Kroger Coupon Policy & Frequently Asked Questions
Checkout the latest Kroger coupon matchups and deals.
The trick to saving money at any store is to understand the store’s policies and take advantage of all the various savings promotions they offer. Kroger is no different. If you walk into Kroger and throw items in your cart, you won’t save much, if anything. The key is to use your coupons on sale items, or better yet Mega Sale items, to maximize your savings.
Kroger Resources
- Local Kroger Ad (Match your coupons to items on sale to maximize your savings!)
- Kroger Plus Card (You will need this to get sale prices and use digital coupons!)
- Kroger Customer Service (e-Mail to get an official copy of your local coupon policy to carry with you!)
- Kroger Store Coupons (They are hard to find, but it’s not impossible.)
Kroger Sales
The Kroger Deals & Coupon Matchups on In Good Cents are for the Kroger Central District stores. Kroger sales may start on Sunday or Thursday, depending on your store. In Good Cents releases a Kroger Preview early each week, using the Cincinnati-area Kroger ad. Full Kroger Deals & Coupon Matchups are released on Thursday using the Indianapolis-area Kroger ad. These two ads are very similar, but a few prices may vary.
Kroger often has great sales such as Mega Events where you’ll instantly save money if you purchase a certain amount of participating products. For example, if your Kroger has a $5 Mega Event when you purchase 10 participating items, your receipt may look like this:
General Mills Chex Cereal $1.99
General Mills Chex Cereal $1.99
General Mills Chex Cereal $1.99
General Mills Chex Cereal $1.99
General Mills Chex Cereal $1.99
Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks $1.49
Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks $1.49
Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks $1.49
Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks $1.49
Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks $1.49
Mega Event $5 Off -$5Balance $12.49
It’s like getting $0.50 off each item during the Mega Event. If you purchased an 11th item, you would not get $0.50 off that item. Items must be purchased in increments of 10 in this scenario to receive your instant savings.
Kroger also has 10 for $10 sales. For these sales, each item will ring up as $1. You DO NOT have to purchase 10 items to get each item for $1. Along the same lines, Kroger buy one, get one sales do not ring up as one product at full price and one product free. Instead, each item rings up as 50% off, so you DO NOT have to purchase two to receive the savings.
District Kroger Coupon Policy
Kroger’s coupon policy varies by division. The following is the Kroger Central Division Coupon Policy and was updated on In Good Cents on October 29, 2011. District Kroger coupon policies are not available online. You may e-mail Kroger customer service to get an official copy by e-mail. Print an official copy of all of the Kroger Coupon Policies for your area to keep in your coupon holder to help you (and your cashier) when needed.
The store manager has the right to accept, decline, or limit the quantity of coupons or items used or purchased in a single transaction, by a single customer, or in a single day.
Pharmacy coupons:
–Competitor pharmacy coupons are accepted.
–LCM or Competitor Coupons may not be used in conjunction with our $4 Generic Program.General coupon policy:
–We will double coupons up to $0.50
–Coupons valued over $0.50 will be redeemed at face value.
–Coupons that will not double include retailer, cigarette/tobacco products, or store coupons.Triple Coupon for Ft. Wayne-area Kroger Stores
**The stores affected by this policy are 857, 874, 929, 972, 973, 976,991, and 887.
–Coupons valued up to and including $0.50 will be tripled.
–Coupons that cannot be tripled include retailer, tobacco products, or store coupons.
–Coupons valued at $0.51 and higher will be redeemed at face value only.
–Items must be purchased in the sizes and quantities specified on each coupon.There is a limit of two (2) identical coupons per shopping trip.
–A shopping trip = 24 hours.
–Additional identical coupons will be redeemed at face value.Items must be purchased in the sizes and quantities specified on each coupon.
Digital or Internet Printed Coupons:
–Digital Coupons loaded to a Plus Card will redeem automatically at the end of the transaction. Paper manufacturer coupons will not be redeemed for same item if a digital coupon has already been redeemed. (Limit one manufacturer coupon per item)Digital Coupons and a Store Coupon may be redeemed on the same item.
