Prescription Hopping

You might notice that I sometimes use gift cards to pay for my drug store transactions. Those are almost always gift cards I have received from the store for getting a prescription filled and using a coupon. Here is a quick guide to transferring prescriptions for gift cards:

Rite Aid

Rite Aid is probably the most generous with making the coupons available, and that is for a reason. The fine print will prohibit you from getting more than 2 gift cards every six months. Rite Aid prints their coupons regularly in their ads and on their website. The standard coupon is for a $25 gift card with a transferred prescription. There are usually no gift cards for new prescriptions. Keep up with when you get your gift cards from Rite Aid-since their deals require the most money out of pocket you'll want to get the gift cards as often as you're eligible.

CVS

Like Rite Aid, CVS tends to give out coupons for $25 gift cards. Unlike CVS these can be for new prescriptions as well as transferred prescriptions. CVS prescription coupons will occasionally print at the end of your receipt. Coupons will also arrive periodically in the mail. These coupons are especially valuable since it's possible to spend very little out of pocket if you roll your Extra Bucks into new deals. There is no limit as to how many coupons you can use, although the coupons are often linked to your Extra Care Card and cannot be transferred.

Target

From time to time Target will publish coupons in their weekly ads. These coupons are usually for a $10 gift card with a new or transferred prescription. When these are available you can even pick them up from the ad racks in the stores.

Walgreens

Walgreens does not generally have gift card coupons for prescriptions. However, if you are a Walgreens customer and you transfer a prescription to another pharmacy you can expect a letter from Walgreens hoping to win you back. The letter will typically include a check for $25, good for use in that store only when you transfer a prescription back to Walgreens. The check must be presented at the pharmacy and used all in one visit. No cash back will be provided.

Important Notes:

• Read the fine print-these coupons generally have multiple restrictions.
• Only transfer prescriptions if it is safe for you to do so. It's safer to have all of your prescriptions in one location to avoid possible interactions.
• Maximize your savings by combining your gift cards with free and cheap deals.