Black Belt Scenarios for the Jewel ConAgra $25/$10 Catalina (ending 2/16/11)
(Jump to comments for the Black Belt scenarios)
IF YOU ARE A BLACK BELT COUPONER:
My Black Belt couponers know that Catalina deals typically work differently at Jewel than at any other store.
(What is a "Black Belt" couponer? If you have been couponing for less than three months, it is likely that you are not yet couponing at the "Black Belt" level. These deals are simply not for beginners due to the myriad of elements that come together to make them work correctly, as well as the level of risk you need to accept doing the deal against what the ad specifies.)
If you choose to read and use the following scenarios, TAKE A MOMENT to read the following notice.
VERY IMPORTANT: If you have never done a high-level Catalina deal at Jewel before and want to do it in the "Black Belt" way, YOU MUST READ this short overview of the way the price structure works. In a nutshell, if you base your dollar-spent mark on the non-Preferred prices, you can save even more money and spend less out of pocket.
If this makes no sense or is the least bit confusing to you... do NOT do the deal in this way. These high-level Catalina deals can be very confusing, especially when you're new at this. If you are very new to couponing, DO NOT use these scenarios. Use the PREFERRED price only, and you'll get the Catalina every time. |
But if you're a "black belt" couponer and want to maximize your savings... here are some of the best deals. Again, if you use these scenarios and do not get your Catalina, DO NOT go to Customer Service and ask them to make it right for you. You WILL NOT have purchased what the ad states that you must. Again, YOU are taking the risk on these deals. You must be willing to accept ANY outcome without complaining, even if it means not getting any Catalinas at all!
IMPORTANT: The coupon matchups you need for these scenarios are located here. (A PARTIAL UPC list is here.)
SUPER HOT! The "Cocoa's flying out of the store!" scenario
Buy 10 Swiss Miss hot cocoa.
With no coupons, pay $10 and get $10 Catalina. FREE cocoa!
With the $1-off-2 from the Winter ConAgra book, this is a $1 moneymaker.
An all-Healthy Choice canned soup scenario
Buy 13 cans Healthy Choice soup ($1.25 each.)
With no coupons, pay $16.25 and get $10 back. 13 cans of soup for $6.25 is .48 a can.
With 6 $1-off-2 insert coupons (1/2 SS1) pay $10.25 and get $10 back. 13 cans of soup for .25 is just under two cents a can!
An all-Snack Pack scenario
Buy 14 Hunt's Snack Pack puddings ($1 each.)
With no coupons, pay $14 and get a $10 Catalina.
With four .60-off-3 insert coupons, pay $11.60 and get a $10 Catalina. $1.60 for 14 pudding packs!
With one $1-off-3 coupon (Winter ConAgra book) and three .60-off-3 insert coupons (1/2 SS1), pay $11.20 and get a $10 Catalina - $1.20 for all!
An all-Hunt's Ketchup scenario
Buy 15 Hunt's Ketchup ($15.)
Pay $15 and get $10 back. $5 for 15 bottle of ketchup is about .33 a bottle!
With the $1 coupon from the ConAgra Winter coupon book, pay $14 and get $10.
An all-Hunt's Pasta Sauce scenario
Buy 16 Hunt's Pasta Sauce ($16.)
Pay $16 and get $10 back. $6 for 16 pasta sauces is about .38 a can!
With the $1 coupon from the ConAgra Winter coupon book, pay $15 and get $10.
An all-Peter Pan scenario
Buy 11 jars Peter Pan ($18.59.)
Use as many Peter Pan coupons as you have.
With 11 .50 coupons, pay $13.09 and get $10 back. 11 jars of peanut butter for $3.09!
An all-Wolf-Chili scenario
NOTE that different flavors ring at different prices! This is a "No Beans" scenario. Bean chili has a lower ring price and you will need to add MORE!
Buy 12 Wolf Chili ($15)
Use as many Wolf coupons as you have.
With six .75-off-2 coupons, pay $10.50 and get $10 back! ALL that for .50!
An all-Wesson-Oil scenario
Buy 5 Wesson oil ($3.49 each.)
Pay $17.45 and get $10 back. 5 bottles for $7.45 is $1.49 each!
A stock-up-on-Wesson-Oil scenario (with pudding as a filler!)
Buy 4 Wesson oil ($3.49 each)
Buy 2 Hunt's Snack Pack puddings ($1 each)
With no coupons, pay $15.96 and get $10 back! $5.96 for 4 oils works out to $1.49 a bottle... plus "free" pudding! This is one of our favorite sales for stocking up on cooking oil.