To protect the interest of our company we will not accept Internet Coupons which fall into any of the following categories:
–Coupon does not scan
–No expiration date
–Coupon is for FREE product without additional purchase
–High dollar value (coupon value is 75% or more of the value of the product)
–Coupon Appears out of proportion, blurry, no picture, or obvious duplicates
–Altered coupons in ANY way
–Customer should refer back to the web site where they obtained their internet coupons.In the event we owe cash back from coupons at the end of your transaction, from coupons redeemed, exceeding the value of the items; an amount of $5.00 or more will be given in the form of a Kroger Gift Card.
We will accept Catalina generated “MANUFACTURER” coupons from other retailers if the coupon scans.
Any opinions regarding “how to use coupons” from unauthorized Blogs, Internet Sites, Chat Groups, Classes, Radio or Television shows are expressly the opinions of those entities and may or may not fall into Kroger Policy for Coupon Acceptance. Management reserves the right to limit quantities of items sold and coupons accepted.
I guess it’s important to note here that I fall into the category of “unauthorized Blogs”, as In Good Cents is not endorsed by or authorized by Kroger.
Nationwide Kroger Digital Coupon Policy
Kroger accepts digital coupons and has a nationwide Kroger digital coupon policy available online and was updated on In Good Cents on October 29, 2011. Please check your Kroger district coupon policy for additional policies.
Customers choosing to participate in the digital coupons are required to have an active online account with a valid, associated shopper card. Kroger employees or partners are prohibited to set up or otherwise maintain an online account not specifically associated to that employee or employee household.
A valid shopper card or an alternate ID is required for the use of digital coupons at the time of purchase.
Digital coupons and offers are deducted from a customer purchase prior to paper coupons or any other discounts and cannot be added back or removed once card has been scanned.
- Limit one use per digital coupon per transaction
- Digital offers cannot be combined with manufacturer paper coupons on the purchase of a single item
- Digital offers do not double
- A limit of 150 coupons can be loaded per household at one time
The store manager has the right to accept, decline, or limit the use of ANY digital coupon or offer.
Nationwide Kroger Printable Coupon Policy
Kroger has a nationwide Kroger printable coupon policy available online and was updated on In Good Cents on October 29, 2011. Please check your Kroger district coupon policy for additional policies.
Effective November 2007, all Kroger divisions accept industry-standard, secure print-at-home coupons. We recently partnered with Coupons Inc., the industry leader in print-at-home coupons, to offer print-at-home coupons on Kroger.com and all of our store banner websites. You may also find coupons on brand websites and legitimate coupon websites like Coupons.com. Help us make your shopping experience a pleasant one by keeping in mind these simple rules for using Print-At-Home coupons.
We can only accept print-at-home coupons if they scan properly at checkout. Legitimate printable coupons are delivered using special software designed to print a properly rendered barcode on the coupon and limit the number of coupons printed.
We will generally not accept “FREE product” (no purchase required) print-at-home coupons. It is currently an industry practice not to produce print-at-home manufacturer’s coupons for free product. Buy-one-get-one-free coupons and other values that have a purchase requirement are acceptable.
We will usually not accept coupons for more than about 75% of a product’s value. For example, a $2 off coupon will be acceptable for a product that normally sells for $5 or more, but a $2 off printable coupon for a product that sells for $2.25 is unlikely to be legitimate. If there are exceptions, we are usually provided advance notice by the manufacturer.
Coupons will be rejected if they appear distorted or blurry, altered in any way, or are obvious duplicates. You should always print the coupon yourself directly from the website or email that is offering it. Only then can you ensure you are printing a legitimate coupon. The coupon will never appear on your computer screen. A legitimate coupon is never sent as a graphic or PDF or sent in a Word document.
Print-at-home coupons should never be copied, sold, or traded. They should not be photocopied or scanned and distributed to others. They have unique serial numbers printed on them and follow an industry-standard format. Coupons are never sold and you should not pay for someone’s “time to clip” or other service fee.
Kroger Scan-Right Guarantee
Kroger has a Scan Right Guarantee that is often advertised on signs in store. Basically, if a product rings up at a price different from the one listed in-store or in-ad, they must give you that product FREE and every additional identical purchase will be adjusted to the sale price.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What coupons and savings can I use at Kroger?
A: Read more about coupons and savings at Kroger on the Kroger Store Coupons page.
Q: Does Kroger offer rain checks? How do they work?
