With over 3,000 locations nationwide there’s a good chance that there’s a Kroger or Kroger-owned grocery store near you. The nation’s largest grocery store chain does business under 15 different names across the nation so you might be shopping at a Kroger and not even know it! The great thing about Kroger is they make it easy to save whenever you shop there with all their great deals and different programs designed to get you the best deals possible. Here are 4 ways to save money at Kroger every time you shop.
Kroger Plus Card
Getting a Kroger Plus Card is the most important thing you can do. You might be tempted to just let the cashier use the “house card” to get your discounts but you want a card that is assigned to you. This allows you to start earning Fuel Reward points (we’ll cover those in a minute) and you’ll get specialized coupons specifically on the products you purchase regularly. Every month you’ll get a little coupon book in the mail from Kroger for the products you buy the most or for different varieties of products you already buy. It’s an incredibly powerful money-saving tool. It often has free items in it, so next time it comes in the mail don’t toss it.
Digital Coupons
Once you have your Kroger Plus Card, you’re also going to want to download the app and connect your card to your account. Once you do that, you can start downloading digital coupons to your card to save money at the register. There are some digital coupons that can be used up to five times in one transaction. Those digital coupons are often referred to as “5x” coupons. These coupons will not disappear from your Kroger account once you redeem them. They are typically available to be used the next day for as long as they are valid. However, typically you can only redeem them once in the same day. 5X coupons are a store coupon, however, the fine print on the coupon says that is not to be redeemed or stacked with a manufacturer coupon.
Fuel Rewards
Now that you have your Kroger Plus Card, you’ll also start accruing Fuel Reward points. This is a BIG deal as once you earn enough points, you can save up $0.10 per gallon on gasoline at the Kroger Fuel Center or any Shell gas station.
Clearance Items
And finally, Kroger seems to be better than most grocery stores about putting items in the clearance bins. It’s rare to not find something in the clearance section that you can use. Each section of the store will have its own clearance area so you’ll need to check the sections in grocery, produce, frozen, deli, and meat to find all the available deals.
Bonus tip: In most meat departments the personnel shows up for work around 8 AM and the first thing they do is put any meat that is turning a bit brown on clearance. If you can plan your trip to be there at about 8:30, You will have the best selection of cheap meat. Since meat is easily one of the biggest line items on any grocery budget, you should be able to save big. So, be sure to check with your store and see what time they put out the cheap meat and plan your trips around that. You won’t be sorry you did.
Mega Sales
Mega sales happen every few weeks. A mega sale is a special sale that when you purchase a certain amount of items, you will receive a set dollar amount off each item. For example, the most popular mega sale is a Buy 5 items, and you will save $5.00 or $1.00 off each item. When shopping the mega sale you need to purchase at least the minimum number of items. In the example above I stated the sale was to purchase five items. That means that you can purchase six or ten items, and still receive $1.00 off each item. As long as you purchase the minimum number of items you will receive your sale price. You can use coupons on mega sale items. You can use digital and store coupons together on top of the mega sale.
Kroger Cash Back
Kroger Cash Back works similarly to ibotta. First, you need to add to load the cashback offers to your Kroger account. The register will automatically track your purchases when one qualifies. You cannot stack a Kroger digital coupon and a Kroger cashback offer, You will not receive credit for the cashback offer if you use a digital coupon on the same item. To redeem your Kroger cashback you have two options. You can load your cashback to your Kroger account and that will come off like a Kroger digital coupon on your next purchase or you can request a Paypal transfer for your balance.
Ibotta
You can use Ibotta at Kroger. The best thing about using Ibotta rebates is that you can still redeem an Ibotta rebate even if you use a paper coupon, a digital coupon or even a Kroger Cash Back offer. Using Ibotta at Kroger since you can stack your rebates really helps you save the most.
Kroger Coupon Policy Information
- Limit one Store/Manufacturer coupon (paper or digital) per item purchased
- Expired coupons will not be accepted
- Most stores limit coupons to 5 like coupons per transactions
- You cannot redeem a Kroger cashback and a Kroger digital coupon in the same transaction
Make sure to check out all of the Kroger deals and Matchups. Also, don’t forget to join our Kroger Facebook page so you are not missing any deals!
Need more coupons? Check out the Coupon Database