Difference In Coupons

These are called Catalina Coupons, or us couponers will call them CATs for short.  They are released by the Catalina Corp. and are the thin strip of coupons & ads that come out of the machine next to the cash register.

The examples to the left tell us about some up-coming deals.  The top one tells us if we buy a certain number of CPK pizzas during a specified period, that we will earn a CAT up to $3 off on your next order (OYNO).

Same with the middle CAT.  It's telling us that when we buy 4 participating General Mills products, we will earn a $2 CAT OYNO.  It's when we combine these offers with sales & coupons, we can get stuff CHEAP!!  Many times the CATs "roll" which means we can use it to help pay for another transaction and earn another CAT for the next order, and do it again & again ("rinse & repeat")

The last one above is just a regular Store Coupon off a store-brand item.  But it's still a CAT store coupon.  There are also CAT Manufacturer Coupons, and those cannot be combined with other regular-looking manufacturer coupons.  You cannot put a MQ with another MQ.

This is an example of a CAT coupon that you would earn by doing some of the CAT deals stated above.  This was an example from a Kraft CAT deal last year.  When you purchased 5 participating Kraft products, then you earned a $5 CAT good OYNO.  These are MONEY!!!

The is what we call an Internet Printable Coupon (IPQ).  You can see over in the upper left hand corner that it is a Manufacturer's Coupon, and then you see in BOLD in the center "DO NOT DOUBLE OR TRIPLE" (DND) - ewwww, we don't like these coupons!!  Since Ralphs & Vons currently allow us to double, we don't want to use these if we can avoid it.  It's very hit or miss (or as we say "Your Mileage May Vary" YMMV) on if the cashier will allow it to double or not.  If I have 2 "like" coupons and one says  Do Not Double (DND) and one does not, then I'm going to use the one that does not say it first.  There are many General Mills & Pillsbury product coupons located in the Target printable coupons and so far none of them say DND on them!  Yay!!

This one is a Kroger (Ralphs) coupon.  Even though it says Manufacturer's Coupon, it will not scan at another store.  At the top it says "Redeemable Only at Kroger Family Stores..."

The barcode on the coupon is another dead give away.  If it starts will a bunch of zeros in that first set, then no other stores register can read the coupon.  It's a "Store Specific" coupon.

This is also a Store Specific Coupon.  It says "Store Coupon" on it.  Because this one actually says "Store Coupon", you CAN combine this with a Manuf. Coupon.  There are $1 IPQ's out there for Rubbermade containers right now, so buy combining the 2 coupons, you would save $2 off one container!

This one is a Rite-Aid Video Values coupon printed from their Rite-Aid website.  You have to sign up for a Video Values account.  Even though this says Manufacturer's Coupon on it, you ARE allowed to combine these Rite-Aid coupons with another "regular" MQ or IPQ.  It has a Rite-Aid barcode on it, so really it's a Rite-Aid Store coupon.

Rite-Aid releases new Video Values (VV) coupons every month.  you watch a short video 20 sec. to 3 min. long to "earn" the coupon, then print it out & wait for a sale!

This one is an example of a Rite-Aid "In-Ad" coupon.  It works the same as the one above.  Even though it technically says "Manufacturer's Coupon" on it... because of the barcode, you can see it's a Rite-Aid Store coupon, so you can combine it with a MQ or IPQ.  Then you can see that if you purchased this product during the sale time, you also would have earned a $1 +Up Reward too!!  More on Rite-Aid +Up Rewards at a later date, but basically they are coupons you earn for buying specific products, and you can use the coupons (+Up Rewards) on any future purchase, just like cash!!

This one is a Target Store Coupon.  You can combine Target coupons with manufacturer's coupons, as I mentioned in the prior Shopping with Target Coupons post.

Always make note of the fine print on ALL coupons.  It's important that everyone practices legal couponing. 

It's rarely ever legal to photocopy coupons.  You do not want to commit coupon fraud, so follow the coupon rules.

Remember - Coupon fraud hurts everyone. The stores may not get reimbursed for illegal use of coupons. The more fraudulent coupon use that goes on, the more restrictions the manufacturers and stores impose on couponers.

These are VONS "In-Ad" Store coupons.  I may refer to them as SQ (store coupons).

You CAN combine manufacturer's coupons with these VONS SQ.

When I make my store shopping list, I make reference to these coupons so I know what I'm expecting to use at checkout.

Example:

Mission Flour 10ct .99 SQ  L10

Then I know I need to have a store coupon in order to get this price and there is a limit of 10.

Always watch for limits on these coupons!!  Make note of them!!  It's important that the stores have these limits so other extreme shoppers don't clear the shelves before we get there!  Limits are a good thing!!   =)

This is a CVS coupon that spits out of the Red "Magic Coupon Machine" when you scan your card at CVS!!  You can combine these CVS store coupons with a manufacturer coupon.  

Example:  This one states Save $1.50 off ANY Bayer Aspirin.  You could combine it with a $1 MQ and save $2.50 off one bottle of Bayer!!