Rite Aid Gift Certificate

I frequently obtain my prescriptions, over-the-counter medications and a few other miscellaneous items at the local Rite Aid Drugstore. According to their website, "Rite Aid Corporation is one of the nation's leading drugstore chains with more than 4,900 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia." Recently they had a promotion through Christmas which promoted a Rite Aid gift certificate and always alert to save a dollar, I participated. After all, I am a savvy shopper.

The Rite Aid gift certificate brochure promised - spend over $100 get back $20. My deft mind and savvy shopper mentality quickly calculated that if I spent $100, I would get my Rite Aid gift certificate and save 20%. But did I need to spend $100? Well, I needed some shaving supplies, some vitamins and a few household items we normally purchase at the grocery store, so by stopping by Rite Aid which is adjacent to the grocery store (how convenient), I could probably save.

So being a savvy shopper, I stopped at Rite Aid to spend a $100 before going to the grocery store for our weekly shopping. Well as luck would have it, my purchases totaled only about $86 so I needed to spend a bit more or come back to collect another receipt to total at least $100. Hmm - no need to come back, surely there were more things I needed and could save on. Ahh - here they are, bath soap, toilet paper, a few memo pads, a scented candle and a bag or two of Christmas candy - that should do it. The total was now about $119. But wait - my 20% savings had dropped to about 16%. Oh well, still a savvy shopper savings.

Right? Not exactly, I noted the candy and toilet paper were cheaper at the grocery store - well that's ok as it was only a few dollars extra and I really cleaned up with a $20 Rite Aid gift certificate that would soon be in my savvy shopper hands.

Fast forward and it is now three weeks later and I have my $20 Rite Aid gift certificate in hand and need to get a bottle of vitamins. Haha - they will be free and I will get money back. At the check-out the clerk dutifully points out that my Rite Aid gift certificate does not provide money back and I have to spend $20 at one time to take full advantage. Hmm - well there are a few other things I need and I return to the store shelves searching for more stuff. Well - $26 dollars later, I hand the clerk my Rite Aid gift certificate for $20. It only cost me six dollars for $26 worth of stuff. Gosh, I'm glad I am a savvy shopper.

As I sit here analyzing my purchases along with the extra I spent, I'm sure I really saved. A savvy shopper like myself could not be duped. Haha - think of the thousands of people that didn't spend the dollars necessary to obtain a Rite Aid gift certificate or those that missed the deadline for submission of their receipts. I did it on the Internet and it only took about 20 minutes to fill in the necessary forms, once I figured out how to do it. It seemed a bit complicated. Probably many would have given up on the process to obtain their Rite Aid gift certificate, but not me, I'm a savvy shopper. Rite Aid spent a lot of money printing the tens of thousands of brochures, setting up their website to accommodate consumer receipt input and otherwise promoting this event. Wonder why they just don't reduce their prices a bit? Wait, I get it! They want to help savvy shoppers like me!