A:Kroger issues rain checks on out-of-stock advertised sale items only, unless the advertisements states “while supplies last”, “no rain checks”, or “limited quantities”. Rain checks will not be issued for items not carried at Kroger.
Checkout the latest Kroger coupon matchups and deals or find more ways to save with Kroger store coupons.
When Beth went from the busy world of Marketing to the even busier world of SAHM, she refocused her energy into 
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
I just had a bad experience at Kroger. (I wrote corporate because I was so confused.) What is Kroger’s definition of a Kroger coupon? What is a Kroger coupon? I get some in the mail (the ones that are perforated and you tear apart – they come in a stack and are usually based on what you usually buy.) Anyway, I had a manufacturer coupon for $1 off some Tornado burritos. I had one that Kroger sent me for $1 off as well. When I tried to use both they told me the one they sent is not considered a Kroger coupon but a mfg coupon so I could only use 1. So, then what the heck is a Kroger coupon? They have not written me back, so I wanted to know your thoughts. Thanks.
Nikki, Kroger rarely releases store coupons. The coupons I get in the mail say “Manufacturer Coupon” at the top and those are and work like manufacturer coupons. If it says “Kroger Store Coupon” or “Store Coupon”, then you can stack it with a manufacturer coupon. However, I rarely, if ever, get one actually marked “Store”. Most are manufacturer coupons. Even the e-coupons on their website are mostly manufacturer and they don’t mark which are which.
Kroger sent me this explanation of their policy for Indiana stores.
Dear Ms. Winslow:
Thank you for contacting The Kroger Co. We appreciate your inquiry regarding our coupon policy. For your reference, I am including a copy of the coupon policy for your region. Please note that this policy is our most current; however it is subject to change without notice. For further clarification of this policy, please speak directly to store management. Please do not hesitate to contact us at 800.576.4377 if we can be of further assistance. Thank you again and have a nice day.
The store manager has the right to accept, decline or limit the quantity of coupons or items used or purchased in a single transaction, by a single customer, or in a single day.
Double coupons: See Hilander and “All Other” below.
Triple coupons: See Ft. Wayne and Scott’s below.
Pharmacy coupons:
o Competitor pharmacy coupons are accepted in all areas.
o LCM or Competitor Coupons may not be used in conjunction with our $4 Generic Program.
General coupon policy:
Ft. Wayne Stores: The stores affected by this policy are 857, 874, 929, 972, 973, 976,991, and 887.
Scott’s Stores: The stores affected by this policy are: 403, 404, 405, 407,410, 411,412, 413, 414, 415, 416, 417, 418, 424, and 425.
o There is a limit two (2) identical coupons per item, per shopping trip.
Ø One shopping trip = 24 hours
Ø Any identical coupons scanned after those two will be for the coupon value only.
o Coupons valued up to and including $0.50 will be tripled.
Ø Coupons that cannot be tripled include retailer, tobacco products, or store coupons.
o Coupons valued at $0.51 and higher will be redeemed at face value only.
o Items must be purchased in the sizes and quantities specified on each coupon.
o No cash refunds will be given on a coupon value that exceeds the retail value of the item.
Hilander Stores:
o We will double coupons up to $0.55.
Ø Coupons valued over $0.55 will be redeemed at face value.
Ø We do not double coupons for free merchandise, Catalina coupons, Kroger coupons, and/or coupons of greater value than the price of the item or greater than the bonus limit.
o There is a limit of two (2) identical coupons per shopping trip.
Ø A shopping trip = 24 hours.
o Additional identical coupons will be redeemed at face value
o Items must be purchased in sizes and quantities specified on each coupon.
o Coupons that will not double include retailer, cigarette/tobacco products or store coupons.
o No cash refunds will be given on a coupon value that exceeds the retail value of the item.
All Other Stores in the Central Division:
o We will double coupons up to $0.50
Ø Coupons valued over $0.50 will be redeemed at face value.
o There is a limit of two (2) identical coupons per shopping trip.
Ø A shopping trip = 24 hours.
Ø Additional identical coupons will be redeemed at face value.
o Coupons that will not double include retailer, cigarette/tobacco products, or store coupons.
o No cash refunds will be given on a coupon value that exceeds the retail value of the item.
o Items must be purchased in the sizes and quantities specified on each coupon.
