Alrighty you guys I have some very good news. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to have closure on this particular issue because I never know how to handle these coupons. There are a lot of people that feel you should not stack manufacturer coupons. What does that mean? That means use the new e-coupons and load them onto your club card- then use a paper coupon on top of that for the exact same item. So in essence you use 2 coupons on one item and they are both manufacturer.
This puts me in a difficult spot because it absolutely CAN be done, but as we all know just because you can do it, doesn’t mean it is right.
To complicate this issue a little more, Safeway has recently started featuring coupons.com coupons which can also be loaded onto your store card. The awesome thing about these coupons is that there is a ton of overlap between these coupons and the printable coupons that I frequently reference.
To date I have been a little uncomfortable with all of this- especially since I have heard from readers that were escorted out of stores when they were caught stacking these coupons. I don’t want to publish or encourage anything that is unethical- regardless of whether it works or not.
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So with that being said, I am very, very, very happy to report that I clarified this issue with the person that actually wrote this coupon policy at Safeway directly.
She said that unless you live in the state of Hawaii you can absolutely for sure stack away!!
So this means there are going to be so many more great deals at Safeway and if you haven’t gotten onto the e-coupon bandwagon yet, you are really missing out.
Here are the e-coupon sites available right now:
*Cellfire
*Shortcuts
*Proctor and Gamble
*Safeway loadable coupons (if you shop at an affiliate store, go directly to that site instead- i.e. Vons.com)
You will want to get registered with all of these companies so that you can start loading the coupons right away. If you are unsure how to do this just head over to watch my vlog on e-coupons.
Still not convinced you want to bother with e-coupons? Well here is an example of a deal that is available right now:
Frosted Flakes are $1.49 this week (Buy 8, Save $4 sale)
Use $1/2 printable coupon any Kellogg’s cereal
AND use the Safeway loadable coupon for $1/2 any Kellogg’s cereal
Final Price: .49 per box
Tina says
This is good to know , I did stack mine before because my store never said anything about it to me . But now I dont have to feel guilty.
Karen says
yay!!!! *does kermit happy dance* however its hard to find something I need/use @ safeway since I have found it is a bit pricier for things than say going to nob hill but if you find a good deal, then go with it! 🙂
TerriAnn says
Thank you for this useful post. I have been irritated with Safeway coupon policy lately. They said I cannot us a coupon that is more than 50% the price the item. What does that mean? My coupon for a free mayonnaise from Kraft itself is useless there. I’m glad to hear about the paper + digital stacking!
Linds says
Why does Hawaii get left out?! Things cost more here, we need it the most!
Tina says
Hey Im clicking on the proctor and gamble link and it’s directing me to safeway.
Denise says
Hi Charlene,
Thank you so much for stepping up to the plate and contacting Safeway about this very important issue for us that coupon.
I love that you clarified this with the actual author of the Official Safeway Coupon Policy – very smart.
The only question I would like to follow up with is, is this policy anywhere in writing? While I know this was established in your phone call, I just won’t risk being thought of as doing something wrong in a stores opinion until I have something in writing that I can show them.
I’ll need this to feel better about it all until the updated Safeway coupon policy is common knowledge for their employees (which I can’t imagine will be anytime soon – since most STILL don’t even understand stacking MFC and in-store together, etc).
While I have not had the horrible experience of being “escorted out” of the store for stacking coupons (how absoulutely RIDICULOUS – I am so sorry for those that have – how terrible!), I simply don’t want to be one who is – ever. I’m sure you understand!
Can you point us to the updated coupon policy in writing, if it exists, and if it isn’t, does the person you spoke with have a name and number that we can offer to a store manager if the incidence arrises if we are told we are in the wrong? That is only necessary if the policy isn’t explicitly updated to print.
Thanks again for all the work you do on behalf of and for all of us!
Rocio H. says
THANK YOU for all the GREAT WORK you DO!
Charlene says
Denise- it is in writing I posted this morning here:
http://myfrugaladventures.com/2010/06/attention-safeway-shoppers-new-coupon-policy-is-available/
It is pretty darn clear I just wanted to be super, extra careful that I was 100% right before people got too excited. 🙂
Charlene says
Tina I think I fixed it but for the future just go to Sfwy.com and then click on coupons and you will see the image on my post which takes you to all three e-coupon providers.
Charlene says
Linds I did not ask why and I haven’t the foggiest idea. Very odd.
Charlene says
TerriAnn- I want to be sure you understand that free item coupons will still be accepted. The ones that are printed from the internet are the ones they will no longer take. I am sure that is going to be more and more common since there have been numerous “free” Doritos, Folgers, Pepsi etc.. coupons floating all over the internet that the stores are losing a fortune from. That is one reason I prefer to be safe than sorry because some might think- oh who cares I will sneak and use a coupon for a free bag of chips- well what happens is policies change because a few people turns into tends of thousands of people really quick.
Does that make sense? If you are talking about the First Taste Mayo coupon that came in the mail- that is fine to use.
Also, the OLD policy used to have that 50% provision but the new policy does not- so the manager is now officially wrong 🙂
Linds says
Charlene, can you forward me their response- what they told me is that Hawaii was the only one doing it so they are just making us the same as everyone else.
eveleve says
I have been so frustrated lately with the coupons loaded on my Safeway card. I have been doing these for about 2 months – they worked the first couple of times – and now nothing ever shows up. I have emailed, asked for resolutions etc…but basically haven’t got much help.
Has anyone else had problems with them not working?
sheila says
What!? I can’t believe that story about people “escorted out of the store” for stacking coupons! Customers are valuable, if the store believes a customer stacking coupons is not in line with their policy, then surely they can just kindly let them know, “that’s against our policy” etc. rather than humiliating and degrading them. Amazing! Funny that couponers are stereotyped as a group criminals by many cashiers and managers.
