by PointsGuru | Mar 14, 2015 | Points
In the past few years retailers have been offering incentives to fill prescriptions at their pharmacies instead of the competition. It has been heating up dramatically especially with CVS and Walgreens the two major pharmacies.
When you fill prescriptions each month why not get some benefit from the pharmacy you choose to fill it at? You’re getting the same prescription regardless of which pharmacy fills it. But who has the best pharmacy rewards program? We shall take a look deeper into CVS, Walgreens, and big retailers such as Target.
CVS ExtraCare Rewards.
For the pharmacy benefits of ExtraCare Rewards every time you fill a prescription, you get 1 credit. If you fill a 90-day online prescription, you get 3 credits. When you have 10 credits, you get $5 ExtraBucks Rewards that can be redeemed at CVS. You need to fill 10 prescriptions to earn $5 ExtraBucks.
Additional ways to earn credits:
1 credit each time you get a flu shot or vaccination from a CVS pharmacist which you can get yearly
3 credits when you add prescription management to your CVS.com account
1 credit when you sign up for Refill Reminder emails in the Online Prescription Center
1 credit when you sign up for prescription text alerts in the Online Prescription Center
Walgreens Balance Rewards.
Balance Rewards provides you with 500 points each time you fill a prescription. You can start redeeming points for actual rewards once you reach 5,000 points. 5,000 points can be redeemed for $5 that can be spent at Walgreen’s. Walgreens rewards 500 points for each flu shot or immunization yearly like its rival CVS.
Most do not know that if you save your points you can get a better point to dollar redemption ratio.
10,000 points – $10
18,000 points – $20
30,000 points – $35
40,000 points – $50
Target’s reward program is very straightforward: fill five prescriptions, get a certificate for 5% off a day of shopping. The certificate comes in the mail and can be used on as many purchases as you want, as long as it’s within the same day. That means they can be used on as many transactions as you want. When you get your 5% off certificate it then comes with a coupon code that can be used online as well. This amounts to a full day of saving 5%. The 5% savings can be stacked with the standard 5% you save when you use your Target REDcard. Target has had double months where you get 2 credits for each Rx filled which is another benefit. Other rewards programs you may try are Kroger and your local grocery store may offer an RX Program.
Bottom Line
While Target Pharmacy Rewards has no cap on your savings CVS seems to give more discounts in their ExtraCare Rewards program in general. You will get emails for random $2 off Bonus Bucks or 20% off all purchases that day. Although you only have to spend $50 at Target with your 5% off certificate to match the savings you’d receive at CVS or Walgreens. While CVS would normally be more expensive than Target I think I would go with a 20% than a 5% off. You also need to consider how much time you will spend in the drive-thru at CVS and Walgreens as I know the one near me takes forever. I like to get everything shipped to me and still reap the rewards benefits. Which one of these benefits you the most? Comment below if we need to add a pharmacy.
by PointsGuru | Mar 12, 2015 | Tools & Gadgets
With FreedomPop you can get a monthly allowance of WiFi for FREE. This means no contracts, monthly fees, or any of that. All you have to do is pay for the $29.99 activation.
When you sign up you’re given the option to select a plan. I registered for the FREE Basic 500MB monthly plan. I found that 500MB has been enough for basic things such as responding to emails, apps and browsing social media sites. If you are going to stream videos or download large files then you would want to select a higher plan. You can get the Free WiFi offer here.
In the registration process you choose a device. Devices range from the wifi USB stick to hotspots that can accomodate up to 8 devices at once. I selected the Freedom Spot because it’s small and sits in the palm of my hand which is perfect to send WiFi to my devices.
The 4G speed is extremely fast in certain areas where coverage is strong and can sometimes be faster than my home internet provider. If you need more data you can tell friends about it and earn more by transferring unused data between linked friends or participate in “partner offers”.
Hotel WiFi has been cheaper or free at most locations lately but you might consider using this in place of purchasing expensive hotel wifi if you don’t have “status”. One example is in Las Vegas I recently stayed at the Mirage hotel and casino and there was No WiFi in the rooms it was miserable. The WiFi was only available in the Lobby.. um what good is that? For some reason Las Vegas hotels do not believe in WiFi. With this device you would have free internet.