Print at Home Coupons:
We do not accept coupons for more than about 75% of a product’s value without advance notice.
Legitimate PAH coupons will not be for a high value relative to the cost of the item. For example, a $2.00 off coupon will be acceptable for a product that normally sells for $5.00 or more, but a $2.00 off printable coupon for a product that sells for $2.25 is unlikely to be legitimate.
Coupons will be rejected if they appear out of proportion or blurry, or are obvious duplicates.
Legitimate PAH coupons are never copied, sold, or traded. Nearly all coupons are “non-transferable,” meaning they should not be photocopied or scanned and distributed to others.
Coupons will be rejected if they appear to have been altered in any way.
PAH coupons can be checked for validity at: http://www.printcoupons.com
Sincerely,
Lori Rump
Consumer Affairs
Reference: 9868122
Thank you! They’ve sent me this in the past as well. Keep in mind, the PAH will only validate Coupons.com and Brick coupons, not ones from other sources. They told me they are working on a nationwide coupon policy, but that was a while ago. I’m waiting patiently.
So if the kroger coupons say manufacturer on it can you use it at another store even though it has a kroger logo at the bottom of it?
Cheree, it depends. Technically yes, you could. However stores have the right to refuse coupons and some are leary of coupons with other stores logos on them, so they may decide not to accept them. However, you should be able to use them anywhere that accepts manufacturer coupons.
just have a question about catalinas. I see lots of sites showing store catalina offers, where do I find this information and confirm the offers before I go shopping. They aren’t always advertised but you don’t know if you are going to get them until the end if your transaction. Thanks for the help in advance!
Pam, a few of us list Catalina Deals when we find out about them, but the only way we find out about them is if we get a notice when shopping (prints out like a Catalina) or if another reader tells us. Catalina’s new site “Coupon Network” (http://ingoodcents.com/coupons/couponnetwork) list a few “You Buck Offers” which the same, but read the fine print for participating stores.
However, some stores don’t use Catalina as their provider. Though the coupons have been nicknamed Catalina, that’s actually the company that provides the technology that prints the coupon in-store. It would depend on your store and what technology they are using to create the offers.
Unfortunately, I’m rambling, because these are more rewards for making certain purchases and a large majority aren’t announced beforehand.
Is the coupon policy saying they will only take two coupons per item and order? For example, if I have thirty coupons worth $.50 off and I buy thirty items will all of those coupons be taken off for all of those items? And will all of them triple or double?
Breanna, two like coupons will double at stores that double coupons. So, if you buy 30 bottles of Heinz ketchup and use 30 $0.50/1 coupons, only two will double. The remainder will ring up at $0.50. Now, if you buy 30 different items and use 30 different $0.50/1 coupons, they will all double. Does that help?
Yes, that does help. I was wondering if I could do what the show Extreme Couponing does. By doubling the coupons they would end up free. Have you seen this show on TLC? I would like to learn how to shop and not really spend anything. If you have any additional information that would help, I would love to hear it! Thank you for helping!!
Breanna, the Extreme Couponing show on TLC had to ask the stores to waive their coupon policy for the show. That’s why the show and the stores participating have taken so much heat…. the average person just can’t do it, because they have to work within the coupon policy. I recommend reading this article: http://ingoodcents.com/2011/04/extreme-couponing-vs-realistic-couponing.html.
I wish I understood the way the Kroger My Magazine works. Sometimes I get it & sometimes I don’t. I got one at the beginning of the year that had a K-cup coupon in it & thought since I got it my mom would have it also & I could use her coupon. But she didn’t get that My Magazine but she later got one I didn’t. I like the coupons & the recipes & wish it would come consistently.
Becky, You and me both! My mother-in-law got it all the time, until I found out and started using the coupons that she never did. After that, it never came again. My Mom gets random Kroger coupons, but never My Magazine, however my Grandpa gets it regularly. I called and got on the list, then got it once and never again. It’s very random, but such a great coupon booklet.
My question is, If you have electronic coupons for kroger and then you use cut out coupons will they honor both?
Donna, no. This has caused some confusion. However, the coupons on Kroger’s site are manufacturer coupons, not store coupons. They are fed in from Cellfire and Shortcuts. The digital coupon will always trump the paper coupon, since it is automatically applied, so if you have a digital coupon on your card, you can’t use a paper coupon.
