Safeway

Safeway Coupon Policy

The policy is copied below, along with my commentary. To print the official policy, I suggest printing directly from Safeway.com. If you have any questions, please leave a comment!

You’ll want to read all the way to the bottom of this new policy. The highlight– we can now redeem competitor Catalinas, including Walgreens Register Rewards AT SAFEWAY! Woot!

Manufacturer and Store Coupons:

1. Coupons are redeemable only by a customer purchasing the specific brands and product(s) stated on the coupon, with the face value of the coupon deducted from your retail or club card price.
2. Coupons must be for products sold at Safeway and coupons must be presented at the time of the transaction.
3. Coupons are subject to advertised offer limitations and all limitations and restrictions on coupon.
4. Coupons cannot be applied against the free item received in any offer where a customer buys one or more items to get one or more items free.

Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs $4.99
Store Promo: Buy One Oscar Mayer Hot Dog, Get One Free
Use ONE $1.00/1 coupon (this is saying we can’t use two)
Final Price: $3.99 for two packages of hot dogs

5. Coupon amount may be reduced so that any combined discounts and coupons do not exceed the value of the item. See number 12 below.

Thank you! This is going to be valuable for those of you who’ve had trouble with cashiers refusing to accept a $2.00 coupon for a $1.98 product, or any coupon that exceeds the item’s value. This simply states that the cashier may manually enter a reduced discount of $1.98 instead of the full $2.00 face value discount of the coupon. [I would like to point out that, for any store who reduces the coupon value so as not to pay overage, you should make sure your cashier is hand writing the adjusted discount on the coupon and crossing out the original face value. Without doing this (and possibly even when they do), the store will be reimbursed for the full value of the coupon. Most stores have this policy against paying overage; it is very understandable and I don't have any problem with it, but the truth is that the store is usually pocketing the difference between coupon value and product value.]

6. Coupons have no cash value.
7. Accepted coupons must be Manufacturer or Safeway store issued coupons.

Okay, so Safeway won’t accept a Target store coupon or any competitor coupon; we already knew that.

8. Safeway will accept valid manufacturer coupons that display another retailer’s logo or name.

Awesome! This means that manufacturer coupons printed from Target.com, or a coupon that says “valid at your local supercenter” with a Walmart logo CAN be redeemed at Safeway!

9. Safeway will accept valid Catalina manufacturer coupon that is issued to a customer by another retailer only if such coupon is for a specific item.

So, although we won’t be able to use our $10.00 catalinas and $5 Register Rewards, we will still be able to use item-specific Catalinas. Example: $2.00 off Folgers Coffee Catalina Coupon printed at Albertsons, with Albertsons logo, or $0.50/1 Dentyne Ice Gum Register Reward with Walgreens logo. And Remember Rule #8 allows us to use any other manufacturer coupon with a competitor logo, such as a Manufacturer coupon for $1.00/1 Kashi Product with a Target logo, printed from Target.com.

10. The coupon must have an expiration date and be presented within valid dates.
11. Coupons are void if they appear distorted or blurry, are altered in any way or copied.
12. The transaction amount may not fall below zero value, or go negative, meaning we will not give the customer money back.
13. All sales taxes are paid by the customer at the full value of the item.
14. All bottle deposits on the purchased and free items are paid by the customer.
15. Safeway reserves the right to refuse any coupons at its discretion.

Internet Printed Coupons:

16. We gladly accept internet printed coupons. The same manufacturer and store coupon rules above apply to all internet printed coupons.

You hear that ladies? They’re accept them gladly! Hold em to it now! We want to see smiling faces people!

17. Internet printed coupons must scan at checkout.
18. Internet printed coupons must have serial numbers and follow an industry-standard format.
19. Manufacturer internet printed coupons must clearly indicate that they are a manufacturer coupon and have a valid manufacture address on the printed coupon.
20. We will not accept “free product” internet printed manufacturer coupons.

What rule is missing here? That’s right! They finally listened to somebody and got rid of the “printable coupon cannot exceed 50% of the item’s value” rule! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve called corporate and left messages telling why that was the dumbest coupon policy rule I’ve ever seen! All you ladies who’ve been getting the run around- it’s time to do a happy dance!

