Walgreens: More Details on the New Balance Rewards Program (Begins 9/16 In-Store & Online)

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As I have mentioned before, starting tomorrow, September 16th, Walgreens will be rolling out a brand new rewards program called Balance Rewards! You can enroll in-store, online or via the mobile app and begin earning points and special savings, and start redeeming rewards starting this Sunday, 9/16.

You can see my post introducing this new program here, and I wanted to give you more details on what to expect before you head out to do your Walgreens shopping once the new program has gone into effect.

Earning Points

Balance Rewards Members will earn points with the purchase of specified products and/or services during specified promotions periods. Online orders delivered to your home will earn points as if purchased in store. Online orders picked up in store will earn points after the items have been picked up from the store. Points will be awarded to the Member’s account 3-5 days after purchase. Members can also earn points for making healthy choices, such as getting an immunization or participating in Walk with Walgreens (walk.walgreens.com).

*Walgreens reserves the right to limit points awarded with respect to any offer or promotion to reasonable household quantities. On a return and/or exchange the Points will be deducted from the Member’s account that was used for the original purchase.

Redeeming Points

Your points will be equal to the following rewards, redeemable for redemption dollars:

When you choose to redeem your points, they will be converted into redemption dollars to be used on your purchase. Redemption dollars cannot be paid out in cash or in store credit.

*Point Promotions will not apply to rain check items purchased after the promotion has ended. Points will not be earned in a transaction where Redemption Dollars or Store Credit is used. 🙁 Point Promotions and Redemption Dollars will not apply to and Points cannot be earned on purchases of: alcohol; dairy; tobacco; stamps; phone/prepaid cards; money orders/transfers; transportation passes; lottery tickets; charitable donations; or pharmacy items or services that must be excluded by law as determined by Company. Points will not be awarded if in Company’s reasonable opinion the merchandise purchased will be used for resale or commercial use and any Points awarded on such purchases will be forfeited. 

Points Expiration

Keep in mind that if you do not earn or redeem points for 6 consecutive calendar months, the membership will be deemed to be inactive and all accumulated Points will beforfeited. For active Members, all Balance Rewards Points expire on a rolling 36 month basis.

Register Rewards

Register Rewards will continue in its current form for the foreseeable future. Register Rewards is a couponing program while Balance Rewards is a comprehensive loyalty program that offers exclusive savings and the opportunity to earn points and instantly redeem rewards.


Join The Discussion

Comments 110

  1. Amber

    I was told today at my Walgreens that register rewards would not continue and that you would have to use the balance rewards card to get the sale prices as of October 1st. I will be sad if the register rewards really do end 🙁

    • dani

      rr will continue for awhile it will be very slowly phased out

  2. Nicole

    So, basically we won’t know how many times we can buy an item that gives balance rewards and they still give us the points? I wish they were a little more specific with that. What exactly is “reasonable household quantities”?

    Regardless, thank you Collin for all you and your helpers do for us!

  3. Matt

    My main issue with this program is that you can’t immediately tell if you’ve received points! At least if a Register Reward doesn’t print, you can resolve the issue right away. Now you will have to check your account in “3-5 days” and hope you received your points. So what happens when you don’t get your points? Do you call customer service? Go back to the store? I can just see it now: “Sorry sir, you __(insert made up excuse here)___, therefore you didn’t receive your points.”

    • wags ba

      the 3 to 5 days is only online orders as an employee we been testing it all month it is awesome and the points show up on the bottom of ur reciept right after u pay

      • krisib

        “awsome” is not the word for this program and if you ask me it is very far from “awsome”. This is basically a ploy by walgreens to make sure people have to pay out of pocket every time they purchase something. Especially with all of the exclusions on what you can use your points on. This program pilot didn’t go well in KC KS so i cannot believe that they’re going forward with it. I for one will no longer shop walgreens as it’s going to be nothing but a hassle. Points do not roll like register rewards and I would rather shop CVS from now on.

        • Jazlyn

          I’m with this I am so confused on this rewards thing so when I get points is it just for fun or what? and to get 40000 points I have to spend 50 dollars on items to get the points? thats what confuses me. Do I get to use those points to make my next purchase cheaper or not?

    • dani

      points should show up on your receipt when it prints as soon as you purchase the item

    • Matt

      I stand corrected! I went today and did the “Spend $15 get 5000 points” deal on the Coke/Planters. I used a RR and a MF coupon ($1 off 2 Planters) and got the 5000 points on my receipt. I was concerned about this program, but my thoughts have changed. I am IMPRESSED!

