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Friday, January 16, 2009

What Are Catalina's?



I have had a few people ask me about catalina's so here is my best explanation. It is one of those coupon lingo words I have had to learn over the last few months.

Catalina Category Marketing (CCM) or Catalina's are also known as check-out coupons”. These offer incentives good on your next shopping trip to that retailer. They give you anywhere b/t 10 days to 3 months to use them so check the dates.

Some are triggered by certain things that you buy. Like when I bought yoplait yogurt last week I got a catalina for $1 off of a 6-pack of Yobaby Organic yogurt. When I bought Progresso chicken broth I got a catalina for $1 off of Swansons broth. When I bought beech nut baby food I got a catalina for .50 of of Gerber baby food. You get it?


It isn't always a competitors coupon though b/c when I bought Betty Crocker fruit snacks I got a coupon for $1.50 off of 5 boxes, and in another transaction at the same store I got a coupon for .75 off of 3 boxes. When I bought GM Cereal I got $2 off my next five boxes.


However when I was chasing the diaper deal last week I went to four different stores and only one of them gave me these $2.00 catalina's for Dreft each time I bought the diapers. So not all stores are the same even in the same chain.

Sometimes it is given in a coupon good for your next shopping trip on anything excluding tobacco and a few other things I wouldn't buy anyway. Like with the diaper deal. They had advertised spend $30 get $15 for your next shopping trip and spend $25 get $5 for your next shopping trip. These were given in catalina/check out coupons.

Many times Albertsons will do a deal like this week, $2 off instantly when you buy 4 participating Quaker products. These are given right away and should show up deducted on your receipt.

The catalina's seem to be pretty random as far as when it is good for a certain product. As far as I know there is no advertisement for what will be printed on these. I think you have to buy certain product and a certain number of those products to trigger certain coupons.

The good for your next trip dollar value coupons seem to be advertised but are not always.

To find out what catalina's are printing it works to read the forums on hot coupon world or pinching your pennies.



Here are a few question and answers I got from Hot Coupon World

Q: Are catalinas manufacturer's coupons or store coupons?

A: Generally, they are manufacturer's coupons, although occasionally one will state that it is a Store Coupon. The manufacturer's coupon catalinas are not able to be combined with other manufacturer's coupons.

In other words, if you have a catalina for $1.00/2 product X and also an insert coupon for $1.00/2, you would need to purchase 4 of the product in order to use both coupons.

Q: How can I contact Catalina Category Marketing, in case I have a question about whether my local store is doing a particular promotion?

A: Their toll free numbers are 1-(888) 322-3814 or 1-888-8COUPON (1-888-826-8766).

Q: Can I use a catalina coupon at a store other than the one where it printed?

A: YMMV, but typically yes, if the other store accepts competitor's coupons.

I am still trying to figure this one out but that is what I know about it. I was wondering if there was a site that listed catalina print outs for the week, besides forums. As far as a know the only info is through the phone number listed above. If you get any good info on how to find out what catalina's are coming up leave a comment.

1 comments:

Julie said...

Definitely YMMV, but they do say "manufacturer's coupon" (usually), so I've done it. I've had cashiers balk, but I point out that they're man. coupons, and they usually do scan. I don't do this with the Register Rewards and similar ($5 off your next order), but it should work with most of the product-specific printouts.