So I stopped by Safeway to give the free milk promotion a go. I buy organic milk which is about $6 a gallon so any milk promotions I am usually all over.
I wanted to also take advantage of the $5 coupon when you spend $15 in frozen foods promotion* so here is what I did:
Bought 6 boxes of Simply Eggos at $2.50
Bought 1 gallon milk at $5.99
Used (2) $1/3 Eggos coupons
Used $4 off milk when you buy breakfast items coupon*
Paid $14.99
And of course nothing printed out…. so we trooped over to customer service. My store had signage everywhere about the free milk and Eggos promotion so they just refunded me the entire price of my milk! It was supposed to be up to $4 back but they gave me $5.99 for the trouble.
I spaced out on the $5 frozen foods catalina so now I need to contact Catalina Marketing about that.
Anyhoo, this will have worked out to a fantastic deal for me once I get the $5 off coupon from Catalina. ย Just to recap, here is how it should have worked out:
6 boxes of Eggos at $2.50
Use (2) $1/3 coupons
Pay $13.00
Get a free gallon of milk coupon (up to $4) back and get $5 off your next frozen foods purchase coupon
So basically pay $13 and get $9 in food coupons back.
NOTES: Some areas have the frozen foods as spend $10 and get $5 back so check your local ad, that is a way better deal! Also Safeway does not accept free item coupons. Technically that $4 milk coupon does require a purchase of 3 items so it is not against the coupon policy to use that coupon but the stores can certainly refuse to accept it. Your luck will vary with that one. (I was anticipating being told no on it myself.)
See the Safeway deals for the week here.
Amy A. says
I wonder if it didn’t print because your after coupon total was $13 ($15 less $2 in coupons)? I had the issue of the milk cat not printing. Customer Service gave me a rain check of a free gallon of milk.
Lisa G. says
For me, it’s a rare trip to Safeway that doesn’t begin or end at Customer Service ๐
Stacy says
I don’t remember where I read them…but a lot of people are reporting that the catalina won’t print with Eggos & Activia. It only prints with cereals.
Charlene says
Stacy,
It appears to be working on Eggos that are the plain yellow box ones only and no other varieties.
-Charlene
Charlene says
Amy,
I was thinking it could have been the same thing- but no matter they owe me a fiver ;).
-Charlene
Carrie says
I always end up in customer service but they are always really nice about it!
Annie says
I agree Safeway is a nightmare when working out any deal. I have started avoiding them and any temptation to get a deal.more headache then it’s worth
Sara says
Seriously, Safeway! I will never ever leave that store without checking my receipt! I bet that is where they make their real money! I only started shopping there again because of the stinkin’ high gas prices!
Krista says
I went to Safeway today and the cat for the milk worked with the activia yogurt.
joni says
I went to Safeway today and did the “buy four Kelloggs cereals and get free milk” deal, the spend “$15 on frozen and get $5 back” deal and the “spend $75 and get $10 back deal”. None of my catalinas printed out. I couldn’t go to Customer service because I needed to be somewhere, so tonight I walked there on my nightly walk and went to Customer service. Turns out the Catalina machine wasn’t even working on that register. So I walked out of Safeway with a $15 Safeway giftcard, a free gallon of milk and $2 in my pocket because one of my Just For U coupons didn’t come off. I am happy now…..lol.
Tiffany T says
I just bought 6 of the Simply Eggos and used 2 of the $1/3 Eggo coupons and my $5 cat didn’t print either. I am thinking it’s the way the coupons are attaching bringing the net cost down to $13, but that’s just a guess. I went to Customer Service and they gave me a $5 gift card without any trouble. ๐
Nicole says
I got 4 boxes of Nutri-grain bars @$ 1.99 and the cat printed just fine. I had (2) $1/2 coupons from awhile back, so I got 4 boxes of bars and a gallon of milk for $6. I think I will go back this weekend and try the yogurt and eggos. But I agree that Safeway is a nightmare when it comes to these deals. I always go when customer service is open ๐
franki says
my reading “elsewhere’ indicates that only certain Eggos work, and combining with Activia doesn’t seem to work
maybe it has to be 4 eggos or 4 activia, not mix/match?
I haven’t seen much feedback about specific varieties of Activia working or not. The Harvest blends give a Catatlina coupon for $2 off 2 next purchase. Nice for rolling
If your store doesn’t have signage, this is supposed to be adverised in Sunset magazine. I think most norcal stores carry the magazine so you could pull one off the rack and show it to them if you don’t get your CATs.
I buy organic milk, too, Charlene. I was worried that the free CAT wouldn’t work on it. Would be interested to hear if it scans beepless on Organic. I really like Heritage Farms which I recently spotted at local Safeway. Would have to buy 2 cartons 1/2 gal. each which I’m sure would beep, but if it’s going to beep anyway.. and maybe I could use 2 .55 CA Milk coupons too
that brand has CA seal.
Endcapps says
Sfwy owes you a fiver … plus interest b/now you have to wait!
Your Eggo/Milk scenario is brilliant. It’s a great case study for us b/ it optimizes ALL the different money-saving elements (sale, coupons, promos, catalinas) stacked together for more power. You worked every possible angle in a single transaction, and abided by the rules! Your scenario = Brilliant. Safeway = Not So Much.
Any tips about how you store all this frozen food in your freezer? I’m running out of space,
Patricia says
I bought 4 activia – no catalina. There were signs everywhere. Bummer.
Charlene says
Patricia, just contact catalinamarketing.com and they will mail it to you.
-charlene
Charlene says
Endcapps, we bought a deep freezer awhile back. It was really reasonable- maybe $100 on sale at Home Depot. I think I used a $10 off coupon for it as well. I just dumped all those boxes right in but later I will take the bags out and toss each box and then put the bags in a freezer bag. That saves a little space.
Lol, it just worked out to be a great deal for me because my milk is so expensive. I think the Target deal coming up might be a little better if you buy normal milk :).
-Charlene
Charlene says
Is the Heritage Farms the one that Walmart carries? I did the math once because the seal was on the ones at Walmart and I thought it worked out to the same price as other brands without coupons. The ones at Walmart were not a full gallon- they were smaller. I’ll have to see the next time I go.
Danielle says
Does it work with the Krave cereals?
Charlene says
Danielle,
It will work with any Kelloggโs Cereal (10.8oz or larger, any flavor).
-Charlene
Erica says
Is the eggo’s coupon gone? I have tried leaving the zip blank, and tried a couple different ones and I can’t find it anywhere.
franki says
Charlene: not sure if WM carries heritage farms. I’ve seen it at Lucky/Savemart and CVS. I just think it tastes the best. We only drink nonfat and it doesn’t have that thin watery/powdery flavor. About $4 a half gallon so probably not the best price you’ll find.
I’m short with back issues so hated doing headstands in my chest freezer until I read a tip about packing like items in reusable bags for the items that go on the bottom. Much easier on my back & no more diving in headfirst ๐
Sorry this post isn’t deal related but HTH someone