You Spoke. They Listened: Walgreens Balance Rewards Program Changes Coming in May!

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Walgreens Balance Rewards cards peeking out of a wallet

Attention, Walgreens shoppers!

As you may recall, in November 2018, Walgreens changed their Balance Rewards Program so members could no longer redeem more than 5,000 points (a $5 reward) in one transaction. 😕 This was very frustrating for many Walgreens customers as shoppers had saved up points to use on larger purchases.

Walgreens Baskets stacked

However, I have good news!

Walgreens has listened to consumers and just made changes to their Balance Rewards Program! Starting May 5th, 2019, shoppers will once again be able to redeem their Balance Rewards Points in three higher tiers, as listed below. This means you can save up your points and redeem them on larger purchases again! 🙌🏻

  • 1,000 points = $1 discount
  • 2,000 points = $2 discount
  • 3,000 points = $3 discount
  • 4,000 points = $4 discount
  • 5,000 points = $5 discount
  • 10,000 points = $10 discount (new – starting 5/5!)
  • 20,000 points = $20 discount (new – starting 5/5!)
  • 50,000 points = $50 discount (new – starting 5/5!)

Walgreens shopping basket filled with items

Once the new policy takes effect, the maximum amount of redemption dollars that can be redeemed in a single transaction will be 50,000 points, with a 100,000 point limit per day. Also, Balance Rewards Points cannot be redeemed to purchase alcohol, dairy, tobacco, prepaid cards, clinic services, prescriptions, pharmacy items or services, contact lenses, and photo orders not picked up in store.

Thank you, Walgreens! 😍


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Comments 22

  1. Me

    Hallelujah as I all but stopped shopping there because of the whole points thing! There was no point in buying $20 to get 7000 points when you couldn’t even redeem them all at once. Their sales must have taken a hit for them to reinstate this so quickly.

    • CW

      Same here! I stopped shopping there too.

    • Hidesertyo

      Same here. I totally stopped shopping there after the change. I used to find stuff to buy, because it made sense for the points. I’m glad they made the change and made it quickly too.

  2. Rita

    Too bad there are no “bonuses” for saving up like the 18,000pts for $20.00 and so on. There’s really no point in accumulating them as they are not worth more.

    • Sabrina

      Exactly! Without the bonuses It still isn’t good enough for me to start shopping there again since almost everything is more expensive than just buying it at the grocery store.

      • jj

        I agree! I’m still not sure if I’ll go back.

  3. Kathryn

    Was at Walgreens today, the cashiers are happy also!

  4. Kellie

    I think this is great news! I am really glad!

  5. MKW

    Hmmmm… I quit shopping there. I was a customer of 20+ years. Not sure this is enough to lure me back. It’s been kinda nice not having to watch rewards, points, clerks, transactions….and on and on.

    • Erin

      Yup! Less hassle and I think I’m saving money overall by avoiding the drugstores. There’s so much I bought that I didn’t truly need (and now I don’t even want). There’s something to be said for minimalism!

  6. Aly

    What happens to the points that are currently in the account? Will they roll over to the new program, or will we lose all points that have accumulated when it rolls out?

    • Cassandra (Hip Sidekick)

      Hi Aly! I’m sorry, I’m not finding anything in the fine print that answers your question. However, points rolled over after the last change to the program so I’m assuming this time should be no different.

  7. Teen40rn

    Probably not going back. Switched to CVS after they changed their policy

  8. Kcmiami

    That’s great, I love Walgreens! I either go to target or Walgreens for pretty much everything, and cvs is 2 blocks from my house, and Walmart directly across from cvs. To me their service, selection, and prices are always a win. Personally every time I go to Walmart everything about the experience sucks and their products are trash, and cvs NEVER has what I need, products tend to be expired or close to it, and the service is TERRIBLE. A “fast run” turns into a 20 minute ordeal every time smh.

  9. susan

    But do they expire? That is why I hated the original program.

    • Amber (Hip Sidekick)

      Yes, I just spoke with customer service to confirm that – “”The points expire every year from the time they are earned.” Hope that helps!

  10. Sara

    Glad they’re bringing back some of the higher tiers!! I stopped shopping at Walgreens and had to use my $15 in rewards in 3 transactions.

  11. Crystal

    Am I the only one that deals with some real coupon police at the register? I bought about 8 items, had a $20 total and they lightly tried to scan my coupons, scrutinize them and try to give them back because they are printed. They are from coupons.com! Serial numbers and all! After holding up the line and being super embarrassed the ‘manger’ comes back and says she will over ride them “this time”. Did I mention they were for $1.50 total?! Walgreens isn’t worth the trouble lately.

    • Kharrington

      100% agree! I will never go back. I am so tired of their coupon bs! They could have the best deal in the country and I wouldn t shop there. Not to mention their cs is horrible! Idc what they do with their points system! You can’t fix what’s broken there!

  12. Jennifer McClaflin

    Dang! Still can’t use them to purchase contacts anymore . . . . those were the good old days!

  13. DAvid

    And NOW they’ve changed it again. NOW you can 20 cents every week or so or something like that. Big deal.

  14. Randy Withrow

    still taking my points I had $10
    09/01/2019
    PointsExpired: Unredeemed Points Expired

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