CVS CarePass™ Membership Program: Review
Good evening Penny Pinchers! This evening we are going to move away from travel a little bit and talk about a new Membership Program that I recently signed up for with their free trial. The CVS Membership Program.
How did I get sucked into this? As you know I don’t have a car, so when shopping for certain items (beauty, bath, healthcare) last minute, whatever is available either by walking or public transport is the only option for me. One day on my Chase Sapphire credit card offers I saw 10% off with purchases at CVS, win is within 5 minutes from my apartment. I have contact lenses which requires meticulous care and so once every 2 months I may have to buy supplies for these as well as basic grooming items. As I bought some contact lens solutions and toothpaste, I crossed the $10 amount and I was offered a free trial membership and the lady at the counter helpfully explained how I could cancel if I wanted to. On top of that I was eligible for the $10 off straight away, so I signed up! Now for the review…
Basics
The program membership costs $5/month (or $4/month when you pay a reduced annual fee of $48 upfront but committing yourself to the program). You will need to provide a form of payment for (what they hope) repeat payments and certain information such as an email address.
Perks
Members get the following benefits:
- $10 credit every month. You must spend a minimum $10 excluding taxes & fees otherwise the remaining credit is gone . Excludes: alcohol, lottery, money orders, prescriptions and co-pays, pseudoephedrine/ephedrine products, postage stamps, pre-paid cards, gift cards, newspapers and magazines, milk (where required by law or regulation), bottle deposits, bus passes, hunting and fishing licenses, any imposed governmental fees, or items reimbursed by a government health plan
- Free 1–2 day shipping from CVS.com when one item is a CarePass eligible item
- Free 1–2 day Rx delivery on qualifying prescription deliveries through UPS
- 24/7 Pharmacist Helpline
- A 20% discount on CVS Health™ brand products (generally the most affordable brand)
How does the Penny Pinching Doc use it?
I previously used Proactive for my skincare but was finding that I no longer needed the specialist Acne treatment so I was trying to find an alternative. I really like Aveeno, and one of the deals was spend more than $10 on Aveeno and get $4 off. So I got the Aveeno Daily Scrub (which I have been very happy with). As you can see CVS are essentially using this as away to monitor your spending habits. Although some may feel uncomfortable about the modern era of monitoring customer purchases this may not necessarily be a bad thing. I know that there will generally be some sort of beauty/grooming or essential products that I will need month to month. So I can find plenty of items to purchase to hit the $10 minimum use the monthly credit.
There are certain products that I will spend a little more on, but then there are some (mouthwash and hand soap) which I’m happy to go with the CVS brand (and get the 20% off). This is personal preference but you will know what products you want to buy at CVS. As I don’t have a car this is the easiest place for laundry, cleaning supplies (items which don’t generally need replenishing even month) so I know this is another area I can spend $10 to maximize the value. I think, however once I do get a car, and the bigger stores (Target, Costco, Giant) are available I probably will cancel the CVS membership. The other important topic is your general health and what fits best with your prescription plan. I am lucky in this regard and do not need to worry about this (and I hope this applies for my readers) but if regular prescriptions are something to consider, this may influence whether to use the CVS rewards program. Prescriptions are not covered with the $10 credit, but if you go into a local CVS regularly for other reasons, then it may be worthwhile. Remember there are exceptions to which CVS you can purchase and use the credit for example you cannot in a Target. In the meantime however, this is a program that I will continue to utilize.
Conclusion
Reward programs are the future of businesses in tis digital age, and it is important to try and use them to your advantage. To learn more about this program or to become a CarePass member, customers can enroll in-store (the employee at the counter makes $3!) or online.
Have a great week Penny Pinchers!