You’ll now find this statement below the coupons on Kroger’s website:
*Limit one use per digital coupon per transaction. Digital offers cannot be combined with manufacturer paper coupons on the purchase of a single item and do not double. A limit of 150 coupons can be loaded per household at one time.
Good Morning! I hope you can help me with a question. I have the BOGO Axe Shower Gel man q from an insert. I also have two “save $1.50 on any one axe shower gel product manq. These have the Kroger emblem on them, which I intend to use them at Kroger anyway. My question is this, May I use BOTH $1.50 man q’s AND the BOGO q? THANK YOU for all you do! I learned something new this morning reading this post. I did not know you could use a store q (from mailers) with a man q. I wonder how much money I’ve lost!!?? LOL! Have a great day and thank you again!!
Robin, It depends on if the coupons with the Kroger logo says “Kroger store coupon” or “manufacturer coupon. Kroger is notorious for putting their logo on manufacturer coupons, which means you can use them anywhere and they can’t be stacked with other manufacturer coupons.
I just went to Kroger today and encountered something I hadn’t before. I was buying Beech-Nut baby cereal and had printed coupons off of CouponNetwork.com. I was buying two cereals and had two .60/1 internet-printed coupons. When I tried to check out with them, the cashier said I couldn’t use both, because they were copies or duplicates (I can’t remember exactly what she said) of each other. I said I had printed them both on my computer, and usually when you try to print more than two (the usual amount accepted), it won’t let you. She said they were being told they couldn’t accept two with the same barcode number. Wouldn’t the same coupon always have the same barcode? It didn’t make any sense to me, but my baby was crying and I wasn’t going to stay any longer trying to get clarification. I ended up leaving with only one cereal. Any thoughts on what policy they were trying to enforce?
There’s a unique code on each coupon. It’s usually numbers around the outside of the coupon. Those should be different for each coupon and she’s confusing that with the barcode. Kroger accepts two “like” printable coupons (so two of the same printable coupon).
Thanks for that explanation – that makes sense – I think she was just confused too. So if someone had just photocopied coupons, they would have the exact same numbers around the outside. I just looked at some of my printed coupons that I have doubles of, and there are slight differences in the tiny numbers around the outside – it looks like it shows what date/time you printed them, sometimes your zipcode, etc. I am wondering though if there will be issues arising more often with printed coupons because of those that are using them fraudulently. I can’t really see many stores/cashiers wanting to examine those tiny numbers (they’re hard to see unless you’re in good lighting!). I guess if there’s a dispute again though, I will know what to have them check.
Hello Beth! Happy to see a blogger from Indiana! :) I have a question in regards to Kroger’s coupon policy, hopefully you may know. 1) Can you use coupons on clearance items? 2.) Can you use coupons on sale items, for example products included in the mega events? Thanks!
Ana, yes, you can use coupons on clearance and sale items. In fact, I recommend stacking coupons with clearance and sale items as much as possible to maximize your savings.
I went into Kroger today to use a coupon that I got in the mail for baby formula. The formula I needed was on clearance and they wouldn’t let me use my coupon on it cause it was on clearance. I have used them before and there was not problem. I want to know why it is different for one store to another in the same town? I usually got to the close to my house but today I went to the one closest to work. The one close to my house does not have a problem with them. the manger at the one I went to today refused it. Please help me. Im confused on the coupon situation. Thanks.
They SHOULD have let you use a coupon on a clearance item but some managers are not comfortable with it. Unfortunately, almost every stores coupon policy says that management has the right to change the policy for their store. But I share in your frustration, I have had to deal with this situation more than once before. I would just stick with the store you are familiar with! :-) It’s important to get to know your stores to learn each one’s policies and become familiar with what is allowed where. Kroger is one of the the more frustrating stores with policies varying so much between locations! Hopefully they will get it together someday! ~Happy Shopping!
How can you tell by looking at your Kroger receipt if the coupons applied to your kroger card are deducted? I don’t think mine are coming off my card. Thanks a bunch.
They generally will show up under the product , not at the end where coupons typically are. Make sure you have the correct Plus card number on your online account and you can always contact customer service if it still is not going through.