    • wags ba

      i stand buy my comment it is awesome the restrictions are the same ass rr were u were never supposed to use rr for dairy tobacco stamps ect as for rolling i never did it to much of a headache and u really dont pay that much out of pocket coupons do not affect u reciving your points only points and store credit do so never use your points to buy point items i am already at 40 thousand points in 2 days so i stand buy the awesome comment

  4. Erin

    The best practice is to redeem any points in a transaction that does not give points. Also, RXs will give you 500 points and so will any shots that you get at Walgreens. Register Rewards will be going away. Register with Walk with Walgreens and you will earn 10 points for each mile you walk. I registered and won a 100 GC. They give 4 away each Monday.

  5. Heather

    I too am wondered what reasonable quantities is. When I signed up, I don’t remember being asked anything about the number of people in my household – so they really can’t tell by that. I’m also wondering if, like register rewards, you have to break it up and buy items in separate transactions in order to receive points for each item?

    • wags ba

      they mean not having a whole cart full so basically shelf clearers most stores shoyldnt give u a hassle we want sales

  6. Kidsallgone

    Another reason to (continue to) shop at CVS 🙂 🙂 🙂

    • Blinky

      Exactly my thoughts. Especially if they scrap RRs and they issue points based on post-coupon totals (which I hope they don’t) …

      • wags ba

        in my opion it is better then rr u can buy 5 of an item in one single transaction and get all the points no seprate orders yay

    • krisib

      amen to that!

  7. Gretch

    I love cvs too sorry!

  8. Serena

    Oh goodness! I just LOVE rumors. As a shift lead at Walgreens, I can help answer any of these questions. First off, purchases IN-STORE will show up on your receipt immediately. It only takes a few days if you purchase online. There will be limits, but they should be specified in the ad how many you can purchase. REGISTER REWARDS ARE NOT GOING AWAY!!!! I know other managers have been telling customers this and then I walk up to them with a memo from Mark Wagner saying that balance rewards is a royalty program whereas register rewards are a couponing program. RRs MAY disappear in the future, but at least not for the next few years.

    • Nicole

      I don’t think anyone was trying to start “rumors”. We are all just confused about the situation because I personally have heard numerous explanations from just my Walgreens, let alone everything I’ve seen on different couponing websites. Thank you for clearing things up, and I hope things become more clear to everyone in the future!

      • Erin

        A rumor or rumour (spelling differs between American and British English) is often viewed as “an unverified account or explanation of events circulating from person to person and pertaining to an object, event, or issue in public concern”

      • Serena

        I’m not saying couponers are making things up — it’s the managers who don’t inform themselves and carry out the wrong information. It’s seriously frustrating and I can see why people get so furious with Walgreens in general.

        I even get frustrated with some of the 7 Walgreens I have in my area. We got our balance rewards last month and I tried to use it at the store closest to me and the cashier was treating me like I was crazy and hacked the prescription savings club system. …She was even trying to tell me that she can’t continue my transaction because it somehow showed up with an employee discount. Seriously.

        If it helps, I’m sure most of you follow walgreens on twitter or facebook and even check out at walgreens.com. None of these sources have said anything about getting rid of register rewards. The managers at your stores are just uninformed and refuse to inform themselves when this info is easily accessibly by any Walgreens employee.

        I just want to help everyone’s experience with Walgreens better — even if you don’t come into my location.

        • Serena

          whoops. I want to help *make* everyone’s experience better.

        • Debbie

          Serena,

          The terms and conditions from Walgreens states:
          All Points will be awarded to the Member’s account 3-5 days after purchase. I know you’re just trying to help but if it’s really only for online transactions then that statement is misleading and confusing!

          • Serena

            Ha! That would be misleading. I can tell you from experience that I have gotten my points from in-store purchases immediately. It even showed up on my receipt from my purchase of prescriptions. None of my co-workers have had issues with rewards not showing up either.

            • dani

              the whole 3-5 day thing mainly refers to if there’s an issue and they do not show up right away the they will within that time frame (also a shift lead at walgreens)

    • Ariel

      I agree, we are not starting rumors just going off what we have been told. I was told this week, that RR will be no more as of the 16th by the manager at my store. So, its confusing to know what is REALLY going to happen.