Charlene, you’re awesome, thanks for all the work you do to clarify these matters and keep us all honest 🙂
Leah says
eveleve, Safeway e-coupons work so sporadically for me that I don’t even bother anymore. There’s no easy contact to reach them and find out why, and it’s not worth it to me to be disappointed after a shopping trip to find out they didn’t come off.
chris says
I love your blog and have been so fortunate to get some great deals with your advise. Just wanted to chime in here, that Jill at Super Couponing told me that if your card is older there are problems with the coupons being loaded on them and that mostly all it takes is requesting a new card to solve the problem.
Carrie says
Thank you so much! Any insight on utilizing upromise e-coupons? Also, do you load anything on your CVS card? Also, does Raley’s/Bel Air have a shopper card? Thanks!
Judith says
Besides, Shortcut and Cellfire, I also noticed that at Coupon.com there are Load to Card coupons…would those apply to the stacking too? There are some really good ones in there…
sheila says
Eveleve-For sure they work for me less then half the time. I have no idea why shortcuts and cellfire work so much better then the safeway loaded coupons. I have emailed a few times, and they usually just tell me to go to customer service at my store and they will compensate me, but I hate to do that since I don’t think the store will get reimbursed by the manufacturer-so I only do it if it’s a Safeway coupon.
At this point I just load them, but I don’t count on them to work. I won’t buy something that I wouldn’t buy otherwise, so if the coupon comes off my receipt it is just a bonus. I’m guessing in a few months they will have worked out the kinks. and it will be more reliable.
Charlene says
Judith I actually addressed these specifically as the coupons.com loadables- those are the ones I meant and the link is also in the post.
Charlene says
Carrie-No Raley’s does not have a card. I have a post about U Promise here:
http://myfrugaladventures.com/2009/08/u-promise-sign-up-to-save-money-for-college/
and a vlog here:
http://myfrugaladventures.com/2010/01/vlog-free-college-savings-program/
Paula says
Charlene- Thanks for clarifying. I’ve been a HUGE fan of eCoupons since I began couponing last year. However I also have problems with the coupons.com ones. I find they worked for a little while and then stopped working and then they would only work if I didn’t have a paper manufacturer coupon with the same value. I load them but like another of your readers I don’t count on them actually coming off my total.
I do have a question about another portion of the coupon policy and am wondering if you asked about it at all. I am wondering about the BOGO portion. Do we know WHY they decided we can only use ONE coupon with a BOGO? They are reimbursed anyways so am just wondering on this one. Thanks!
Becky O. says
I was at my Safeway yesterday. There is a guy that works there that is sooo cool! He told me he got into couponing himself because of all the good deals he sees people walk out of his store with. He has gotten to know me a little bit, because of me using coupons, and we started chatting yesterday. He told me everything you have just posted about! I WAS SHOCKED! I said, “But that is stacking manuf. coupons and you are not supposed to do that.” So he called the manager over and we discussed it. She said that it was perfectly fine to stack the paper ones with the “e” ones. Then, I quickly asked if the took Catalinas from other stores. She immediately answered “YES!, AS LONG AS IT IS A MANUFACTURER CATALINA!” I was so happy that I told them I’d be movin’ in, lol!
Judy says
Thanks for your Blog; I love it! Do you know if this is the same for Kroger???
Charlene says
Judy- this is from Safeway only. Maybe Kroger will follow- since I don’t shop at Kroger I am pretty sure the e-coupons stack in the same way but I don’t think they have a clear policy saying go ahead and do it.
Kristine says
This bit is directly from the FAQ section on the Genuardis website about digital coupons. http://www.genuardis.com/IFL/Grocery/Couponlink-FAQ#faq12
Can I combine coupons?
Yes, you can theoretically combine coupons. This can happen if a manufacturer offers a coupon to multiple coupon providers. However, the price will never go below zero.
Charlene says
Yeah Kristine- I mentioned that in the vlog. That was written before the coupons.com loadable coupons were available.
Samantha says
Hey Charlene! I’m a college student living on my own and I absolutely love and appreciate everything you do. A lot of blogs like this are targeted at Moms, but just know that yours means a lot to other demographics as well.
I was curious about how Safeway/Vons deals with rewards from other store. Does this mean that I could take my CVS Extra Care Bucks and those would work towards my purchase at Safeway/Vons?
Thanks!!
Charlene says
No, ECBs are different than Register Rewards. So the only catalinas that will work at Safeway are Walgreens ones and occasionally you might get catalina coupons at Target. If you get cat coupons at other grocery stores those should work- like if you get a $1 off Minute Maid or something cat coupon- the policy is not just $ off coupons but the other coupons that occasionally print.
Does that make sense?
Samantha says
Yep!! Thanks for clarifying :)!
Wendy says
Many of you are saying that you have problems getting the Safeway e coupons to work. I too had problems and it took several emails and 3 phone calls to finally get it to work. First, logging into the safeway site DOES NOT log you into the Safeway loadable coupon site. Go to the Safeway site, click on the “coupon” link and log in there. If you haven’t registered there you must do so, it is not the same as logging into the Safeway site, if it comes up that you are already registered and you don’t know what it was try your log in for coupons.com or the P&G coupon site (mine was the log in I use for coupons.com). Also, and this must be done regularly, you have to clear all your cookies from your computer. This is done through your computer’s control panel, internet settings, browsing history. I have to do this about every 5 times I try to load Safeway coupons. I set my computer to clear all cookies every time I exit but I still have to go in sometimes and redo it. Good luck!