There’s a Walgreens on practically every bustling corner. That makes it incredibly handy for those moments when I run out of toothpaste, toilet paper and hair products ALL AT ONCE.
I’ve belonged to Balance Rewards for years, but I didn’t really study the program. I simply shopped as usual and enjoyed the occasional pleasant surprise at checkout.
After spotting increasingly frequent rewards offers, I did a bit of research. Now I’ve learned how to squeeze more value from Balance Rewards so I can keep more money in my wallet at Walgreens.
How to Maximize Your Walgreens Balance Rewards
Walgreens Balance Rewards operates on a points system that grants 10 points for every $1 spent both in-store and online. You can also accrue points through photo services and pharmacy transactions.
Monitor your points by signing into your account or using the Walgreens app. Points convert to rewards as follows:
- 1,000 points = $1
- 2,000 points = $2
- 3,000 points = $3
- 5,000 points = $5
- 10,000 points = $10
- 18,000 points = $20
- 30,000 points = $35
- 40,000 points = $50
The great thing is you don’t need to rely only on purchases to rack up points. Balance Rewards members can also collect bonus points through paperless coupons, weekly circulars and exclusive member offers.
Below are five strategies to get the most from your Balance Rewards.
1. Watch Your Receipts
Walgreens receipts summarize your rewards balance and often include Register Rewards.
Register Rewards are coupons for use on a future purchase. Sometimes they discount a specific item or category; other times they award bonus points — for example, $10 worth of bonus points when you spend $25 or more on qualifying merchandise. Item-specific Register Rewards typically show a yellow tag and expire after about two weeks.
Another reason to keep an eye on receipts — aside from redeeming them for cash back via Ibotta — is to ensure you’re getting all the points you’ve earned. Letting points accumulate without checking could mean missing out due to, well, tech hiccups.
You can view point activity for the past 90 days in your account and transaction history for up to 18 months.
Remember: Some items don’t earn points, such as alcohol, tobacco and dairy products.
2. Browse the Weekly Ads
If you ignore the Walgreens weekly ad, you might miss deals and chances to score bonus points.
For instance, an August 2018 flyer included these bonus point deals:
- 3,000 bonus points ($3 reward) for spending $12 or more on select items.
- 5,000 bonus points ($5 reward) for spending $15 or more on select items.
- 10,000 bonus points ($10 reward) for spending $50 or more on select items.
Eligible items are generally from the same product family — for example, one 5,000-point promotion included children’s or infants’ Tylenol, Benadryl, Motrin, Sudafed, Zyrtec and Desitin.
You can also locate bonus point offers and check current markdowns, clearance, and online-only bargains on the Walgreens site.
3. Use Paperless Coupons to Save More
Walgreens Rewards features paperless coupons available via your Balance Rewards account or the mobile app. These include manufacturer coupons and special bonus-point promotions.
You can “clip” these coupons to your Balance Rewards profile, so printing or cutting is unnecessary — just present your rewards card or phone number at checkout, and the discounts and offers apply automatically.
At the time of writing, 545 paperless coupons were active. Recent examples included 5,000 bonus points when spending $25 or more and 500 bonus points on Walgreens-brand bath tissue.
Coupons can be filtered by category and sorted by expiration date, value, brand, suggestions or newest. You can even preview and clip upcoming coupons.
Paperless coupons work for online purchases as long as your Balance Rewards card is connected to your Walgreens account.
4. Score Extra Points With Members-Only Offers
Balance Rewards also includes members-only perks that frequently provide chances to gain more bonus points.
One recent perk offered 10x the points on purchases of $20 or more in-store or online during a specified promotion window. Instead of the standard 10 points per $1, you would collect 100 points per $1 during that period.
Another members-only benefit is the Beauty Enthusiast program, which awards 5,000 points for every $50 spent on beauty products, such as cosmetics, nail care, skin care, hair care, fragrances, beauty tools, and bath and body items.
When you opt in, you’ll receive a welcome message with an offer for 20 times the normal points. You’ll also gain access to special promotions and samples, a tailored beauty profile, curated product picks, and expert tips and tutorials.
For other helpful comparisons between retailers and how to stretch your savings, check out this breakdown of dollar general vs walgreens.
5. Earn Extra Points for Healthy Habits
One of my favorite features of Walgreens Balance Rewards is that you can earn points simply by making healthy choices through Balance Rewards for Healthy Choices.
I particularly like that it rewards me automatically for activities I’m already tracking — using devices and apps like Samsung GearFit2, MyFitnessPal and Google Fit.
Points are awarded for tracking healthy behaviors, including:
- Walking, running or cycling: 20 points per mile (limit 1 mile per day).
- Exercise: 20 points per daily log.
- Weight: 20 points per daily log.
- Sleep: 20 points per daily log.
- Blood pressure: 20 points per daily log.
- Blood glucose: 20 points per reading (limit two readings per day).
- Nicotine replacement therapy: 20 points per daily log.
You don’t have to link apps or devices to collect healthy-choice points — you can log activities directly in your Walgreens account or app and still receive points.
If you connect apps and devices, you’ll get 250 points per connected app or device. That way you earn points passively as long as your tracker and fitness apps stay synced.
The cap for healthy-choice points is 1,000 per month, which equals an additional $1 discount monthly. It’s not a huge payout, but it’s a nice little nudge to stay on track with health and fitness goals.
AARP members can earn 50% more points for healthy choices, plus five times the points (50 points per $1) on Walgreens-brand health and wellness items. They also get 1,000 points for each vaccination at the pharmacy. Just link your AARP membership with your Balance Rewards account to take advantage.
After applying these tips over the past month, I saved $17 from coupons and accumulated 21,000 points — enough for a $20 reward! I’m pretty pleased with my new thrifty habits; I might treat myself with that $20 reward.
Well, maybe not. I’ll probably save it for the next time I disappear into a shopping sprint and run out of all my bear necessities AT THE SAME TIME.
Jasmine Cole is an editorial assistant at Savinly. She had “The Bare Necessities” from “The Jungle Book” running through her head while writing this piece.
