How To Use A HEB Catalina For Greater Discounts

Have you received a HEB catalina coupon recently at checkout?  

If you're sitting on a hot $10 off $30 HEB coupon, or other bounceback coupons that printed for you during checkout, here are some tips on how to save more money using them.


How to use a HEB catalina to save more money off your grocery bill

• Read your catalina carefully before planning your shopping trip.  There may be some exclusions listed in the fine print, and you want to know about those before you hit the cash register.  For example, catalinas sponsored by certain companies may not allow you to use the catalina to buy additional items from their brands.
• Bring a copy of the HEB coupon policy with you to the store.  HEB hires new cashiers all the time, so your chances of finding a cashier who hasn't seen a catalina before are relatively good.  Having the coupon policy on hand will help walk both of you through the transaction.
• Split up your transactions as necessary.  You can only use one catalina per transaction -- so if you have two $10 off $30 catalinas, for example, it makes better financial sense to make two $30 purchases.  Some HEB stores will let you split up your transactions during the same check-out, while other stores will want you to come back through a different register line or shop on a different day.
• Give your catalina to the cashier BEFORE you hand over any other coupons.  If your cashier rings up other coupons first, those discounts could drop your purchase price down below the minimum purchase needed to use the catalina.  So have your cashier ring in your catalina first, and then produce the rest of the coupons you're using in that transaction.
• Remember you can use your catalina with basket coupons and threshold coupons for additional savings.  Again, I recommend giving your catalina coupon FIRST, then your basket coupons (those coupons that say "Save $X off your basket when you buy Y item") or your threshold coupons (those coupons that say "Save $X off your basket when you buy $Y of select brands."  Finish up with any other manufacturer coupons or yellow coupons you might have.  Check out my how-to guide to threshold coupons and my how-to guide to basket coupons for more information!
• If a new catalina promotion is starting, you can use your earned catalina to pay for those items.  Again, just make sure you are hitting your minimum purchase requirements in order to use your existing catalina.  In other words, if you have a $10 off $30 catalina to use, and you want to buy products to trigger a $5 off $15 catalina, you can do that -- but you have to be buying $30 worth of items before any coupons.

Do you have other tips on how to use catalinas at HEB?  Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

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