Our indiviual Store pages are still a work in progress. We will have the human go through all of them and add information over time.
We started with Petco, as we feel this is the store that needs the most explanation, so we want you and your humans to be prepared.
Please refer to the permanent PETCO page on this site if you need this information again at a later stage!
General Information on Couponing at Petco
We will cover:
Inofficial coupon rules
Ways to receive Petco Coupons
Checking out at Petco (MUST READ!!)
PetPals policy
Petco price match policy
Inofficial coupon rules
Petco does not have an official coupon policy. They however have a policy for price matching, as well as for their PetPals customer program. Please refer to more information further down on this page.
The following information is from our experience from sending the human to Petco for several years. It may be replaced by an official information from Petco at any time, if Petco choses to publish one.
Petco publishes Store coupons on their website on a regular basis. Most of the times those coupons can be found here
Typical coupons include $/$$ (mostly 5 off 25) for adoption weekends, that often take place during the second weekend each month.
Coupons for these usually are published a few days after the previous event.
Most months you will also find a freebie coupon or two, for a free can or pouch or small treat, to lure customers in. ALWAYS save those coupons or print them, when these links are published, as Petco loves to change these around. If you keep track of your links well, it is not uncommon to end up with three freebies in any given month, which will greatly help to reach $ thresholds for $/$$ coupons.
Typically you will also find $ off coupons for some brand of dry food and or treats, those can be stacked with manufacturer coupons, as long as the combined value of both coupons does not exceed the value of the item. It is recommended to hand over Manufacturer coupons first and then the Petco coupon you are trying to stack with.
As Petco does not have an official coupon policy, your mileage may vary depending on your store.
We usually limit ourselves to one Petco coupon of each kind per transaction, especially if they are freebies. For a list of coupons currently available at Petco go here: Petco Coupon Roundup!
Let’s say you have a 5 off 25 and a free can of Friskies,and a 3/1 Wellness dry dog food, which are typical store coupons that pop up once in a while. You can use all the three of these in one transaction.
But you cannot use two 5/25 if your transaction is over 50$, or two/three/four freebies, so you can get closer to your threshold. Please be reasonable and courteous, which will probably go much further, than pushing multiple coupons for freebies.
Other ways to receive Petco coupons:
– Sign up for their PetPals card, make sure your email , or your pet’s email address =^.^= is on file
– If you register for the first time you will receive a $ off coupons, that is independent of the monthly event coupons, these are very valuable, as you can use them at your leisure
– If you register your address, you will most likely receive mailers over time, these often times are 10% off anything in the stores (can be stacked with $ off) and/or coupons for items you purchase on a regular basis
– PetPals Members also receive Palsrewards per email based on 5% of their purchases, these are usually issued in 5$ increments, are ONE TIME USE prints and can be used on anything in the store
– Petco also issues a calendar every year, that can be obtained for a 10$ donation and usually sells pretty fast. A few lucky folks find some on markdown a couple of months into the year, but past March, you will only very unlikely be able to find one of those. These calendars are very valuable as they include freebie coupons along with high value store coupons, that often times make great stacks with MQs
– Petco also offers a Facebook game on their FB page, where you can earn PetPals rewards by playing the game and entering your PetPals number
– If you adopted a NEW pet bring your adoption papers to the store. Most times they will give you a booklet with some great coupons, even some freebies for your first purchases
Checking out at Petco
Be warned! Petco registers are a PITA and the cashier will need to scan EVERY item again after they scan the coupon. This is their process so don’t get discouraged and don’t go shopping, when you are in a hurry. And yes we mean EVERY item you have a coupon for gets scanned AGAIN after the coupon!
Just follow these steps:
-Select your items
-Make sure you sort your coupons
– %off first
– $/$$
– Petco Freebies
– Manufacturer coupons to stack with Petco coupon
– Petco Coupon to stack with Manufacturer coupon
– All other MQs without stack
– All other Petco Qs
– PalsRewards
Sometimes the cashier will try to mess up your order, try to stand your ground politely. Our way will most likely result in the fewest beeps
-Proceed to register
-Have Cashier ring up everything (maybe let them know to keep items out that you have coupons for, so they don’t have to dig in the bag)
-Make sure you are over theshold of XX if you have a$/XX after everything is rung up
-Hand over % off if you have (this needs to go before all, but will reduce down when other coupons are scanned)
-Hand over $ off XX
-Hand over MQ first, cashier scans MQ and THEN scans matching item
-Hand over Store Q, cashier scans SQ and THEN scans matching item
-Bag item
– Rinse and Repeat until you are out of coupons.
– Hand over PalsRewards at the very end.
Be warned: Petco coupons are notorious of not scanning. After some trying, cashiers will handkey that superlong barcode into the register. After keying in the barcode, the register will again promt for the matching item to be scanned!!
Have we mentioned to only shop at Petco if you are NOT in a hurry!
% Coupons may or may not work if they are scanned later in the process. Most times it is better to scan them beforehand. Unfortunately your percentage will only come off at the end (it will get less and less, when new coupons are scanned).
