Why Your BOGO Coupon May Not Work The Way You Expect At Walmart

There's a certain thrill to saving money when you go shopping. Hitting a good sale is great, but there's an extra boost if you can find a coupon to give you a discount. Some people are so into saving money that couponing has even become a verb. Nearly every store accepts coupons, either its own or manufacturer versions, but there are always some rules involved. You can't combine coupons for more than the value of the item and expect money back, for instance. And at Walmart, if you have a buy-one-get-one-free (BOGO) coupon, you won't be able to use it if it is based on a percentage of the cost. This means that if you have a coupon that says you can buy one and get another for 50% off, that's not going to work at Walmart. Those percentage coupons are not something the store deals with.

Also, Walmart will not accept digital coupons of any kind, including BOGO coupons. You have to bring the physical coupon to the register, but it does allow you to use coupons you printed from the internet at home. Those require some closer scrutiny, however. If they seem altered or blurry in any way, the store can refuse them.

There are plenty of ways to save money at Walmart. The store will accept manufacturer BOGO coupons, but they have to be used for genuine buy-one-get-one-free deals. That means you can get two completely identical items. You pay for one, present the coupon, and get the other one for free.

It can get frustrating when a store doesn't honor coupons, but remember, no store ever has to take any coupon. For instance, Costco won't take manufacturer coupons. In order for Walmart to honor a coupon, it has to be able to return it to the manufacturer to get reimbursed for the money it's owed.

Any coupons that are based on a percentage require a little extra work for redemption. Walmart, like any store, has to send coupons to a clearinghouse where they're all scanned, calculated, and then the store is reimbursed. A traditional buy-one-get-one-free coupon has a face value on it to cover the cost of the free item. That's how much Walmart gets back when it sends the coupon to the clearinghouse.

When the coupon does not cover the full value but instead offers a percentage discount, that adds another layer of work for everyone, since Walmart sells the item for a different price than other stores. If there's ever any dispute, Walmart would likely lose out on that money, and it would be a hassle for the store to bother with it. It's easier to just not accept those coupons at all.

Since it is the job of a clearinghouse to catch any fraudulent, expired, or otherwise irredeemable coupons, a store risks not getting its money back when it allows customers to use them. Walmart's policy of not accepting these percentage-off style BOGO coupons is just its way of mitigating losses. If you're still looking for ways to save, you could try Walmart's rewards program.