with the cashier when I check out confirmed this–she had to verify how to handle some of my coupons.
I am excited about this policy because they are stating that they will give overage and take Catalinas. Here in my neck of the woods no other stores do that (as a matter of policy) so I stand to save quite a bit. I had all but stopped shopping at Walmart for groceries and HBA because my local store was so unfriendly to couponing. If they can execute on it this is a big improvement for me.
Rebecca
I don’t think it will make it easier, at least not for me, but I am still somewhat new at couponing. And their customer service certainly isn’t worth the effort. They say they will match prices but apparently they won’t match “free” ones? I think I will stick to Kroger or at least until Publix makes their way out here.
Rae
Well they had one before but this is the new one. I like that they spell out what they meant (in the original policy) by “store coupons” since a lot of Walmarts said that they wouldn’t accept competitor coupons and that it meant Walmart coupons (even though there is no such thing). I know of people that contacted corporate and were told that it did mean target, kohls, etc coupons. The new wording does mean that they won’t take those target or kohls coupons because they are $ or % off ones but will make it a lot easier to use like the Wags ones. I am most excited about them taking cats. I have a $5 off Pediasure coupon from Kroger which I am pretty sure is cheaper at Walmart than it is at Kroger 😀 I am sad about them not taking ip frees anymore though 🙁 Target and the drugstores are now the only ones who will take them around here and for food items, the drugstores usually don’t have the items that I have free coupons for so that leaves only Target and who knows how long before they add that to their policy :/