    • Jennie

      Thanks for stepping up and trying to clear some of the confusion Serena! I wish you were at my Walgreens, you obviously make an attempt to be educated on store policies.

    • krisib

      You seem very sure of RRs not going away…. Well let me tell you this. Walgreens is trying to “Wean” us off of register rewards and are not going to announce it and cause upset when it could damage their profit. Walgreens is going to slowly phase them out. I know this because that’s what they did at the pilot stores in Ks

    • Angie

      i don’t hardly shop at walgreens , how can i cancel my card?

  9. Guest

    All I would like to know is how to use the program? Do you hand over a card? Will the cashier automatically ask you for your membership number? Do you ask to ask each time to use the reward program?

    • Serena

      You can either hand them your card and they’ll scan it (which is way faster) or you can tell them you’d like to enter your phone number on the pin pad. You’ll want to do this every time you check out even if you’re not earning points. This card will be your card to get the sale prices as well. HTH!

    • wags ba

      u can have a card or go cardless and enter your phone number at pinpad every checkout its very simple

      • Guest

        i signed up online but i never got a card?

        • Nicole

          If you signed up online they said that you have to use your phone number until you link your phone number to a card in the store starting tomorrow, the 16th of September.

          • Lauri

            I’ve been reading through everything looking for this answer. Thank you. : )

        • Nicole

          You can download thr wags app and use the barcode for your card from there too!!

  10. cyn

    If you can’t spend and earn points in the same transaction, the two-transaction trick now is to spend register rewards on bonus point items, and save up the bonus points to spend on the register reward items. The point system comes from Duane Reade, the NYC pharmacy chain that Wags bought out. The points are slow to load, but once you hit 5000, the cashier will ask you if you want to apply them (in $5 increments) or save them. Do NOT spend them if you are purchasing bonus point items. Try to save them for the holidays or a free fish oil week or something.

    The points can rack up fast, and they’re easy to stack into your deal at 1,000 pts = $1. The i-d gum is free with coupon plus points, the mitchum is $0.24, hall’s defense, glade etc look good, so this program will add a few deals to your list each week, and it’s a great way to bank some credit for other items. We should all be quite happy about this, at least until limits or rr tracking are imposed.

    • wags ba

      cyn u have the jist the card is awesome glad to see somone looking at it postive i have heard alot of colmplaints on blogs people give it a chance then knock it

    • cyn

      Duane Reade is also changing their flex-rewards program on the 16th, it is actually merging with the Walgreens program! You will be able to spend and earn your balance points at DR if you are in NYC, and the pharmacies are already merged too.

    • Kevin

      Can we just have a simple retail transaction without having to dig through pockets for coupons and wallets to find the darn rewards plastic card? The checkout process at a Walgreens on Sunday and Monday is like watching paint dry.

  11. Dee

    I agree. With CVS right across the street, why would I mess with Walgreens?

    • Nicole

      It is just really confusing as to why they need two programs and why it’s so complicated. It feels like I have to take a class on how to use their rewards programs. LOL!

  12. Mimi

    In general, people just have hard time to accept “changes”. I am the same. Just like the RA load2card, I was going to opt out like many people do, but I am glad that I did not. I am surprised that I actually like load2card. That’s being say, I will ses how the rewards program will do at Wags. I think consider it similar to Safeway club card.

  13. esther

    I was told by Walgreens associate that register rewards would go on card

    • Nicole

      Not true. Register rewards are still printing. My store starts the ad early and got mine just fine!

  14. Darla

    When can I expect my card? I signed up on line several weeks ago.

    • mel

      You have to get one in the store starting tomorrow, then you can link it to your online acct.

  15. H.M.

    I am looking forward to this new program. Compared to CVS, Walgreens Register Rewards expire quicker. This will give me more of an opportunity to spend the points. Thanks everyone for the detail!

    • dani

      as long as you continue to use your card and earn points they will sit on your card and wait for you to redeem them for a 36 month rolling period

  16. Janelle

    I think I’m officially done at Walgreens. We just moved so its further away than before which makes it less worth the trip if shelves are empty. Plus I love to stack but really, man Q, IVC, and other other Wags Q’s plus RR’s, plus now this… I don’t feel like its worth my time. But I do hope others enjoy the program, but its not for my anymore. I’m so missing CVS!