A Healthy Choice Soup and Pam scenario
Buy 6 Healthy Choice canned soups ($7.50)
Buy 4 Pam ($10)
Use as many coupons as you have. With 3 $1-off-2 Healthy Choice coupons and 2 $1.50-off-2 Pam coupons, pay $11.50 and get $10 back! A super-stock-up price for Pam AND bonus soup!
An All-Snapple Scenario
Buy 4 Snapple Tea 6-packs ($5 each.)
With no coupons, pay $20 and get $10 back - that's $2.50 per 6-pack.
With four $1 coupons (1/30 SS) pay $16 and get $10 back -- $6 for four 6-packs is $1.50 each.
Don't forget there is a mail-in rebate running on the Snapple too!
- Snapple REBATE: Send in your original receipt dated between 1/1/11 and 3/1/11 and postmarked by 3/18/11 along with the UPC code that is located on the Snapple box. The rebate is good for a 6 pack of Snapple drink up to $6.99. Please allow 6 to 8 weeks before receiving the check. Rebate reportedly is good for as many people you would like per household but only one per person, which can all be mailed in the same envelope. (Snapple 6 Pack Rebate Offer, PO Box 40896, Houston TX 77240) [Thanks to reader Charlie Q for typing this up!]
AS ALWAYS, VERIFY PRICES AT THE PRICE SCANNER AT YOUR STORE BEFORE ATTEMPTING ANY OF THESE SCENARIOS. Verify, verify, verify. If you do NOT receive your Catalina because of a math error that YOU made, you cannot bother the customer service staff at your store with attempting a refund, because you will not have done the deal in the manner in which the ad specifies. YOU ASSUME ALL RISKS.
Yes, me too, it brings you to last weeks deal .
Help! When I clicked on the Black Belt Scenario for the $20/$5 PG catalina deal I only get last weeks black belt scenario for the $25/$10 Conagra. Anyone else having this problem?
OMG...It worked!! YAY!! YAHOOOOO!! Thank you Jill!! My family now has enough Hot chocolate to last us until past next winter.
1st transaction- 4 Snapple 6pks total was over $32 then after Pref card and 4/$1q's $17 minus $5 CAT (i had from last week) paid $12 (I'm also sending in the rebate for $? can't remember the amount) got $10 CAT back
2nd trans- 10 Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate $27 minus Pref card=$10.18 minus $10CAT paid $.18 and I got another $10 CAT !!!
3rd transaction- 2 Smart Balance Milk, 5 Ronzini Pastas, 1 Zone bar, nail polish remover (needed it), 1 Honest TEA (got thirsty), 2 Old Orchard Apple Juices, 2 Delmonte fruit cups total after pref card & all coupons $11.58 minus $10CAT PAID $1.58 for all this!!
Thank you Jill for teaching us all how to save money!!! See you next week at Super Couponing 2 in Libertyville!
I'm one and a half months into couponing.And I just came across this site this Sunday and had no idea what catalinas were til then. I've done 7 black belt deals since Monday and I'm loving it! How often do catalinas like ConAgra come around?
The last General Mills we saw was in October. We had several Proctor & Gamble ones over the past few months. We're long, long overdue for a Unilever cat. Jewel and Dominick's also both typically do frozen-food Catalina sales in March for Frozen Food Month.
You can browse through past Deals of the Week headlines (http://www.jillcataldo.com/node/11893) to see when others took/take place.
So many of your scenarios (specifically the Wesson Oil scenario) only come to $15 total (approximately). I thought you had to reach $25 total to get the $10 Catalina coupon. How does buying 5 Wesson Oils at $3.49 each get you to $25 total? Am I missing something?
Thanks for your help in advance,
Rich
Scroll back up to the TOP of the page, and look in the grey box where it says:
VERY IMPORTANT: If you have never done a high-level Catalina deal at Jewel before and want to do it in the "Black Belt" way, YOU MUST READ this short overview of the way the price structure works.
If you read that, you would understand how and why it works the way it does. :) Every answer you're looking for is already posted here.
I seen you are brand new to our save money club! Its kind of late now but you need to attend a class or buy Jill's DVD . Black Belt is when you don't need to spend the $25 to get the $10 Catalina ! But you will need some experience first,Then try next time good luck and keep reading .
Does anyone know EXACT spread on Healthy Choice frozen stuff and mixers and Kid Cuisine? Thank you!
