Walgreens Balance Rewards?

[jacksmom]

Does anyone know how this works? My husband signed up and I have points but don't know how to use them???

 

[WeLuvTink!]

Once you hit a certain level of points you can "cash in" when checking out at Walgreens and have the clerk apply them towards your purchase.

5,000 points = $5
10,000 pts = $10
20,000 pts = $18
30,0000 pts = $35
40,000 pts = $50

 

[angwill]

Use your card or phone number everytime you buy from them and once you have enough points the cashier will be able to apply that amount if you tell them too. One word of caution I found out the hard way is never use your points when earning points or you forfit the points earned on that transaction. Also use all your money at once because if you have say $35 and you only use $5 you automatically go down to the last level so you would only have 20,000 points and $18 left in your account if you do that. The cashier will not warn you about any of this either.

 

[disneychrista]

I have a card but only because that is the only way to get the "sale" prices.

How long do the point stay valid? Or another way to ask is when do the points expire? I shop only infrequently and never that much but I am sure I have gotten points but never paid that much attention to it.

 

[LeahJH]

I have a card but only because that is the only way to get the "sale" prices. How long do the point stay valid? Or another way to ask is when do the points expire? I shop only infrequently and never that much but I am sure I have gotten points but never paid that much attention to it.

I discovered this week that you also need to register online. I have had mine for over a year but I don't have any points because I never registered. Oops!

 

[Free4Life11]

Honestly...not that great. You need the card to get the sales prices. I don't know if points expire, but you only earn points on certain products each week. I don't really see that many good offers and since you can't redeem points and earn points in the same transaction, you can "roll" the points like you can with CVS Extra Bucks. Not impressed.

 

[angwill]

I have a card but only because that is the only way to get the "sale" prices.

How long do the point stay valid? Or another way to ask is when do the points expire? I shop only infrequently and never that much but I am sure I have gotten points but never paid that much attention to it.

I believe points are good forever as long as you use the card at least once in a 6 month period otherwise you lose them.

 

[312BillB]

I believe points are good forever as long as you use the card at least once in a 6 month period otherwise you lose them.

The points are not good forever. They have two sets of expiration; a "shelf life" and an inactivity period. So long as you shop (and use your card) at least once every 6 months, you do not have to worry about the inactivity. However, ALL points are subject to a rolling three-year shelf life. As long as you don't collect your points for more than three years without any use, it generally shouldn't be a problem. I work at corporate and have assisted in the loyalty program development a couple of years back so I'm very knowledgeable on the program.

Expiration is not a foreign concept nor do I feel that the Walgreens policy is unfair, so long as people are aware of the rules and monitor their own activity. Most programs have expiration (United, Hotels.com, etc.), some of which are very close to our rules and others are a little more flexible.

 

[angwill]

The points are not good forever. They have two sets of expiration; a "shelf life" and an inactivity period. So long as you shop (and use your card) at least once every 6 months, you do not have to worry about the inactivity. However, ALL points are subject to a rolling three-year shelf life. As long as you don't collect your points for more than three years without any use, it generally shouldn't be a problem. I work at corporate and have assisted in the loyalty program development a couple of years back so I'm very knowledgeable on the program.

Expiration is not a foreign concept nor do I feel that the Walgreens policy is unfair, so long as people are aware of the rules and monitor their own activity. Most programs have expiration (United, Hotels.com, etc.), some of which are very close to our rules and others are a little more flexible.

Thanks for clarifying the 3 year period, I didn't recall reading that.

What I don't understand is why your saying the policy isn't unfair or foreign when nobody compalined about those things? All I heard said negative is that it isn't a very good program when compared to CVS which is true. Maybe you can report back to your loyalty program development team and they can check out other programs to tweek some stuff if they want their customers to be happier and buy more at the store? It would be great if you could spend and earn them at the same time or at least train the employees to know the rules and try and help in such situations too. That would be awsome customer service. Just a suggestion since you work there.

 

[midwestdee]

The CVS program is BIG time better than Walgreens. Having said that if you are on the wrong side of 50 - make sure you connect your AARP card to your Walgreen's card - that way you don't have to remember to swipe your AARP card before every purchase. Walgreens does have monthly AARP days where you get usually 15 to 20 % off a bunch of stuff.