  17. Justsomebody

    I’m gonna go on a rant here… I just got back from Walgreens and I was told, “if you don’t sign up for balance rewards as of (whatever date) you won’t be able to get the sale prices anymore…” If that’s truly the case, I won’t be shopping at Walgreens anymore and I know there are many other people who won’t either. Why do companies feel the incessent need to collect every customer’s personal info? The only reasons they collect that information is so they can make more money by adjusting their marketing strategies (fairly legitimate, I will agree), or sell the data and/or marketing information derrived from that data to other companies for profit. These programs that force customers to sign up or get screwed on prices are not for MY benefit as the customer… the “Rewards” offered are just a minimal gesture of compensation to appease the population so they’ll be more inclined to give up their personal information. Not only that, but they’ll end up loosing more money by customers who tend to by extra items they weren’t planning on buying, just because they saw it on sale on it looked good. And it’s bad enough that companies on the internet push so hard to collect this data, it really sucks that local stores are starting to push for it as well. And what’s worse is that it’s going to keep getting worse unless people start pushing back by boycotting these companies… yes it would suck for a while but if people would do so, things would go back to where you could just buy a product for a decent price without getting on these damn lists… which just lead to more junk mail and more natural resources being decimated.

    • dani

      the balance rewards program information is no different then getting a prescription and giving info for that it is not shared or sold that i am aware of it will be used to collect data to help better customer the customer experience other then that i wouldn’t worry about it being in the wrong hands and yes starting oct 1st you will need to be a member to continue receiving Walgreen deals

    • HOUDINI

      I totally agree, Big Brother is watching. Everything is a registration and a password, to get coupons online, etc. Don’t think the government doesn’t love this stuff. You can be tracked on your cell phone. Many cars have lojack and the buyers don’t even know it. There are programs that turn cell phones into listening devices. There is no more privacy unfortunately.

      Everyone is constantly being watched. A security man from CVS came over to me and asked me what I put in my pocket. It was my cell phone. He said I was shopping erratically! Why? Because the first item I put in my cart was a small jar of lumene lotion. Apparently men don’t use lotion.

      I was pissed. The only reason I got the lumene was because I got a coupon for it out of the red CVS machine! Anyway, back to the big picture….

      Banking online is fine unless the government takes over the internet, then they control your money. Easy way to make everyone comply, hold their money, EVERYONE will give in! Time to dig a hole, put in a safe and hide your money. Banks give no interest anyway!

    • Carly

      RA and CVS have had basically this program for a very long time – if you don’t have the card, you don’t get the sale price. I’m not a huge fan of Wags since they often aren’t very coupon-friendly in my area – but, if you already shop at CVS and/or RA, you’re already doing the same thing with the card… (in addition to Safeway, where I grocery shop).

      • krisib

        They aren’t the same. CVS’s points roll and walgreens won’t. You have to pay OOP every single time

    • krisib

      I just had this discussion with my mom this morning. I absolutely hate HATE the new walgreens program. They are just trying to get info to sell… I don’t like that someone else can decide for me if I’ve bought enough shampoo for the year or not either. This is crap. My walmart ad matches after points/register rewards/ card prices/ etc. so unfortunately walmart will be getting yet more of my business.I will no longer shop at WAGS even though it was one of my favorite stores.

    • Kevin

      Totally agree with you. Why do business with a store that will only give you the special price when you use their special plastic card. I will be drastically cutting back on what we spend in the store.

  18. Jessica

    Once you figure this out I would LOVE it if you did one of your videos! I think I’ll understand it so much better that way!

  19. Axel

    My Experience.

    Greetings Everyone. I headed to Walgreens today and tested out their points system. First and foremost. I do not see any problems with this system. Points will be given when the qualifying items are purchased. Also there is no limit on point unless otherwise stated on the add. For Example:

    I purchased 8 ID Gums, on ad $2/2 and I used the BOGO coupon. I received 4000 points at the bottom of my receipt right after the purchase.

    The water on sale state that it gives 500 points and is limited to three per transaction. On another transaction you will be able to continue earning points.

    Points cannot be earned on items that earn points. But I did use register rewards on the balance of the Gum and this did not stop me from earning points. As far as Register rewards disappearing, this is not happening, not yet at least.

    Signing up online:

    I signed up online and I won’t receive a card. To obtain a card you must go to the store. Give them your phone number and they will pull up your account. Ask them to scan a card. It will prompt them if they want to switch your current account number with the new account id (the new card) Once the yes is pressed you will have your card activated to your Online registration. GOOD NEWS! I did this after purchases and all my points transferred.

