16oz 365 Almond Butter for $7 at Whole Foods

For a limited time only, Whole Foods stores have a sale on their house brand (365) almond butter (creamy or crunch). Their 16oz jars (not glass) are selling for $7 each, instead of the current regular price of $8. This is a limited time sale, but I forgot to check the in-store tag for an expiration date…

wf_almond_butter_sale

Also shown in the receipt above, Kind Bars are on sale (4 for $5) which brings it to $1.25 per bar, but that’s not all. In the store shelves they attach $0.50 off coupons next the “Strong and Kind” variety (the spicy ones). With the coupon, they go down to 75c. I am assuming you can only do one coupon per purchase (I haven’t tried more), so it probably won’t work for stocking up unless you go there very often 🙂

September 19, 2016 Filed Under: foods Tagged With: , ,

Free Shipping at Teavana with Coupon (no minimum!)

This doesn’t happen often, so don’t miss this if you are a fan of the Teavana website! They have a rare coupon that gets you free shipping with no minimum purchase amount! That’s right, coupon code YAYFALL gets you free shipping on anything you buy, good until 9/26/16.

If you already have favorites there, you know what to do, but if you feel like exploring and/or bargain-hunting, be sure to check their Sales page that has a mix of brewing equipment and teas and containers on sale, including a $2.25 tea container (macaroon shaped), loose leaf tea as low as $4 for 2 oz and more.

teavana_freeship

September 18, 2016 Filed Under: foods Tagged With: , ,

App ONLY: Load $10+ onto a Starbucks Card using VISA checkout, Get $10 Bonus (YMMV)

UPDATE 9/17/16: the $10 bonus arrived by e-mail in just three days. Check the bottom of the post for more…

ORIGINAL POST
VISA Checkout is trying to buy its way into consumers hearts and minds by offering a variety of discounts across a variety of retailers big and small. Starbucks is one of their “friends” as they have launched another offer running until 9/30/16.

It is important to pay attention to the details of this offer. You must use the official Starbucks iOS or Android (Google Play) apps to get the bonus. The web browser will not get you a bonus. You have to load at least $10 on your Starbucks card, using either the iOS or Android app, and use VISA Checkout as the payment method. The bonus is a $10 Starbucks e-gift card delivered to you via e-mail in five business days after you do this according to the Terms and Conditions.

I just did this on Android, and it’s a bit confusing, there’s no option to pay with VISA checkout directly, but you can add a credit card using VISA checkout, and then pay using that credit card. If you already have that credit card on your Starbucks account, I don’t know if that matters or not. I just did this on 9/15/16, so I won’t know whether it works until five business days from today.

The way the promotion is worded makes it sound like you may or may not get the bonus, so treat this as a YMMV offer.

UPDATE: there is a promotion FAQ page with detailed step by step instructions on how to do this!

UPDATE #2 (9/17/16): the $10 bonus e-gift card has arrived via e-mail! I purchased this on 9/15/16, so it only took them three days, faster than the five business days their FAQ said. Here’s a screenshot:

sbux_visa_checkout_arrives

September 17, 2016 Filed Under: foods Tagged With: ,

Sharp TE-T56U-GR Tea-Cere Matcha Tea Maker for $200

This is blasphemy for some matcha fans, so TRIGGER WARNING 🙂 This is a machine that makes matcha. No whisk, no bowl, no bamboo utensils, no manual effort. *GASP*

If you aren’t triggered by all this, keep on reading because the Sharp TE-T56U-GR Tea-Cere Matcha Tea Maker is currently on sale for $200 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual. This started at $300 when I began monitoring it. It has only nine reviews so far, along with three questions answered, and an intermediate level of details in the product description.