When you tell friends about it you each receive an additional 50MB of data and a chance to link accounts to swap unused data. Add your own link to the comments as well too so we can connect!
by PointsGuru | Mar 12, 2015 | Tools & Gadgets
The Apple Watch is finally here after a long wait and we are so excited to try out some of these travel apps. As with the iPhone and iPad the Apple Watch will have lots of Apps to support the new innovative product and make it needed in day-to-day life and really convenient when trying to find your way around town.
Apple showed off many Apps during its stage demonstration including Siri, WeChat, American Airlines and Salesforce. Other travel brands such as TripAdvisor, Expedia, and Open Table for restaurant books were announced but we are more excited for the following:
1. Apple Pay. The Apple Watch’s killer app which displayed the Chase Freedom card during the presentation is one of the most anticipated. As more and more stores adopt Apple Pay we can travel without bulky wallets full of all of our rewards cards. This will cut down on theft being a safe alternative to carrying around cash or tons of cards.
2. American Airlines. With the Apple Watch’s American Airlines app, you won’t have to worry about your boarding pass with it being on your wrist. You can also check-in for your flight from the watch and see at which baggage claim your bags will be. I don’t know how many times I have had to seek out my bags especially at DFW airport not knowing the baggage claim. (more…)
by PointsGuru | Mar 12, 2015 | Sign-Up Bonus
When you have been through as many cards as I have it is hard sometimes to find sign-up bonuses I have not yet taken. There are not a lot of $100+ sign-up bonuses out there right now but one I found is the Rakuten Rewards MasterCard which is part of the online retailer that competes with Amazon.com you may remember Buy.com that it bought several years ago.
With the Rakuten Rewards MasterCard you can get $80 just upon approval towards something on their site then when you make a purchase you get the extra points that amount to $20 making it a total of $100. One difference between the Rakuten Rewards and well no rewards over at Amazon are the Rakuten Super Points you can earn in promotions. One example is Black and Decker and Keurig coffee machines are an extra 15% in points with promo code BRANDSULOVE. Get the card and earn stack-able points on top of that.
With the MasterCard for this retailer that sells everything from fitness supplies to computer you will earn 3 Rakuten Super Points for each $1 of qualifying purchases made at Rakuten.com; use your Rakuten Rewards MasterCard® directly at checkout or use it as the payment method on your digital wallet.
One all other everyday purchases such as gas, dinner, and groceries you earn one Rakuten Super Point for each $1 spent.
You may not know about Rakuten but it is the largest e-commerce site in Japan and among the world’s largest by sales. Try it out and see if you can save some money compared to Amazon and Alibaba. Interestingly enough Rakuten contributed a $300 million in Lyft rideshare.
by PointsGuru | Mar 10, 2015 | Retail
The New Target RED Debit or Credit Card that offer 5% Rewards come as a must-have for Target shoppers. Mainly because Target REDcard gives you 5% off everyday, free shipping, and 30 extra days for returning. A great extension for us to have that are procrastinators and hate taking things back.
Now the REDcard saves you 5% on top of our already low prices on every Target shopping trip, every day. You’ll automatically get 5% off when you use your card in Target stores in the United States and on Target.com. From couches and TVs to lipstick and shoes, anything and everything gets free shipping when you use your REDcard at Target.com. Plus, there’s no minimum purchase.
A big pro of this card is that the immediate discount is taken at the register, not cash back that must be claimed at some later date. The Free Shipping is a no-brainier as it is similar paid Amazon Prime service. Donations to Education is another great thing about this card. Target donates 1% of the amount of all REDcard purchases to the K-12 school of your choice.
I fill a ton of Prescriptions like most Americans so I know they will benefit from the extra Savings on Pharmaceutical Purchases. When you fill at least five prescriptions at a Target pharmacy, you receive an extra 5% discount for one day of Target shopping, in addition to your existing 5%. Stack that up and you have 10% for the day!
Some of the Cons of this card is that it doesn’t work with Target Mobile. Target has a cutting-edge product that offers discounts at the store and online. However, it does not offer a discount at Target Mobile. Possibly it will be added in the future.
These cards are not part of a Payment Network such as Visa or MasterCard meaning this card can only be used at Target stores and at Target.com.
Also keep in mind that if you are looking to carry a balance you cannot with this card. Furthermore, those who seek to build credit with the RED Debit card will not be building credit but they can with the credit card version.