Load to Card Club Coupons:

21. Internet and digital coupons that have been electronically loaded to a Safeway Club Card are automatically redeemed at the time of purchase after the club card number has been entered. All other coupon policies above apply to electronic coupons that are loaded to a club card.

Doubling of Coupons:

22. Check with your local store regarding ‘double coupon’ advertised promotions where customers will receive double the coupon face value off the regular or club card price up to the advertised limit. Not all locations offer double coupon promotions. Limitations and restrictions for double coupon promotions may change at any time. Changes will be posted in store only.

Someone update me if this information is out of date or incorrect, please:
Safeway: Colorado & Wyoming double coupons up to $0.50 AND they round $0.51-$0.99 coupons to $1.00. Oregon & So Washington stores distribute in-ad ‘double coupons’; use these to double up to 4 coupons $0.50 or under.
Randalls & TomThumb: automatically triple coupons $0.39 and under and double coupons up to $0.50, (one identical coupon per transaction).

Coupon Stacking: (Hawaii stores only)

23. Safeway does not allow a customer to redeem two or more manufacturer coupons against the same item in a single transaction.
24. Coupon stacking policies for manufacturer coupons apply to paper and electronic coupons that have been loaded to a club card.
25. If a customer presents two coupons for the same item in a single transaction, Safeway will only accept the first coupon to be applied in the system.

Hawaii residents, today is the first time I’m not jealous of you! My only guess is that food is harder to keep stocked in Hawaii and they’re trying to avoid shelves being cleared by coupon ladies stocking up.

For the rest of us, this is awesome news. My inbox has been brimmed with emails complaining of a supposed ‘new policy” where you cannot use more than one copy of the same coupon. If there was such a rule, Safeway would have included it right here. Since they didn’t, you need to print this policy and take it with you to your store. As long as you don’t live in Hawaii, flashing this policy around once should solve your problem. Safeway or any store will never accept a copy, meaning photocopy, but they will accept multiple valid printable coupons.

Rainchecks:

26. Rainchecks expire 90 days from the date issued and are accepted at any Safeway store.27. We reserve the right to limit Rainchecks quantities based on product availability and advertised limits.
27. We reserve the right to limit Rainchecks quantities based on product availability and advertised limits.
28. Rainchecks can be written for a limit of no more than 3 items unless otherwise stated in the advertisement.

We may change this policy at any time. All coupon redemptions are subject to the policy in effect at time of redemption. Policy changes may not be advertised. The current policy will be posted at the customer service area in each store.

Does Safeway have store coupons?
Yes! Find Safeway store coupon in their weekly print ad as well as at Safeway.com.

Can I use a store and manufacturer coupon together on one item?
Yes! Kate, author of the official Safeway Blog commented this “You can combine a manufacturer coupon with a store coupon. . .”

Does Safeway accept eCoupons?
Yes! eCoupons are a great way to save at Safeway. Go to one of the following websites, enter your Safeway club card number, then load coupons from the web directly onto your club card. When you swipe your card at checkout, or give the cashier your phone number you will automatically receive the eCoupon savings. You’ll be able to see the savings on your receipt. eCoupons available on the following sites:
Cellfire.com
Shortcuts.com
PGeSAVER.com
Upromise.com

What is Safeway’s sale cycle?
Safeway sales and weekly ads begin Wednesday and end Tuesday. The new ad and the coupon match-ups on KCL post every Tuesday afternoon.

Does Safeway double coupons?
Select stores double coupons (depends on market competition in your area). If your store doubles, they will double coupons up to $0.50 in value 7 days per week. I don’t live in an area that doubles, but I’ve read that coupons $0.51 or greater are rounded up to $1.00.

Does Safeway pay overage?
When the value of a coupon exceeds the value of the item, the register alerts the cashier and the cashier will have to manually type in the value of the item purchased. In my experience, Safeway does not pay overage.

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Safeway is a great place to coupon shop. It fits the standard MO we watch for when choosing a store: high regular prices, but lots of sales, gimmicks and promos. When we play the games & promos and stack our coupons with those gimmicks, we can achieve great savings at Safeway and any of the Safeway affiliate stores.

