How I'm getting $57 worth of Zyrtec for about $1.25

A couple of posts ago, I told you about the Johnson & Johnson's Buy $30, Get $10 or Buy $50, Get $20 extrabucks rewards deal at CVS this week and expressed concern that the $50 level was to high for me and possibly others as well.

After that post, I found out there were a couple of things I didn't realize. I went to CVS to get a bottle of Zyrtec because I was out, and I take Zyrtec on a daily basis to fight my allergy to dust mites. 30 ct. tablets or 24 ct. liquid gel bottles of 24-hour Zyrtec are on sale for $18.99. To my surprise, the shelf tag said they were part of the Johnson & Johnson's extrabucks rewards deal. They were listed under the banner for the deal in the CVS weekly ad, but they were on the list of products eligible when I clicked on the part of the ad that had other eligible products pictured.

I had $13 in extrabucks rewards on me to cover most of the price, but there were several bottles of the liquid gels that had $5 peel-off coupons on them, so I got one of those. After tax, I paid roughly $1.80 for the Zyrtec.  I also took advantage of the Starbucks iced coffee deal at the same time. The iced coffee is on sale for $1.50, and CVS shoppers get that amount back in extrabucks rewards.

I still had $4 in extrabucks rewards I didn't use, and I had $5 in extrabucks rewards coming from filling 10 prescriptions at CVS. Along with the $1.50 in extrabucks rewards I got from getting the Starbucks iced coffee, I went back to CVS this morning and found another bottle of Zyrtec with a $5 coupon on it. I ended up spending $4.47 with tax and got $10 in extrabucks rewards.

I was going to stop there, but when I read my receipt, it said, "Spend 12.02 More, Get 10.00 ExtraBucks." I didn't realize that after getting the lower amount on an extrabucks deal where one had a choice on rewards, one could then turn around and use them to complete the extrabucks rewards deal at the higher amount. So if I can find another bottle of Zyrtec with a $5 coupon on it and use the $10 in extrabucks rewards I got today, a third bottle will cost me $4.97, and I will receive another $10 in extrabucks rewards.

If I am correct in my calculations and my estimate of what I will be paying for my final bottle of Zyrtec, I will spend roughly $11.25 on the three bottles, and with the $10 in extrabucks rewards, it will be like spending only about $1.25.

This is one of the best deals I've ever gotten at CVS, and I'm not sure how I will be able to top it, but I know it wouldn't have happened if CVS didn't have the Buy $50, Get $20 extrabucks rewards deal on Johnson and Johnson products.