    The sales price on adds that have the “B” are the only ones that will be available to card members. If it does not have a “B” everyone gets the sales price.

    This is what I have until now to say. I think its a good program for the time being and we have much to learn yet.

    • Nicole

      I’m glad another reader had a great experience! The card is great as far as I’m concerned. 🙂

  20. Nicole

    I just got back from Walgreens and would like to share some information regarding the balance rewards program and register rewards. I signed up for the balance rewards program last week when it became available to sign up for online. Today when I went into the store I used my phone number to get rewards added to my card and was told that tomorrow, September 16th, I could link my balance rewards account to a card. Regarding register rewards, THEY ARE STILL PRINTING OUT! Just like before this card was put into place, register rewards are printing out from the catalina machine. Absolutely nothing is different about the register rewards besides the fact that you now have to have a balance rewards card to get the sale prices. THAT IS ALL! As far as the balance rewards go, we bought 10 packages of Stride iD gum in the same transaction, used 5 BOGO coupons from the 9/16 SS and still got our full 5,000 balance rewards. The balance rewards DO NOT take 3-5 days to be added to your card. That is only if you are ordering ONLINE. All of your balance reward point information shows up at the bottom of your receipt. One more thing – You cannot redeem balance to pay for a transaction where you should receive balance rewards and still get them! It’s the same concept as rolling register rewards, except for the fact that it is not brand specific. If you buy ANY items that should give you balance rewards and you decide to use balance rewards from prior transactions you WILL NOT receive your balance rewards for that transaction.

    From what I experienced of that new balance rewards program tonight, I really liked how it worked. It made it MUCH less of a hassle to be able to check everything out at once, rather than having to do multiple transactions. My best suggestion to spend the least amount of money out of pocket would be to alternate between buying items that give register rewards and items that give you balance rewards. I hope my post helps clear up a lot of confusion about this new program. It’s definitely a little bit of a change, but I personally don’t think it’s nearly as bad as it’s being made out to be by some people. Give it a try and be patient and maybe you’ll end up liking it better than you thought you would! 🙂

    • Michelle

      Thanks for the info I was planning on heading out in the morning to test the stride deal. I’m happy to hear you can buy multiple items and get points. I am still on the fence with this card, but I have an open mind. The one thing I did read in the terms of the card is that you can’t earn points when using store credit or using previously earned points. I don’t like this portion of the program.

      • Nicole

        You’re very welcome! That is the one part of the card I’m not overly thrilled with either, but I think as long as you go between using register rewards and your balance rewards it should work out okay. It’s really not as bad as what I had made it out to be in my mind!

  21. liz

    I was told this evening that i will not be able to get sale prices tomrrow (also in their ad starting tmrw MUST have card to get sale prices!). luckily I have a raincheck for an item but if you have to have a card to get sale prices I will shop else where. originally it was for loyalty but apparently they changed that? How sad, since I started shopping there.

  22. Renee

    Thanks everyone for clearing up all my questions. Hip 2 Save–You have a great following of informed readers!

  23. CJ

    It worked okay for me this morning except for I forgot to hand over my coupons so the cashier voided the first transaction and did it all over again and I forgot to scan my card the 2nd time. So now I’m not sure if I still get the points because the voided transaction probably cancelled them and I didnt use my card the 2nd time. Its already hard enough to remember everything I need to do at the register and now I need to remember to scan the card. It would be helpful if the cashiers reminded customers about the card especially at the start of this new program.

  24. Brooke

    I’m a little concerned as to why, when I signed up for the card, my kids names poped up on the cashire’s screen. ????? Anyone know why that would happen? A little unsetteling.

    • Kristy

      Their program is linked to something, because when I gave my phone # when signing up in store, she said “Kristy”…I didn’t question it . I signed up online, but never received a card(now I know that I won’t if you sign up online), BUT I checked my online acct & I didn’t even use the same phone number when I registered online…..very odd that they have my info already just by giving them my phone #.

      • Rachel

        Have your kids gotten prescriptions filled at WAGS? If so, that’s why they have the info. The same thing happened when I got my card this week. My 9 month old son’s name popped up too.

        • Kristy

          I have never filled a prescription at Walgreen’s….