First trip: 4 snapple paid 7.25 after Q's
2nd trip: 12 hunt snack packs and 2 swiss miss paid .64 after Q's
3rd trip: 6 pp peanut butter & 4 swiss miss (check all prices at scanner and my total was $25.66 but I did NOT get the $10 RR) :(
the pb was 2.49 and the swiss was 2.68----idk what i did wrong
anyway for trip 3 I paid 2.29 after Q's
so all together my oop was $10.18
Think it was the peanut butter !What does pp mean? I did all flavor's of hot.cho. And they all worked .
peter pan
in your third scenario you said you bought PP Peanut Butter and Swiss Miss. If you bought different flavors of the Swiss Miss they are different prices. I don't know about the peanut butter but if you don't buy exactly the same flavor/type etc. of the item you have to be sure to check each different flavor/type that you do select for purchase. They can be off by just a few cents but it can be enough to throw the whole Catalina off, and then you won't get the CAT. Hope this helps. ;(
I'm also new at this, and this is my first black-belt. I've done two, each at a separate trip to the store. It was so much fun, and I couldn't believe what I got for so little. Is it okay to fill your cart with multiple transactions worth of deals and then do them in a row with the same cashier. Or, do you go to your car to drop the "loot" and go back in for more? I even felt weird about doing that. I don't want to be seen as taking advantage of the system.
Thanks!
I would recommend using self-check if doing multiple scenarios, then someone in line behind you can jump to another register easily if you take a while. I also had a cashier tell me they would keep a secondary cart full of bagged purchases at the service counter for me, so I wouldn't have to run outside in the cold.
Personally, I like to take my items to the car and come back in. I hate it when I am behind someone that breaks up their order into a million orders. It's like thinking you are the second person in line, only to find out that the person in front of you is really 5 or 6 people. It takes time for the credit card machine to run, the cashier to give change, and the cats to print.
However, I have on occasion done multiple orders, if I was at the store and no one else was there at 5:30 in the morning before I go to work.
This is one of those things that people will have different personal opinions on. You 'can' do whatever makes you comfortable.
I have seen various thoughts posted here. What I do... is 2 transactions at the self check-out. I drive past the Jewel in my town every day to work and home again. If there are other transactions I feel I need to do I will take my things to the car and go back in, but since I am so close to the Jewel I rarely do that and surely not in this weather :-). I usually need a little time to recalculate with what coupons I have left vs. what the store had etc. During these deals it is hard to count on everything being in stock so be ready to be flexible. I am with you not feeling comfortable. I don't want the fabulous cashiers at Jewel in Wauconda commenting about the lady who camps out at the checkout. At least not until I get to know them a little better ;-) lol... I think it is like you said... a comfort level. Congrats on your black belting! So much fun isn't it? :-)
Thanks!!!
Well it is really hard when the store doesn't have the amount you planned for - so I bought 6 Hunts spaghetti sauces, 4 peanut butters and 7 soups and didn't get a cat. The green light was on but it must have been down. Sigh. Oh well, I used a $10 off and spent 11.99 which made each item 70 cents - which isn't bad at all.
Am I understanding correctly that if I want to make my own black belt deals that if I take all my products to the self check registar, I can ring up enough stuff to get to the $25 mark than scan my prefered card and my coupons that I should get the $10 cat?
Catalina Madness link on the left of this website. Jill says not to do exactly what you are writing.
The $25 you have to reach is before tax.
The self check out does not give you the 3 prices like the scanner does.
If it's not too busy, the person overseeing self-check transactions might even help you. Last time I went to Jewel, the girl was very encouraging and even helped me to figure out black belt deals! She didn't call them 'black belt' but she understood the concept and said people come in doing it all the time, so a lot of the cashiers understand and try to help. :)
I don't think they are that "advanced" at our Jewel yet... would be very nice though!
I had a Hunts gel that rang up .99 cents and threw off a black belt deal by pennies!!
Never assume the prices are the same. :)
1. 10 swiss miss= $10 + tax
2. 7 Swiss Miss+ 1 Snapple- 2 $1- $10 cat= $0 ( paid $0.47 tax)
3. 6 HC soups+ 4 Pam- 3 $1- 2 $1.50- $10 cat= $1.50 + tax
4. 6 Swiss miss+ 6 Fire roasted Tomatoes- 2 $0.45- $10 cat= $1.10+ tax
5. 6 Wolf Chilli+ 1 Snapple+ 2 Manwich- 3 $0.75- 2 $1- $10 cat= $0.25+tax
6. 3 Fire r. tom.+ 6 Puddings+ 4 HC soup+ 2 ketchup- 5 $1- 1 $.60- $10 cat= $0.40 + tax
7. 1 Snapple+ 7 Swiss Miss- $1 - $10 cat= $1 + tax
8. 14 Puddings- 4 $0.60- $10 cat= $1.60 + tax
9. 5 PP P. Butter+ 6 HC soups- 5 $.50- 3 $1- $10 cat= $0.45 + tax
10. 4 Fire r. tom.+ 6 Puddings+ 4 Soup- 2 0.60- $ 3 $1- $10 cat=$0.80+ tax
11. 3 Fire R. Tom+ 6 Pudding+ 4 Soup+ 1 Gulden- 1 $.45- 2 $.60- 2 $1- $10 cat= $1.35
So, since I still have $10 cat, that means all of this for $8.45 + tax!!!
