Rite Aid made a big announcement on their Facebook Page this morning. I posted about this awhile back, but the changed never seemed to happen. Well it is now!
The changes for the Wellness+ Program are for three Test Markets: Seattle, Richmond, and Salt Lake City.
What do these changes mean?
You can go Rite Aid’s Website and load coupons directly to your Wellness+ Card. Right now they mostly seem to be for Rite Aid brand items, although I am sure the selection will expand. It was pretty easy to do, we shall see how it goes at the register! All of Rite Aid’s Coupon Policies will apply to the use of the coupons loaded to your card.
You can no longer use +Up Rewards the same day you earn them and they will be loaded onto your Wellness+ Card. According to Rite Aid’s website, “+UP Reward may not be redeemed until 6am local time the next day after issuance.”. You should still be able to “roll” your +Up Rewards, but you will have to wait until at least the next day.
What do I think this means for all of us?
On the positive side, it should help with supply of the hot items so we all have a little better chance of finding them in stock. I am sure that some of you will be unhappy with the change, but we will continue to help you find the best way to use your +Up Rewards each week and still get awesome deals! I personally only do one transaction per week, and use the +Up Rewards I earn on the next week’s deals. It works well, and keeps my stockpile plentiful for our household.
For more details regarding changes to the Wellness+ program, or to sign up, go here
So how about you, what are your thoughts?
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. Thanks!
{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
Amber…..do you know if this includes areas surrounding Seattle (like Lynnwood, Everett, etc)? Thanks for the update.
I believe so. In Mount Vernon this AM I got mine loaded to my card, and it just had the effective Feb. 5th notice at the bottom.
I went to the 196th St. store in Lynnwood this morning and the ups loaded to my card.
It is easy to jump on the “I hate Riteaid” bandwagon and I am sure that I will be seeing tons of messages regarding these new policies.
I love get something “better than free” or “free” as much as the next person. It is great fun and it does save the family money. However, each time I see a posting that someone finds a loophole that allows them to get more than necessary (lets start with a six month supply) they feel like it is their right to clear the shelf. Then I see them rationalize it as they are giving most of the stuff away.
OK ….. What is twisted is they they are making it harder for the people who need to save and are willing to do it themselves. I love the fact that everyone is willing to share “a find” on this website. It makes it easier for us all.
Yes … If I do not have any +UP rewards in my wallet this will make the OOP more but with a little planning, that can be minimized. I applaud Riteaid for two things: 1) Telling us about it. 2) Making the change in a test market first to see what the glitches will be.
OK …. I am off my high horse and I am going to score some free pads, Tilex and Revlon products. I managed to get the last $20 reward with less than $5 OOP. I am sure I can do it again …..
how will we know when the +UPs expire?
The ups will still print on your receipt, but instead of the bar code it will say “has been loaded to your Wellness card”. It will still say the amount of your reward, expiration date, and the item your bought. So I am going to still save my receipts, and then if there is any mix-ups with the up rewards not being on my card, I will have my receipt to show.
I have already had an issue with all of my Up rewards not getting loaded onto my card. I called the customer service line and they said they will mail me the reward coupons but it will take 4-6 weeks.
Managing when they expire is my concern as well. To be honest, it really saddens me that every time a company, regardless of who they are or what their product is, makes a change all of the “haters” show up and start being so ugly. I am getting so discouraged about the way people react to change. It is a company’s right to do things as they see fit. Ok, I am done venting. Hope everyone has a blessed and beautiful Sunday:)
Well said. I’m not sure why people outside the test areas are throwing such huge fits about it.. i know there is the possibility of it affecting everyone but right now its only 3 cities.
Thank you so much for your thoughtfulcomments Bob. I certainly agree with what you expressed.
I agree that Rite Aid has in part put the policy in effect to try to stop shelf clearing. And that is a good thing. Personally I’ll have to see how the new policy works for me. I think that if you are a regular every week Rite Aid shopper it will all work out for you. But if you are like me and items in the Rite Aid ad appeal only now and again, Rite Aid might be off your list of stores. I personally tried to use up my Up rewards the same day. I never did multiple transactions just stopped into one Rite Aid and then a second one the same day as I went about my errands. For example this week I would have picked up the Carefree/Stayfree items and then spent the Up rewards on Arizona tea at the second store. If I don’t spend the rewards the same day I may let them expire which defeats the whole money saving purpose. And honestly, I have felt that playing the Rite Aid game is fun but it may be just as cheap to purchase your toiletries at WalMart.