Example: You have a 10% coupon a 5 off 25 and two 5/1 coupons and your total is 30 $. The 10% will take off 3$, but then the other 15$ worth of coupons will be scanned, reducing the overall total to 15$ and so the percentage taken off at the end will only be worth $1.50. Scanning the % in the beginning will make NO difference in it’s value, it just helps getting the check out process more smoothly.
Petco Price Match Policy
PETCO’s Price Match Guarantee does not apply to Pet Services, PETCO.com, special offers or promotions, including rebates, mail-in offers, free with-purchase offers, limited quantity offers or bundled promotions. PETCO’s Price Match Guarantee does not apply to products and services offered by third parties operating in PETCO stores.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I call to get my refund?
A: No, you must visit one of our stores to take advantage of our Price Match Guarantee.
Q: When calculating a local competitor’s price, do you take into account mail-in rebates, “free with purchase” offers or other promotional offers?
A: When calculating a local competitor’s price we will only consider the competitor’s net price at the point of sale-we will not take into account mail-in rebates or other forms of deferred savings. All competitor restrictions and/or expiration dates apply.
Q: When calculating your own price do you take into account mail-in rebates, “free with purchase” offers or other promotional offers?
A: Yes, when calculating our own price, we will take into account all forms of savings available on the item, including mail-in rebates and other forms of deferred savings.
Q: Can I combine a price match with a separate offer from PETCO?
A: No, you have the choice of the local competitor’s offer and price OR our offer and price, but not both. For example, you cannot receive a price match on an item and then apply a coupon or other form of savings to further reduce the price.
Q: What do you consider to be a “local store?”
A: “Local store” refers to a competitor’s retail store that is in the same market and/or within a reasonable distance of our store.
Q: Does PETCO issue rain checks if item is out of stock?
A: No. Item must be in-store in order to qualify for our Price Match Guarantee. Local competitor store must have identical item in-store as well.
Q: Is there a limit to how many items can be purchased at lower price?
A: The Price Match Guarantee applies to all identical items for sale in-store, however individual items must be purchased in retail quantities only.
Q: Does PETCO match the prices of Internet or other non-store retailers?
A: No. PETCO does not match the price of Internet retailers, catalog or distributor companies.
Q: Does PETCO match the prices of international Internet retailers?
A: No. PETCO does not match the price of International retailers, including in countries or territories to which we do not ship.
Q: Are PETCO Pet Services eligible for price matching?
A: Due to the differences in Pet Services being performed, PETCO does not match competitors’ service prices. This includes, but is not limited to, services such as grooming, dog training, pet photography, etc.
Q: Are live animals eligible for price matching?
A: No. Because all animals are unique, they do not qualify. This is in keeping with PETCO’s strict “Standards of Excellence” and requirements placed on vendors to follow the best in animal care practices.
PetPals Policy
For more info go here to PetPals Policy site (the terms and conditions are very detailed and lengthy so we suggest you check them out on their site), we just copied the FAQ here, for some quick reading!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get credit for my purchases?
Always provide your Pals Rewards number or phone number at the register during checkout.
How will Petco know when I have spent $100?
All your eligible purchases will be tracked to your member account. Balances available to check at by login into your account at palsrewards.com or petco.com. Once you have spent $100, Petco will automatically email you 5 Pals Reward Dollars.
You will receive two (2) 5 Pals Reward Dollars certificates via email.
What if I didn’t provide an email address when I enrolled?
You can track your Pals Reward status and claim Reward Dollars by logging into your online account at palsrewards.com or petco.com. From your online account, you can also update your profile including providing an email address, so you can receive future Reward Dollars via email and use them immediately.
Will you give my email address to anyone else?
No. Your email will only be used by Petco. We will not sell, rent or trade your email address.
If I spent $100 today, can I use my Pals Reward Dollars on my current purchase?
Pals Reward Dollars are sent via email after you make a purchase, for you to use on a later visit. They can’t be used on same-day purchases.
How does the Pals Rewards program work?
For every $100 you spend at Petco and on petco.com in one or more purchases, you will earn 5 Pals Reward Dollars.
What if I have specific questions about my Pals Rewards membership?
Contact our Customer Relations at 888-824-PALS (7257).
By Laura Thu Aug 22nd 2013 at 3:36 pm
I often get random amounts in my Pals card account. Like, spend so much OOP at the store, but when I check my account later a different amount is posted. Do pals rewards go toward before Petco coupons?
By Emily and Linus Thu Aug 22nd 2013 at 6:09 pm
As far as we know there is a lag between those emails and when purchases get posted. It has happened to us before that we received an email “You are X amount away from your next reward” and then the next day, without having made a puchase a reward has been issued.
We are still working on figuring this out 😉
By Harold S Thu Aug 22nd 2013 at 9:55 pm
Wow. My old head is reeling. Now I know why I drive by a Petco on the way to Petsmart.
By Emily and Linus Thu Aug 22nd 2013 at 10:25 pm
LOL!! We HEAR you Harold!! It takes a lot of Purr Therapy to relieve the human of all the stress from shopping at that store!! But it’s all for a good cause!