First, Jill, I love your black belt deals! When I visited the Jewel in Arlington, the shelf price of Hunts tomatoes was 1.89, but they rang up as 1.50 (shelf price)at the register and an additional discount for the preferred price. So when you are calculating the shelf price, be sure that the shelf price matches the shelf price on the scanner. Glad I was at self-check out and could run back and grab a few more cans to get me over 25.
there is a:
"Shelf Price"
"Sale Price"
"Preferred Price"
The "Shelf Price" is the price they claim they normally charge.
The "Sale Price" is the price that everybody will pay if they do not have a Preferred Card.
The "Preferred Price" is the price that you pay with a Preferred Card.
1. 1 swiss miss 2 healthy choice fresh express 6 hunts diced 4 hunts fire roasted. total was 25.72, 16.28 after preferred card, used .45 cents off 3 hunts and 1 of 2 fresh express, total 14.83 got 10 back
2 4 fresh express, 4 chef boyardee, one redi whip, one kid cuisine, total 26.70 after preferred 19.32 used two 1 off 2 fresh express, one .35 off chef boyardee total 16.97 used 10 dollar cat paid 6.97 got 10 back.
3. 2 healthy choice soups the bowls. 3 peter pan , one blue bonnet,5 brown and serve, 2 kid cuisine, total 25.97, 17.57 after prefered , used 3 .50 off peter pan, 1 off 2 hc soups 15.38 after tax paid with 10 cat total 5.38 got 10 back
4 2 fresh express 2 rediwhip, 4 hc soups 2 pam spray total 26.74, after preferred 20.33 used 1.50 off 2 pam 2 1 off 2 hc soups total 16.83 paid with 10 cat 6.83 out of pocket got 10 cat back
5 6 hc frozen steamers 2 hunts ketchup 1 golden mustard 1 peter pan total 25.57 16.69 after preferred used 1 buy 5 get 1 free hc frozen dinner cashier gave me sale price at 2 doolars. 14.98 after tax used 10 cat paid 4.98 got 10 back
6. 6 hc frozen steamer 3 kid cuisine total 26.46 after prefeered 18.32 used 1 buy 5 get one free hc frozen dinner cashier gave me 3.00 this time 15.32 toatal paid with 10 cat 5.32 and got 10 back.
7 6 hc steamers 3 kid cuisine same as above but cashier gave me 2 dollars this time on coupon so it was 6.32 with 10 back
You did great! I'm still sort of new to this. Were you able to use the 10 dollars you earned each time towards your next purchase?
The ones that do not roll are the walgreens' ones on the products from the same company that gave you the first cat, and I think, sometimes Dominicks.
It was all scanned. I go thru the self check out.My girls love playing cashier and bagger when I do my shopping.
Will the $10 coupon still print out if your total after manufacture coupons is less than $25. Your all soup example with 6 $1 off coupons would be $23.50 after coupons before preferred card savings; this should work?
I would not post these deals if they did not work. But again, verify all prices at a price scanner at YOUR store. Some flavors and varieties can cost slightly more or less. If you do the deal differently than what the ad specifies, YOU assume all risks, including possibly losing a $10 Catalina for math errors.
I am new to this couponing about 3 months in. This was so much fun I did about 7 transactions and i have a freezer full of healthy choice and kid cuisines lol. I was adding up the shelf price and on about 3 occasions i was off by about 3 dollars. I just asked the cashier to scan another item that would get me over the amount and they would with no prob then id give them my prefered card and coupons. and after i paid i ran back and grabbed the item i had her re scan. not sure if all jewel's will do this but the one on randall and algonquin had no problem letting me.
Thnks jill and everyone on here this was my best trip yet.
I'm really confused here. It seems like these deals are calculated using coupons 'after' the $25 is reached(causing the sale price to be less than $25). However, the ad states "Minimum purchase requirement calculated after manufacturer coupons". This makes me think that the $25 needs to be reached AFTER coupons are used.