    • krisib

      This happened to me as well with my husbands name……?? He’s never even shopped at walgreens. That shows they’re gathering and selling our information. I will not be using the card. I got it so i could finish out my register rewards and spend them to bow out of WAGS shopping.

    • wags ba

      if u get prescprtions photo order or order online your info will be on there its that simple folks we are not selling your info period

  25. Kristy

    Did anyone not get their points on their card today? I signed up instore and the cashier said that it would take 3-5 days to register on my card. At the bottom of my receipt it says I COULD have earned an additional 6500 points if I signed up today??? When they scan your card is it listed somewhere on the receipt? I just want to make sure I will be receiving the points or see if their is a mistake.. thanks

    • Carly

      I was told that while you do earn the points upon purchasing, they’re not actually available for use for 3 – 5 days…

      • Nicole

        Your points should be available immediately at the bottom of your receipt. The cashiers are obviously misinformed.

        • Kristy

          Is your card # shown on the receipt somewhere?? For example, riteaid & cvs show that card #…. was used. Thanks

        • guest

          As a walgreens employee who just got home from work, all i can say is…u usually get your points immediately, however when the computers were offline today, the message we were getting on the computer screen did say it will take 3 to 5 days to credit the cards with the points. The cashiers did not make that up. I just told customers to hold on to their receipts and enter it in online or call the phone number to get it credited if it doesn’t show up in 5 days. HTH

  26. Mary

    I was in to my Wags this morning and the registers were offline so the balance reward points are not showing up yet. Had no problems with the Glade and Blistex RR printing when I also bought rr items together.

    • Nickida Stephens

      Yes I shopped today and I didn’t get any points all mines says is that’s its offline. When I try to add it online it say the transaction does not exist. So while its been so smooth for some its hasn’t been for others. I have my receipt as proof that it didn’t work for me. I have also been on hold for customer service for over 10 minutes to get it resolved and its so busy no one has answered yet.

  27. dfwshopper

    Did not get points today on the mitchum – my guess is that I paid with a walgreens gift card. crazy?! now I have to separate: don’t redeem points when earning points, don’t use gift card on balance if earning points. too many things to remember just to get those stupid points!

  28. Hnouchee Vue

    So I still have two RR left can I still use them?

  29. dani

    rr can still be earned and redeemed as far as those that did not receive points there should be a number to call or you can go online to get it fixed or if you mention it to a manager at the store they have the ability to add it onto your card for you. as far as knowing whether or not your card was used your receipt will look different from old receipts if it was input. what it is sounding like is a lot of managers are not reading emails they are being sent and also not passing off the information to their employees which is a shame. this program is not intended to be difficult at all its supposed to make things easier and better for everyone. however yes there will be issues at first since it is so new for everyone and a learning process for them all as well. also stores should have a brochure with information about the program at every register.

  30. cindy

    how do you redeem the money from the points

  31. Cindy D

    Went today to do the Glade Expressions deal, the Stride gum, and the Nice water. I had registered online and only had to type in my phone number to get the physical card at the register. The Glade deal worked with the printable coupons and I got two RRs back. The gum and water gave me multiple points even though I used the BOGO gum Q. Three waters and 6 packs of gum gave me 4500 points.

    @cindy – the register will ask you if you want to redeem your rewards (just like CVS asks if you want to use the offers you sent to your card). Employee told me today you can hold them and use up to $50 in one order.

    • Angel

      went to my Walgreens today-Cleveland,OH-2 separate transactions so I could use my RR with my Q’s -signed up online for BR . RR printed out for glade expressions & blistex- only got 1000 pts for stride gum — I did this pairing for both transactions -for a total of 4 packs gum– along with the halls defense drops- 4 pks drops–again 1000 pts- bought huggies slip on diapers- so I received only 3000 after all this – Don’t know if it was a limit at my store -reading that people bought more pks of gum–and 4 isn’t alot to me- I wonder if it was because I broke up my transactions-Anyone know??Anyone receive the Balance points with these deals in separate transactions? Points for my BR did show up right away at bottom of my receipt, stating what I earned in each transaction and how much til my next reward. Any input would help- Walgreens was frustrating enough to learn at first with matching my Q’s, RR, to # of items- TY & happy shopping ;0)

      • Cindy D

        Your total should have been 5,000. All I can think of is it works like Stop & Shop gas points when you do two back to back transactions. The system can’t take your balance after your first transaction and update that quick. Do both your receipts start with a zero balance? Likely, if you go today you will see a beginning balance of 5,000.

