In light of Aaron’s recent post on the Walmart Savings Catcher, I thought I’d do a little trial run. Those of you who know my blog know that I’m a huge fan of saving money, and I’m a bit of a cynic at heart. Just because someone says that they offer the lowest prices, I don’t believe them, and I work hard to find the best deals – especially on groceries and toiletries – and pay the least that I can in all circumstances. So when I read Aaron’s post about Walmart’s Savings Catcher, I was intrigued to say the least. Could it really save me money – someone who works fervently to find the best deals anyway?
I decided to do a 30-day Walmart Savings Catcher trial, starting on April 14th, the day of Aaron’s post.
The technical details
This part was worrisome to me. I am NOT a techy person, as Aaron and Charlie will attest to. But when I went to register for the Savings Catcher, I found it so simple to sign up and use. What a relief for someone like me, who’s not big on the techy stuff. After registering, I simply sign in with my self-created username and password. In the upper left-hand corner, clear as a bell, it says “Enter Receipt”, where I simply put in the number located at the bottom of my receipt, along with the date of the purchase. Walmart Savings Catcher verifies that they’ve received the correct information, and from there, I simply wait.
A quick email confirms that they are searching area stores for lower prices on what I’ve purchased, and a second email arrives in a couple of days to let me know the results. Savings Catcher will either let me know that they couldn’t find any lower prices in the area on items I’ve purchased,:
We compared the items on your receipt to the items advertised by top stores in your area and didn't find any of them advertised.
Or they’ll let me know the amount of cash I’ve saved due to their price matching policy:
Savings Catcher Credit $2.00 – We found some advertised deals that were lower than the price you paid at Walmart so we are giving you the difference. Enjoy!
Walmart also lets you know if they've found that items you purchased from Walmart were already lower than the competitor’s prices with their Walmart Savings button.
The money I’ve “earned” from the Savings Catcher then sits in my online account, until I’m ready to print out a gift certificate or use my Smartphone to redeem my dollars in e-card form on my next Walmart purchase.
All said and done, in the 30 days I tracked my purchases, I spent a total of $642.44. My total Walmart Savings Catcher rebate?
$3.16.
While this one-half of one percent may not seem like a lot of cash, I’m happy with it, knowing that I’m doing everything I can to save money, because all those dimes, nickels and dollars really do add up. If I spend this same amount of cash at Walmart each month for a year, I’ve earned savings equal to a good $36. Considering I’m already so prudent at finding the lowest prices, I think this is a pretty good deal, and I’m looking forward to using the Walmart Savings Catcher for all of our Walmart purchases going forward.
UPDATE 3/15/19: Savings Catcher is phasing out. From Walmart: “That's why we have decided to discontinue the Savings Catcher receipt submission, effective May 14, 2019. After May 14, you will no longer be able to submit your Walmart Pay eReceipts to Savings Catcher. But don’t worry, the money you have on your Savings Catcher eGift Card will remain yours to spend until you're ready to use it.”
16 Comments
I stop wasting my time with it The savings that I had in my walmart account just disappeared without been used it.
i have an savings catcher with WalMart and somehow I lost the password so i cannot find the 9.00 i have in this account. Is there anyway someone can help with this problem.
Hi Karon. Go to this page and select the “Forgot your password” option by the sign-in button
Savings Catcher may work for matching “competitors” ads — but oddly enough, the Walmart Savings Catcher program refuses to match Walmart’s own published prices.
Walmart savings catcher is cool. Haven’t had any trouble w it. Using it for almost 6 months and have $52.22 back!! And I’ve been lazy about scanning receipts lately (for about last month I’ve slacked off)…LOL
We don’t have many stores around here to shop at so walmarts a blessing here. (Brookshires and Walmart). As for the foodstamp for Walmart employees comment above I read: I think most grocery store employees that have children are on food stamps unless they work 800 hours per week!! So I thought the comment was insensitive but ppl believe what they believe. I don’t work there. But A lot of ppl do. And as far as environmental concerns from Walmart I really don’t know. All grocery stores pay low. All grocery stores have 18 wheelers driving supplies. So I guess all stores give us environmental pollution?? I’m just sayin…
I just recently signed up for it . My first run I got almost $10.00 back. I am getting ready to put my second one in now.
That’s great, Shannon! Glad you’ve found success here!
I have to agree with Edward :/ I avoid Walmart at all costs. Some savings are not worthwhile.
We all have causes that are near and dear to our hearts, and I’m a firm believer in standing up for what a person thinks in their heart is right and important. Good for you for doing so, Stefanie!
umm yeah…this sucks actually. I have been fighting with them for over 2 weeks on something. Six emails later and it’s still not resolved. Aldi had Strawberries and Pineapples on sale and they didn’t match the price. I couldn’t report the error from my phone so had to go to a PC. First they told me that it was because they don’t match farm fresh produce and to refer to their FAQ. So I did that and that policy was nowhere to be found. The only thing even close says it does not match WEIGHED items. Well I can see that with bananas but pineapple and strawberries are sold by the item, not weight. So they emailed me back and said they were working on “correcting” the confusion on their website and then told me that I submitted my receipt 10 days after the purchase which is not true. I bought it on 5/7, reported it on a few days later and their first email back to me was on 5/12 which is only FIVE days, not 10. I am sooo frustrated because it’s almost $5. I should have just gone to Aldi and saved myself the headache. Thank god they are expanding in my area and we will have one right across the street. I am over Wal-mart’s abysmal Customer Service.
Jody, SO sorry you have had such a horrible experience – how frustrating!! I’ve never had to report an error, so can’t counter or agree with your experience, but if it were me, I’d feel the same way you do. Bad customer service is simply unacceptable in this day and age, when there are so many stores to choose from.
That’s a great deal that Walmart offered. Groceries are just one of the biggest cut of my income and I see to it that every time I need to go to the grocery I have my loyalty card with me, it’s either I can convert my point into cash or receive a grocery items.
Those extra pennies and dollars really add up, don’t you agree, Marie? And you’re right about groceries: they’re a big cut of the budget. Hopefully, since we planted gardens this year, we’ll have some huge cost savings there.
The cost of buying from Walmart can not be figured in dollars alone. The cost of paying for food stamps for their employees and the cost to the environment by Walmart must or should be included.
If you add these cost I don’t think Walmart is a bargain.
I did not included the of mom and pop stores they run out of business.
Walmart cost are too high for me.
Thanks for your comment, Edward. It’s important to hold true to the beliefs that we as individuals hold dear. Good for you for doing so.
This is true. However, until we actually band together and stop shoppingat Walmart, individuals such as yourself are only hurting yourself. I agree with what you are saying but it requires more than an individual effort to make an impact. Until then, I will continue to shop there as the alternative is far more expensive individually than shopping at Walmart.