There are plenty of grocery stores and chains in and around Los Angeles. If finding one you like the most is not complicated enough, try reading some discounts and weekly sales flyers. They all are a doozy and can make you more confused than happily saving. It seems that all those complicated networks and webs of coupons and discounts are that way on purpose – to make sure we can never ever take advantage of all of them. And of course we can’t because they have too many limitations, requirements, and they also change all the time, which requires new studying every week.
Most of the stores feature their own coupons, accept manufacturer coupons, offer loyalty program deals, manage club cards, enroll you in contests, and have various savings deals, like buy one, get one ½ off. We are here to help you make sense of those various promotions and find the best methods of savings that would work for you.
All the stores are guilty when it comes to complicated and confusing flyers, but Albertsons, Ralphs, and Vons/Pavilions take the cake. They frequently have mix& match deals, but only for select groups of items and if you use store loyalty card. There are also frequent contests for cash prizes and trips, which we have heard of anybody actually winning. There are dollar amounts to be saved when you buy two items of select cosmetic brands and similar deals like that. You can also get free movie tickets when your shopping cart reaches some amount, but you have to use the store card and shop select brands only. Finally, you can often save 30% off wine and spirits, but only when you buy 6 bottles of them. And why would you need six bottles at a time, unless you are hosting a pool party.
Sounds complicated yet? Granted, you probably don’t need to worry about getting every deal at every grocery store, but savings are there for a reason and your reason is to save as much as possible. The best way to go about it is figure out what works best where and proceed with that.
Let’s talk about each grocery store individually and how to get best deals there, shall we?
To take advantage of various confusing offers you have to have their Preferred Savings Card. It’s free to acquire and is tied to your phone number, so you will never forget it. The store does not allow coupon stacking, but will accept manufacturer coupons. Once in a while you will receive some coupons if you have their Preferred Savings Card, so yes, get it.
This store is striving to be less confusing. They offer sales prices to all customers, no loyalty card needed. They also mail coupons to nearby addresses. Sometimes the coupon offer can be $5 off $25 and it’s not found in the store flyer. You should go to the customer service and ask to be put on a mailing list if you want to enjoy discounts like that.
Same as at Albertsons, you will need the rewards card to be eligible for deals and sales. The store accepts manufacturer coupons, but does not allow stacking. Sometimes the store has a temporary agreement with Shell gas stations and offers customers fuel points for shopping. There are always deals with rewards card and special coupons get sent to customers’ homes based on their shopping patterns.
This one is easy – there is no loyalty card and coupons are offered on their social media pages, so you should follow them there. They also accept manufacturer coupons. The best time to shop there is Wednesdays when customers get deals from last week and this week, so double the goodness.
The retail giant accepts manufacturer coupons and runs its own deals sometimes, such as buy a lot and get something for free. You can find those deals in Sunday paper or store flyer. Target credit card owners get 5% off every order.
This is as simple as it gets – no loyalty card, no store coupons, no points, and no sales. The prices are low already and the merchandise gets switched around all the time. They do accept manufacturer coupons. There is no weekly flyer, but customers get Fearless Flyer newsletter in the mail.
Customers have to have a store club card to get deals. It’s free and can be accessed with the phone number. The coupons can be stacked as long as the amount is less than $1. Vons/ Pavilions send weekly fliers with coupons for clipping.
The store doesn’t offer weekly fliers, but you will find sales and discounted items at the beginning of the store. There is also a coupon book that comes out six times per year and is called “The Whole Deal!”. You can find it by the registers. The store also offers online coupons that can be printed for use in-store. Whole Foods accepts manufacturers’ coupons, so try to find them before your shopping trip.