    • Mary

      Points are correct. You earned 500 points for each water and 1000 for each 2 packs of gum. 3 @ 500 = 1500 and 3 @ 1000 = 3000 for a total of 4500 points.

      • Cindy D

        My points are correct, that wasn’t the issue. 🙂

  32. Brooke M.

    My question is how many of each deal can I buy? For example Glade Air Fresheners – Plugins Scented Oil Warmers, Solid 6 oz or spray 9 oz 3/$4
    * Buy 3, get 1,000 points (which equals a $1 reward)
    Buy 3 Glade Plugins Scented Oil Warmers 3/$4 Pay $1
    Get 1,000 Balance Rewards points (which equals a $1 reward)
    Final cost – 3 warmers for FREE!

    Does anyone know how many of these deal I can get??

    • Cindy D

      Unless there is a stated limit in the ad (or the manager says no) I *think* you’re good. I bought 20 packs of ID gum the other day all in one transaction and got 10,000 points. The only time I’ve run into issues is with rolling Register Rewards, not Balance Rewards.

  33. Haley

    Is the new program based on a card? Like do we need to sign up for a card?

    • Cindy D

      yes, there is a card (picture at the top of this post) or you can register and just give your phone number at check out.

  34. Jinx

    I do not understand this new balance rewards system. I had a Duane Reade Card, which originally gave me a $5 coupon after every $100 spent. This was changed to $5 coupon for every $500 spent! Now my new card is Walgreens, and I need 5,000 points? I don’t get it – my latest Duane Reade receipt shows a closing balance of 9010 balance rewards. Then it says 990 “POINTS TO NEXT AWARD”…In plain English, how close am I to getting a $5 rewards or discount coupon?

    • Cindy D

      You are 990 points away from a $10 reward.
      5,000 points = $5
      10,000 points = $10
      20,000 points = $20
      30,000 points = $35
      40,000 points = $50

  35. Ron

    I am a 40 year business consultant in my area (North Idaho) and I have seen every scam, gimmick and card nonsense the stores can come up with. I have been a loyal Walgreen customerfor over 10 years. I love their pharmacy department. I will not patronize a store that says I must have their card to get a sale price. Goodby Walgreens.

    • Cindy D

      Unfortunately, that’s the norm here. The only places left we can shop sans card are Target and Walmart. Everyone else demands them for sale prices.

      • Kris

        What a horrible trend. I say goodby Walgreens also.

    • Nadia

      1962 called, they want you back!!!!!!!!!

  36. JoJo

    Just don’t ever EVER forget to use your BR at the time of the transaction. The phone system *claims* that you can add a transaction after the fact, if you forget during check out. But it’s a PIA… especially if you’ve used coupons during the transaction. I’ve spent an entire WEEK to get 5000 points back on one of my transactions. After many phone calls and headaches, they’re only rewarding me 4,000 because, apparently, chewable baby aspirin isn’t low dose aspirin (1000pts). Even though my receipt CLEARLY says that I could have earned 5000 points by using my card. I guess I’ll pay a $1 penalty to teach me a lesson to NEVER forget to enter my phone # before paying. ARG!

  37. Dathnea Sink

    How do you know how many total points you have without keeping all the receipts?

  38. Loren

    Balance Rewards is still in the “birthing stage” and has many flaws. Here are a few I have run into. Signed up for Balance Rewards in-store, made purchases, was not awarded earned points and inquired – my account was assigned to another individual!. I had the physical card, and signed up in-store. Customer service response was we’ll have to cancel your account and we can’t award you the points for purchased you have made. It gets better, made a number of prescription purchases and still not points awared – customer service response is I’m on a government insurance program. I’m not and have United Healthcare, response we’ll send it up to corporate that was two weeks ago with no response and no resolution. Recently went in to refill a prescription and asked the pharmacist if I’m somehow mistakenly in the system as being on a government insurance program – he confirmed no. Still zero points for valid purchase in the Balance Rewards program.

