Albertsons Coupon Policy

I went to Albertsons this afternoon to try to get some clarification about the coupon policy. Let me start out by saying that I talked to a couple of people...Samie (spelling?) worked at the Customer Service Desk and Will Barnes is the store director. They were both very helpful and were patient with all my questions.

There is a new coupon policy...at least new since the one I received a year and a half ago, but it doesn't look like a lot has changed. I will give you the rundown of the current coupon policy, and then a couple of side notes that they told me about.

1. Manufacturer's coupons are accepted
-will triple up to $0.39 value (4 like coupons a DAY)
-will double between $0.40 and $0.50 (4 like coupons a DAY)

2. Internet coupons are accepted
-cannot be for FREE product...can be for Buy one Get one FREE
-cannot exceed $5.00 in value
-must have valid UPC bar code
-must have expiration date
-WILL NOT accept coupons from Vryl Marketing or Albertsons.com
(Side note...there has been some confusion with people printing off coupons from www.albertsons.com. That is a different chain from the Albertsons we have in Texas. Even if they scan at the registers, they are not supposed to be used at our Albertsons. Again, it all comes down to using coupons correctly and ethically).

3. Store coupons CAN be combined with a manufacturer's coupon
-Store coupons say they can't be combined with any other offer...but this does not include a manufacturer's coupon.

4. Buy one Get one Free Sales
-You can use a manufacturer's coupon for each item...if it is a Buy one Get one Free sale, you can use 2 coupons, if it is a Buy one get two Free sale, you can use 3 coupons, etc.
(There was a little confusion about this. I didn't find this in the coupon policy, but Samie told me that this is only for LIKE items. There was some confusion with the deal last week, buy 6 select products and get 2 gallons of milk free...she said they wouldn't accept a coupon on the milk since it was a different item you were getting free. She said as long as they were buying 2 of the same items (buying one and getting one free), you could use 2 coupons).

5. You are limited to 75 coupons per day

6. They will not accept competitors' coupons

7. If your coupon exceeds the value of an item they WILL adjust the coupon down to the value of the product.
(A product is $0.99 and you have a coupon for $1.00 off. The cashier will manually enter the coupon at $0.99) (Note, I didn't see this in the coupon policy, but I specifically asked about this because I have had several people ask me about this. Both Will and Samie said that cashiers are supposed to adjust the coupon value down).

8. Using a Buy one Get one Free coupon with a Buy one Get one Free Sale
-Again, I didn't see this in the coupon policy, but Samie told me in order to use a Buy one Get one Free coupon with a BOGO sale you would have to buy 3 products...one would be free with the coupon, one would be free with the in store sale, and one you would be paying for...so you would be getting 3 items for the price of 1.

I did ask them about the difficulty of finding a copy of the coupon policy. I really think it is important for us to be informed about coupons and the way they work at specific stores. It allows us to use the coupons correctly and allows us to maximize our savings, and at the same time allows the stores to get reimbursed properly for the coupons we are using.

Will told Samie to give me one of the coupon policies, and later I asked Samie if it would be okay for you to get copies of it as well. She said they should be able to give them to customers. If you would like a copy, then drop by the Customer Service desk and ask.

If you have any more questions about the coupon policy, or something that needs to be cleared up, then please let me know and I'll do my best to find answers for you.