If anyone has shopped at Rite Aid today I’d love to hear details
I agree with Bob’s points as well. I shopped at RA today and since it is located next to a store I already shop at it is happily not out of my way. I feel for Darla and others who don’t have a RA close by. I pick up the free items that I use, 1 per offer, so the new RA rules won’t get my tinsel in a tangle.
I guess I am not seeing a huge problem, up rewards are good for 2 weeks, I generally go in once maybe twice a week and get a big order than use my rewards the next week, it took a little while to get into that grove, but after they stopped the 3 off 15 coupon it wasn’t really worth doing multiply transactions, I get the same amount if I do 1 or 2 bigger orders as I do it I try to split them up…and I have also left the house are 6pm cause I realized my UPs were going to expire…lol
I think what is hard for me is that I don’t have a Rite Aid close by. I had thought these rules were already in effect and have almost stopped going to RA completely. A trip to Rite Aid is miles out of my way so I only go when the deals are good. Making extra trips to RA to use up a dollar or two UP is hardly worth my time or gas.
I like these changes, especially ecoupons, because I would love to see everything be electronic. Not being able to roll Ups will be an adjustment but not huge for me.
I rarely ever roll my ups from one transaction to another, so that won’t effect. There have been a few weeks when to use an up that was about to expire I bought something I maybe wouldn’t have otherwise, but it’s all worked out. So the change to using them the next day won’t really affect me. What I am worried about it knowing that my UP is about to expire. I’ve made a few desparate runs to Rite Aid in the last year when I found a slip of paper (the UP) and realized I had to use it right away. I’ll just have to make sure their new program has something to help prompt my memory like that or I’ll make something myself. On the upside, I’ve lost a few UP’s and I assume this will take care of that issue.
So, I decided to stop by Rite Aid this AM to see how it effected us here in Mount Vernon, and I guess we are apart of the test market.
I just picked up the 2 liters to see how it worked out.
The lady that rang me out had no idea about the UPs going onto the card, she just directed me to the site it offered.
Here’s how it looked on my receipt.
[IMG]http://i43.tinypic.com/9sdpqu.jpg[/IMG]
and if one of those don’t work
http://i43.tinypic.com/9sdpqu.jpg
Hey Amy,
Thanks for posting that picture! Would you mind if I reposted it on my site – would really help to have a pic!
Does anyone know if you need a physical +wellness card in order to have the +up loaded on your card? This is what a cashier told me when I was in last week. I usually have them punch in my phone number since I lost my physical +wellness card a while back.
Yes, you do need a physical card. The phone number thing will no longer work. You will need to contact Rite Aid to get a replacement card:(
My question is this: When does the UP reward come off your total on your next visit? Does it come off after they finish ringing your items and BEFORE your coupons or after your coupons are deducted? This could be a potential problem! If my total gets discounted with my UP’s so much that I can’t use my coupons……that will stink! I am in the test market area….which by the way is not just Seattle. Sounds like it is all of western Washington. The rest of the changes sound manageable….but it will be interesting to see how this works out.
Hello,
I wondered too. According to the forum on slickdeals, your ups will come off your next purchase(after 6 am the next day. Be VERY careful, as the UPS will come off BEFORE paper coupons:( This is going to be messy:(
I am wondering if we can give our manufacturers coupons before we hand over our card?
I was wondering this too. I just read the FAQ’s and it looks like UPs will come off after manufacture coupons are applied. I am going to make sure my cashier doesn’t hit total until she takes my coupons.
I don’t mind change and having the ups on a card are great, but one of my biggest issue with this is on there wellness+ Limitation Details #6 it states that “+UP Rewards must be used in one transaction and any unused portion shall be forfeited.” So, if we go to the store and for instance go buy a small bag of M&M’s for 99 cents, is my $10 up reward used and gone for the purchase. I will be interested to see how this works out.
Darkens, I think you are looking at the current way ups are redeemed. If you bought something with a $10 up that was only 99 cents, you would lose the rest of that up. I don’t think that applies to the loaded to card.
