Comments on: Extreme Couponer 101: Prescription Game

By: Diane

Diane — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:24:24 +0000

I just don’t have the time to constantly transfer my prescription. While getting a gift card would be nice, I don’t shop at CVS, Wal Greens or Rite Aid. I would just rather take it to Target and be done with it. If I was going to get a gift card I would rather it be to a place where I would actually shop at.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:42:22 +0000

It depends on what coupon you have. If you have a coupon for $25 with any new or transferred prescription, you would get the money. If it is just for a transferred prescription then you won’t get the gift card.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:12:41 +0000

Jenny, Does the prescription have to been one that is refilled every month? My son’s nurse told me that I wouldn’t get a CVS $25 gift card for filling his one-time prescription with them. Is this the case?

By: kate

kate — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:37:04 +0000

I have transfered a couple of prescriptions from cvs to rite aid to use the gift card coupon and now cvs has put notes on my account stating that I am not allowed to transfer any other precriptions to OR from cvs…it that even legal for them to do? and write notes about me in their computer that I just wanted to use the transfer coupons so not to let me…
Many thanks for any advice!

By: Lori

Lori — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 05:55:54 +0000

To the Pharmacist:
I understand what you’re saying, and you are correct. In order to transfer an Rx from one pharmacy to another, it takes 2 Pharmacists away from patient care. However, you cannot stop the game because it appeals too much to consumers’ greed in this economy at this moment. Just being honest with you.
On your side of the fence, you can only do x amount of work in your workday. One of two things will happen to correct the situation:
1) employees insurance premiums will go up to cover increased salaries or additional Pharmacists needed
2) nationalized (socialized) medicine is just around the corner – just wait a year or two and all your problems will be a distant memory – you’ll have a whole new set of problems that will make you yearn for the old ones!

By: a pharmacist

a pharmacist — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:04:22 +0000

to those of you who think this is a “game”.just because some marketing executive thinks this is a good idea to attract business doesn’t make it right. to the the pharmacist,it is a burden which takes away from what is supposed to be the main focus of pharmacy which is patient care. playing this game requires that two pharmacists take time to make and receive a phone call to fill the prescription at one pharmacy and then deactivate the prescription at the other pharmacy and this must be done by the pharmacist,it cannot be done by a technician. meanwhile,a doctor or patient may be waiting to talk to the pharmacist,an insurance issue is waiting to be resolved,a patient is waiting to consult with the pharmacist, a drug utilization review requires the pharmacist’s attention or any one of a number of other issues is waiting for the pharmacist. this game is serious business.it takes away time from the pharmacist that needs to be spent on important decisions regarding patient care. so the next time you play the “game”,think about what you’re doing,the patient who maybe isn’t getting enough time to be properly cared for someday could be you.

By: Jenni

Jenni — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:37 +0000

Reply to Lori: I am also a SC state employee and have the same insurance. I successfully transferred a prescription from CVS to Rite Aid a few months ago, no problems. I could be wrong, but I interpreted the part of the coupon that reads “not valid for government programs” to mean some sort of Medicare/Medicaid type program, or something similar that is government assisted. I hope this helps!

By: Lori

Lori — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 23:09:12 +0000

The Rite Aid coupon says not valid for government programs. I am a State of SC employee and have the state employee health plan. It sounds like I cannot use the coupon when I transfer or submit a new prescription. Am I interpreting this correctly?

Thanks!

By: Jenny

Jenny — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:41:38 +0000

That’s a very good question. I have found at most stores it is per person not per household. So use those kids to the fullest!!

By: Evan

Evan — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:19:49 +0000

I am just getting started at the prescription game. When a coupon says “only 2 transferred prescriptions per customer” are they referring to the customer as the one whose name is on the prescription. For example, could I transfer 2 for one of my children and 2 for myself as 2 different customers? Just curious.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:51:17 +0000

Hey Jenny – Thanks for bringing up this topic because I love hearing what other folks are doing. Quick question for you: How do you get pharmacies to mail you offers to transfer? I’ve never received anything in the mail asking me to transfer. I did receive a Von’s mailer once but that was a general mailing. I usually just clip the coupons from the Sunday paper and I almost always have way more coupons then I need. Thank goodness for RiteAid because they almost always have a coupon. CVS has been less often lately.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:40:13 +0000

BTW, Jenny’s tip is no longer valid for CVS in my experience. They used to accept the coupon for refills but that is no longer the case. Also, I’ve found that some pharmacy are much more lenient that other pharmacies. If you find a pharmacy that doesn’t care, that’s GOLD. Look for pharmacies that seem run down and are hurting for business. Busy pharmacies can afford to be stingier.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:40:09 +0000

Sadly i went to Target because that month I couldn’t find any other coupon. It at least paid for the prescription. I do think you are one of the few that can do so well with the game, Paul. Not many of us have $5 copay’s anymore.

Thanks for the heads up on the auto-refill issues.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:32:18 +0000

I have no idea why Jenny transferred a prescription to Target for $10. Huh? I’ve been transferring two prescriptions for a couple years now and I always get at least $25 every time. Lately all of the coupons are for $30 so I’ve been bagging $60 in gifts EVERY month. However, I must say that it is now starting to get tougher to play this game. Not impossible, just tougher. Read below and you will understand.

When I first started, CVS would even honor the gift card coupons when I simply refilled my prescriptions. I even talked to the Pharmacist who told me that I didn’t need to keep transferring back and forth. It saved me a lot of hassle and it was great for about a year. Suddenly, I started getting refused saying that the prescription was a refill. It was a bummer, but it just meant that I was back to transferring from pharmacy to pharmacy. It’s a hassle but well worth the $30 gift card for a $5 prescription copay.

In the last couple months I’ve noticed a disturbing trend that I hope does not continue. Longs Drugs is now asking customers to sign an auto-refill form before they will honor the $30 gift card coupon. I also noticed that CVS is auto refilling my prescription even WITHOUT my authorization. Tricky, tricky, tricky. It’s a hassle calling CVS and telling them that you never authorized an auto-refill though. The bottom line is to avoid having them auto-refill your prescription at all costs because then they no longer have to honor the coupon. Again, I don’t mind the hassle because I will do whatever it takes to get that $30 gift card.

I’d be curious to hear other people’s experiences with playing this transfer game. This year I’ve earned almost $700 transferring from CVS, RiteAid, Longs, Walgreens, and even Vons. I love the Vons gift cards because your money goes a lot further if you shop right. My copays are only $5 for each prescription which means I’m only shelling out $120 to earn $720 in certificates. Ca-ching! Am I the only one doing it to this extreme?

By: Jan Nelson

Jan Nelson — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:36:02 +0000

Posting from Jenny says NEW and transferred Rx to Rite Aid … the coupon and store only honor tranfers.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:13:10 +0000

It does work on both new and transferred. They have coupons in the store they will give you if you ask that also say both, but they will honor it either way.

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:48:41 +0000

The RiteAid coupons states transferred, but your info says new or transfered. Does it really work on new prescriptions?

By: Samantha

Samantha — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:19:59 +0000

Love your site – you save me so much time and money!

I’ve found that Kroger also accepts competitor gift card coupons. Love having an easy money saver for grocery shopping.

By: Kerrie Johnson

Kerrie Johnson — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 13:13:52 +0000

Our local Winn-Dixie grocery store accepts competitor giftcard coupons, so if the coupon we have is for the same store the prescription is at, we just take it to Winn-Dixie and get it there!