Could someone shed some light on this?
Witnessing my sisters do this was GREAT! and phenominal! it just works.
scan your item............the price you use to get to $25 is the middle one...not the high one or the one offered people with preferred card.
buy enough of that ( or a combination of other items specified) to get to the $25
go to checkout and scan them.
THEN
you use your Jewel card and it lowers the cost by another 9 0r 10 dollars.
THEN
get a worker to scan in your coupons that are specific to what you bought (if you have any)
THEN
your total comes down more. your total is still less than $16.00 for $25.00 worth of items
you pay and WA LA!
Jewel spits out a $10.00 coupon for you to use next time you shop!
my sis had a $10 coupon before shopping, so she got $25 worth of groceries for $5 AND got another $10 from Jewel to boot so she could do it again!
it doesn't get any better than that.............unless you're single and don't need all that food or are broke!
it was beautiful!
That's what the ad makers want you to think.
"This makes me think that the $25 needs to be reached AFTER coupons are used."
When we do these deals the "black belt" way, we're doing the deal against what the ad specifies. If you choose to do the deal in this way too, you do assume all risks. (But it does work, if you do it correctly.)
You just have to trust Jill!! Believe me.
Blog reader Martina just sent me this photo she took at her Jewel:
my store has a new CSM. She knows how it works and was telling me today that she was checking people out and noticed they were a few items short of getting a cat( obviously they were just buying those things because they needed them), she was sending the bagger back to grab a few more items for the customer to earn them the cat (with the customers permission of course)
Maybe they will have some of the items in stock???
Swiss Miss, Wolfs Chili (brought it out from stock when I asked about it), Canned soup, frozen HC, a ton of Chef Boy Ardee, Hunts spag sauce, but no ketchup and no Guldens mustard...sorry, that's all I saw. Also, pretty many free Ronzoni Vegetable pasta....
I went into a line and then noticed a sign that said catalinas not working. I asked at self checkout and they said they're not working anywhere in the store, but we can help you. They scanned each of my items to make sure I bought $25 worth, then they scanned my card (They insisted on this so they made sure I reached the amount.) They then took off $5 twice as a grocery coupon. They were awesome to do this when their machines were down.
Hi Jill, how much do individual Jewel stores vary in their "black belt pricing?" I did 3 black belt deals today, which resulted in 4 6-packs of Snapple, 6 healthy choice soups, 4 Pams, and 14 Hunt's puddings. I had a $10 Cat available to start out the day, then kept rolling them--my out of pocket was $1.06 (b/c I I still have 1 cat remaining). So, after all that, here's my question: the pricing was accurate for all of the items before I handed them my Jewel card and all of my coupons, so what would be the possible catch if I were to just take the Jewel flyer and grab any of the ConAg items, scan them at the self-checkout, and wait to see when anything added up to $25? I've read your Cat page, but???
It can be anywhere from pennies to .20 to .50 different. It all depends.
I don't do -any- deals without scanning every item, every variety, every flavor at the price scanner. I learned tonight that in addition to SOME Swiss Miss, Snack Packs and Wolf Chili having different prices for different flavors, some of the canned Hunt's tomatoes do to. The only way to know for sure is to scan, scan, scan.
I was told today by customer service the reason why my $10 catalina did not print is because the catalina goes by sale price and not the retail price. In the past I used to go by retail, and not sale price.
Alos, I purchased $25 in ConAgra products and used my $10 catalina and Walgreens RR, and it did not generate a $10 catalina. Customer service says it needs to be net $25 to generate a $10 catalina. Not $25 total less $10 catalina to bring the total down.
Are they changing their catalina's policy?
Did they scan the coupons? Or did the cashier type in $10 and then marked it as grocery? If the cashier did not scan the coupon or enter the entire UPC, then it reduces your total by the amount of the cat/RR.
I had this happen to me today. My RR would not scan, and so the cashier entered as "grocery". If I were quicker, I would have taken it back from the cahier and told her I would use it a different time. For me, that is easier (less conflict)than to insist that she enter the UPC.
Yes, we need that "Grocery" reminder reposted for our new deal-makers. DO NOT let the cashier enter your $10 Catalina as a "grocery" discount versus scanning it. If they do, it reduces the ENTIRE total at the register by $10 and you will not receive another Catalina.
I had three deals that didn't work at Jewel a few nights ago. My Cats weren't scanning and a new guy was keying them in. I bet that's why I didn't get my Cats! Mystery solved - thanks!
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