First step, you’ll need a Safeway Club Card.

Download a copy of the club card application here, fill it out and return it to your store.

Second step: Learn the kinds of coupons accepted by Safeway.

Manufacturer Newspaper coupons: These coupons are found in the free standing inserts in your Sunday paper: Smart Source, Red Plum and Proctor & Gamble.

Printable Coupons: Safeway accepts printable coupons. They have a widely unenforced printable coupon policy here which excludes printables worth over 1/2 of an items value. This rule is in place to fight fraudulent coupons (since just about all fraudulent coupons are high value). I’ve inquired with Safeway marketing dept to see if they will consider re-thinking this rule. I almost never hear of it being enforced anyway, and there are better ways to fight fraud- try training your checkers to tell the difference between a legitimate printable and a fake. I use my printable coupons regardless of the percentage value of the item. If your store enforces this rule, you’re out of luck.

E-Coupons: Load these coupons directly onto your club card. When you swipe the card or present your phone number to the cashier, you will automatically receive the savings & you can see them on your receipt. E-coupons are only good on one product; you cannot buy 10 of the same and expect the savings on more than one. The cash register will still accept a manufacturer coupon in addition to an e-coupon, but they both are manufacturer coupons. I’m guessing that as e-coupons become more mainstream they’ll find a way to limit this use. For now, the e-coupon websites say things like “they don’t suggest” using e-coupons with manufacturer coupons– whatever that means. . . There are 4 E-coupon providers:

Cellflire: Cellfire has lots of coupons that can help you save loads of money! Sign up for Cellfire, it’s free!

Upromise: really great coupons here! Instead of receiving cash off your purchases, your savings goes into your Upromise account, where it can earn interest for tax-free college savings, pay off student loans or receive a check for college expenses! Sign up for free!

Catalina Coupons: At Safeway, you’ll find the gray Catalina machines sitting at the registers. These machines dispense long, receipt-like coupons. Don’t let your cashier forget to hand them to you! Catalina coupons may be store or manufacturer coupons. You may receive a catalina worth $2 off your next purchase of $10 from the produce section. Or you may get a catalina for $1.00 off planters nuts, it just depends on the coupon. The catalinas at Safeway must always be redeemed at Safeway (unless you have a local store who accepts competitor coupons).

Store Coupons: Safeway calls them ‘Super Coupons’. Find them in the weekly store ad- in your Wednesday newspaper or located in the front of the store. Safeway allows using one store and one manufacturer (all the above mentioned coupons are manufacturer coupons) per item. This means you can stack a Safeway store coupon with a manufacturer coupon one one product. Super-coupons require a minimum purchase of $20.00. The minimum purchase is your sub-total before using any coupons. If your subtotal is $20.49 and then you redeem $10.00 worth of coupons, you may still use super-coupons. Store coupons often have limits. These limits are per shopping trip. You may use another store coupon when shopping again the next day, etc.

Printable Store Coupons: Safeway has some great printable store coupons. Find them here. Please note, only the first six to ten coupons are Safeway store coupons. The rest are standard manufacturer coupons, the same that you’ll find on our coupon database.

Step Three: Wait for the stars to align

Wait until the sale price or promotion matches your coupon, so you can save big!

Safeway runs Catalina promos like: Spend $25, save $10 on your next shopping order. When we combine a deal like this with coupons, we can yield those really high savings of over 70%. Whenever you see a minimum purchase like “spend $25, remember that total is the subtotal you must reach before redeeming any coupons. If you can spend $25 and redeem $12 worth of coupons, you’ll still receive a $10 catalina good on your next shopping order.

You will also see promos like this: Buy 5 select products, receive $5 on your next shopping order. Krazy Coupon Ladies separate their transactions, buying 5 products at a time and then roll the “$5 on your next shopping order” catalina from one transaction to the next.

Does your Safeway double?

Many Safeway stores double coupons, usually $0.50 and under. This is subject to regional competition & you’ll need to watch your weekly ads or inquire at your store as to whether your store doubles. I’m jealous! California stores do not double.