Pittsburgh Grocery Guide: Giant Eagle Shopping Tips

For those of us living in Pittsburgh, the Giant Eagle is our grocery shopping mainstay. With minimal competition from stores such as Kuhn's and Shop 'n Save, grocery shopping in Pittsburgh can be somewhat frustrating as prices can be higher than the national average. However, the addition of national superstores and warehouse clubs have made the Pittsburgh grocery market more competitive and have made prices at Giant Eagle much more competitive in recent years. If you do plan to do your grocery shopping at Giant Eagle, here are five tips to ensure that you are saving as much as possible on your grocery bill and taking full benefit of the possible savings you can see at Giant Eagle.

1. Get a Giant Eagle Advantage Card: In order to get Giant Eagle's weekly specials, you will have to register for an Advantage Card. The Advantage Card is free and not only entitles you to weekly specials, but also allows you to build points towards Giant Eagle's Fuelperks rewards program. By using your Advantage Card when shopping, your purchases are automatically tallied and you will receive a $0.10 gasoline discount on every $50 spent at Giant Eagle.

2. Shop with the weekly specials: Giant Eagle's weekly specials run from Thursday to Wednesday of each week and most Pittsburgh residents should receive a circular outlining what the weekly specials in their mail each Tuesday. These specials can save you up to 50% on items such as cereal, coffee, and meats. You typically only have to buy one item for buy one get one specials unless otherwise noted (meat specials usually require you to buy two packages). You'll want to stock up on items when they go on special since you might not see the lower prices again for several months, depending on what the item is.

3. Take advantage of double coupons: Giant Eagle doubles the coupon amount (up to $0.99) for Advantage Card members. If you combine double coupons with the weekly specials, then you can actually get items like toothpaste, barbeque sauce, and margarine for free.

4. Buy gift cards for retailers/restaurants: Giant Eagle offers a variety of gift cards for national retailers and restaurants such as the Gap, Red Lobster, and Home Depot. By buying these gift cards at Giant Eagle, you'll receive the $0.10 gasoline discount for every $50 in gift cards that you purchase, and during special promotions (such as the one that Giant Eagle ran over Christmas), you'll receive double Fuelperks, or $0.20 for every $50 in gift cards purchased.

5. Transfer your prescriptions to Giant Eagle: Giant Eagle is now offering $4 generic prescriptions, as well as additional Fuelperks for moving your prescription to Giant Eagle. Last year's promotion offered $1.00 in Fuelperks for moving your prescription to Giant Eagle, along with $0.25 in Fuelperks every time the prescription was refilled.