Oops, I meant darlene. Auto correct on kindle fire is obnoxious! !! Sorry, not darkens.
I found this…it sorta answers you question
Q: How do I manage my Load2Card +UPs?
A: Members in the three test markets can visit Load2CardNow.com to get instructions on how to manage their +UPs online at RiteAid.com. Members will then be able to unclip +UPs, making them unavailable for the next purchase, and then re‐clip +UPs that have not expired for use on future purchases
This is honestly the worst move RA has made. It seems like every year they make a change to scare away customers. I’m a loyal customer to RA. I just got back from Walgreens after not shopping there for a year! Goodbye RA! I didn’t ask to be in your test area, thank you for nothing.
Pay attention to the UP’s that are loaded to your card. My friends and I are all being shorted. They print correctly on the receipt but when you look on your “load to card” account, half are missing. I spent a long time on the phone with customer service today only to be told I have to call back tomorrow. This runaround could make me shop else where!
Update: Called back again this morning to try to correct the missing UP’s. Customer Service rep told me UP’s only print out on the receipt and don’t go on “load to card” (Gotta be kidding!) After convincing him otherwise, he says I have to check back in 72 hours to see if the problem has been corrected on-line. What do people do that don’t have computers? Like most of the elderly shoppers I know! This is way to many hoops to jump through and a major waste of my time. So now I have to call again to see if they can get it right. How annoying. Won’t be back to RA unless they dump the system full of problems! Asked at the end of my call to leave comments on this program so my rep transferred me to that department. After being on hold for more than 20 minutes I gave up!
What about the raincheck on items with up rewards? I went into the Woodinville Rite aid and they would not give me a raincheck which included the Up reward (only sale price on item) Is this company wide or just Woodinville?
Here is a link to an FAQ…very helpful
http://social.wezog.com/RA/Load2Card-UP-Test-FAQ.pdf?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=PRSocialL2CTest
First day of shopping and Rite Aid and using the load2cardnow program. Anything I bought more than one of, did not give me credit for the UP on the website. I was shorted $10 in UPs. I completely understand new programs and glitches, but the amount of hassle, phone calls, etc to get my $10 back is going to be beyond frustrating. From what I am hearing, I could very well now lose more $ if I don’t buy enough product in the next 2 weeks in one transaction to use these UP rewards. How do I know how much I’m going to spend when I start shopping, to go online and “click” how many of the UPs I want to use? I also have heard that once you “unclick” the UP reward, it just disappears. Anyone else having any of these problems?
I feel like Rite Aid ripped off an extra $6 in UP’s from me today and I’m ticked! I put a couple of rain checked bottles of vitamins and milk on the counter, and had the cashier scan my wellness card. As the clerk rang up the purchase, I got out the applicable coupons and waited.
When she finished scanning the merchandise, she told me that the total I owed was less than $1.00. I knew that the price couldn’t be right since I hadn’t given her the coupons yet. So, she printed off a copy of the receipt to verify to the both of us that it was correct.
What I discovered is that Rite Aid automatically took my UP’s before I even gave the cashier my vitamin coupons. I still had $6.00 in COUPONS to use for the transaction – they took my UP’s without permission! I was told by the cashier that I could NOT USE the coupons since the register automatically used (stole?) my UP’s first. What???!!!
Is this a legal/ethical or nice thing to do? Instead of asking me “How would you like to pay, Sir?” it’s as if Rite Aid reached into my wallet (digitally speaking, of course), and removed money from it without permission. I was told it was the way the computerized register worked, and there’s nothing I could about it do but call corporate. Ugh!!!
I can’t believe the higher-ups at Rite Aid would institute such a ludicrous policy meant to ostracize devoted couponers like me. I detest the new system, and really hope Rite Aid either ‘tweaks’ it or drops it all together. I want to be the one to decide whether or not I use my earned UP’s on any transaction, not to have them taken automatically.
I love Rite Aid, and have spent tons of money at their stores in the past specifically because of their awesome coupon policies and service. What happened?
Is the only way to take advantage of this new system to purchase enough to where you use all of your UPS and coupons in the next transaction? It seems like if you do not use them all you can easily be screwed.