I was on Western Union’s site trying to transfer $350 to a friend. I expected the “money in minutes” online option to be pricey, but the $35 fee still took me aback.
Just before I hit the pay button, I noticed the tiny box labeled “Promo Code.” That reminded me that substantial savings are possible with online coupon codes.
I opened a new tab, searched for “Western Union discount codes,” and tried codes listed on several websites. The first five failed — not unexpected.
Then I discovered a four-letter, four-number code on RetailMeNot. I entered it and refreshed the payment screen.
Bingo! The offer was better than a percentage off — it wiped out the fee entirely. I didn’t quite believe I could send the money without a charge until the transaction completed, but it was real.
What kinds of savings can you score with online coupon codes?
What are you shopping for? If you’re buying from a well-known online retailer, there’s a good chance a coupon code exists.
Just a few examples I’ve encountered…
Renting a car? Some promo codes can shave 20% or more off the price.
Buying patio furniture? You can save around 10% at several stores, and in many cases pay online and pick up in-store.
Renewing a domain? I recently clipped a code that took 20% off the renewal fee.
Ordering delivery? I once spotted a 25% promo code for online orders from Papa John’s Pizza.
Where to look for online coupon codes
You can find vouchers for most purchases — and there’s no need to cut them out of newspapers. Just get the codes online.
Here are a few well-known sites to check:
- Coupons.com
This seems too simple. What’s the downside?
The trouble with many of these sites is that the codes frequently don’t actually work.
From my experience, roughly one out of every ten coupon codes delivers the advertised savings.
Sometimes the merchant excludes sale items, or specific products are not eligible. Often the code has simply expired but remains listed on the coupon site.
That said, it’s not as discouraging as it sounds. The fix is easy: keep testing different codes until you find one that applies.
Some coupon platforms display a success percentage for their codes, based on user reports. I often see rates around 40% to 50%.
Bear in mind those figures aren’t scientific — they’re user-generated and could be biased like any review metric. Still, they’re better than nothing, so favor codes with higher reported success.
How to get the most from online coupon codes
Although coupon sites would love you to rely on them exclusively, don’t start there. They vary in ease of use and in the offers they list.
Instead, do your shopping first. When you’re ready to check out, open a new browser tab and hunt for coupon codes.
Search the retailer’s name along with terms like “coupons,” “coupon codes,” or “discount codes.” I used the latter when hunting for the Western Union code.
Search results often include pages with a dozen or more codes to try. Start with those promising the largest savings and the best success ratings.
Yes, you’ll encounter many nonworking codes. But you can try several quickly, and you might pocket a few dollars — or even the $35 I saved. That’s a good return for a few minutes’ effort.
To streamline the process, you can install browser extensions that automatically search for discounts while you shop.
Michael Reed is a former contributor to Savinly.