  39. Patrick

    This Balance Rewards program means we go through more work to get less.
    Before this program hit my area (St. Louis MO), there were many, many “buy one, get one free” deals offered by Walgreens. Now, it’s “buy one, get one at 50% off.” In addition, many of the half-price offers say “buy three to earn 500 (or 1,000 or whatever number) points!” So, you’re now hooked into really buying four items-two at full price and two at 50% off if you want to maximize your savings. In addition, the physical card I got in-store after I opened the Rewards account online didn’t work. When I subsequently had it scanned on instore purchases I was told the points would show up 3-5 days later. When they didn’t, the first time I went back I was told I had to keypunch my phone number AS WELL AS HAVE THE CASHIER scan my card to have the points added. I did, and was AGAIN told to wait 3-5 days. Points still didn’t show up! Then I was told my card was linked to somebody else’s account and there was “no way” I could get the points earned that were rightfully mine because they had already been awarded (to somebody else!!) I finally got a card that was properly linked and that tallied the points right onto the receipt as it was supposed to, but all in all it’s been a very frustrating experience to go through to get less generous deals than Walgreens offered before they decided to “reward” us. I had been a Walgreens “regular” for quite some time, but since all this began I have DRASTICALLY cut back on shopping there.

  40. Tk7401

    Be careful….it’s a scam. I purchased items along with Rxs….never got the 1500 points for Rx because I used the $10.00 rewards points on the other items….INSIST on 2 receipts and then you will get your reward points for the Rx.

  41. Kris

    I wish businesses would understand that consumers like things simplified, not more complicated. When stores roll out gimmicks and then hassle you about them every time you check out, it makes me want to run screaming for the door to never shop there again.

  42. Eileen

    I will not be shopping at Walgreens any longer as they will not credit government employees with their reward points. I do not understand this as I pay for my own insurance and I am not on Medicare or Medicaid. They are taking a huge part of the population and deleting us from their rewards program and no one will call me back even though they promise to!

  43. Patrick

    Another way to earn reward points is to “Walk With Walgreens.” This too has plenty of fine print. You earn so many points per mile (which Walgreens translates as being the equivalent of 2,000 steps). However, there is a limit to how many “steps” you can walk per day and per month. If you don’t consistently log them in each time you walk, you can’t play “catchup.” For example, if you missed entering your “steps” for 3 days, you can’t retroactively enter them on each of 3 individual days (unless the 3 days total less than 50,000 steps). Worse, just trying to log into the “Walk With Walgreens” site is very frustrating! The home page takes forever to load. When you then enter your email and password (assuming it lets you do that-THAT is hit and miss itself!) it brings you to a blank page while it’s “waiting.” After waiting an interminable amount of time, you have to hit your back button twice to finally bring up your individual page. I’ve emailed through their “Help” icon (which promises a reply in 24 hours-I NEVER got a reply and its been many days now) and left a separate message on the “Site Administrator” page-that too without a reply.

  44. cathey payne

    This is a poor rewards system. You have to spend a lots of money on certain items just to receive 5.00 off, which no one is going to do when they can buy it cheaper some where else even with % off. Need to revamp system.

    • Jennifer H.

      I used to shop at 2 stores each week in my area (New Hampshire) – those stores were Walgreens and Market Basket (a New England grocery chain. Until recently I was devoted to both stores because they were easy to shop. I continue to remain faithful to Market Basket (they don’t have any points systems or customer rewards but they ALWAYs have the lowest prices). Walgreens however has just become way too complicated. I see some folks like CVS above but I personally stayed away from CVS because they had instituted some point system which was a real turn-off and drained too much brain power for me to bother. So now I have scratched Walgreens off my regular shopping list. Funny how they put these programs in place to create “loyalty” the fact is they HAD my loyalty, my business and my money – I just don’t shop there anymore at all, I don’t even look at the circular. Way to go Walgreens you have made your company just like all of the others and essentially took away an edge I guess you didn’t realize you had – many people don’t want to bother with these types of programs and will just go somewhere else.

  45. K. Schwarzin

    The advertised instant 500 points for prescriptions is a scam! They code your health insurance as “publicly funded” so you don’t qualify for points. I have asked at the local level and corporate level about this coding and gotten nowhere. Even though my insurance is NOT publicly funded and I have in fact paid full price for some of my prescriptions since they didn’t qualify under our plan, I still don’t get any points for prescriptions filled!! I have been told that since I have been coded as publicly funded we don’t qualify! Even after multiple conversations and proving that we are not on publicly funded health insurance I’m still told that “corporate” is looking into it…”.they are very behind and can’t say when/if they will know anything”. After wasting my time trying to get their “free” rewards program to function properly, it’s obvious that they aren’t interested in fixing it. This all spells SCAM!!

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