The price is a combination of convenience and being among the first to market with such a device. I’m sure in a couple of years there may be more competing devices which will bring prices down. But this is more for the early adopters who like to try out new things 🙂

September 11, 2016 Filed Under: foods Tagged With: , ,

16oz Trader Joe Coconut Oil drops to $5.50

Coconut oil fans, if you live near a Trader Joe, we have good news for you! Their 16oz virgin cold-pressed coconut oil is now down from $6 to $5.50. This is stored in a glass container, not plastic, so, assuming you are willing to clean out the last remaining coconut oil remnants from the bottle, you get to keep a glass container 🙂

If you don’t live near one, and you buy it from Amazon or eBay, you would pay 2-3x the price because the people selling it have to pay for shipping, plus eBay/Amazon fees, plus profit for their effort. In those cases, you are better off looking for alternatives…

Speaking of which, the 54 oz containers at Amazon definitely beat Trader Joe in price, but the coconut oil is stored in a plastic container, not glass. The one you see in the picture below is the 54 oz Carrington Farms (organic, virgin, unrefined, cold pressed) which goes for around $16.

coconut_oils1

Even with the discount, it still “defeats” the Trader Joe price. You pay $16.50 to get 48 ounces at Trader Joe, but on the other hand, you also get to keep the three glass containers (if you need them). I have both, but I haven’t done a side-by-side comparison, however, I have no problems with the Carrington Farms.

Competing with Carrington on price at Amazon is the 54 oz Island Fresh which currently goes for $17, but between discounts, lightning deals, subscribe and save discounts, and coupons, these two play leapfrog on price. I am planning to try the Island Fresh once I run out of the Carrington, which could take a while. 54 oz is A LOT 🙂

September 11, 2016 Filed Under: foods Tagged With: ,

12pk RX Bar (Chocolate Sea Salt) for $18

If you are part of the RxBar protein bar cult, Prime Pantry has a great deal on the, you can get a 12-pack of the Chocolate Sea Salt for $18.19. This is a pretty good deal, it comes out to about $1.50 per bar. Usually $2 or less per bar is a good deal since these are currently popular bars. NOTE: availability of these may vary regionally and depending on when you check.

This is actually my favorite flavor of their line! If you have any Prime Pantry slow-Prime-shipping credits, you can take advantage of this offer without paying shipping fees. Otherwise there’s a $6 flat shipping for the Pantry box.

Speaking of which, September is here, and they have a new free shipping promotion, if you buy five units of participating items, you get free shipping. You don’t have to buy five different items, any combination that results in five or more units of eligible items.

September 10, 2016 Filed Under: foods Tagged With: ,

36 pouches of Nature Valley Granola Bars Variety Pack for $9.50 after coupon

Granola bar deal time! If you like the Nature Valley trio of flavors (Oats’n’Honey, Maple Brown Sugar, and Peanut Butter), there is a nice coupon deal of this option, it’s a 3-pack of 12-pouch variety packs. Each pouch has two thin bars inside, that’s why they call it a 24-pack. So you get 36 pouches which translates to 72 thin bars. The price is currently $12.63 at Amazon.com. Then you hit that green “Clip 25% off Coupon” button, and the price drops by 25% to around $9.50. This is the one time purchase price. Screenshot of that below:

nature_valley_coupon

If you are willing to do “Subscribe and Save”, it is 25% off $12, which makes it $9 for the whole thing.

So to boil it down to grocery store price comparison, the 36 pouches are the equivalent of six standard grocery packs (six pouches of 12 total bars inside). For those, $2 or less is a good price, so anything under $12 for the same amount is a good deal!

A good deal unless you are willing those big Costco and Smart and Final type of mega-packs 🙂

NOTE: the coupon is a limited time offer but it doesn’t say when it expires.

September 9, 2016 Filed Under: foods Tagged With: ,

Lucky Rewards members: Free Tostitos Salsa or Dip

If you are a member of the Lucky’s grocery rewards program, you are in luck! The chain is back with a weekly freebie for their rewards member. It is Tostitos time, you get a free Salsa or Cheese or Dairy Dip. Just in time for football season. Assorted varieties are eligible among the 10 oz to 15.5 oz options. Here’s a screenshot of the relevant part:

lucky_tostitos

As usual, you have to manually add the offer to your Lucky’s Rewards account by pressing that big old RED button in the email. Once added, then you can buy it at the store, and as long as you enter your rewards number (or scan your card), their cash register will automatically deduct the price. If you are using self checkout, an employee may be needed to punch in some numbers on the register. The “attention lights” will go on on their own.

September 8, 2016 Filed Under: foods Tagged With: , , ,

AmazonFresh $25 off first order with Free Trial and coupon

IF you have never done an AmazonFresh free trial before, they have a new promotion, you can start your free trial and get $25 off your first order at Amazon Fresh with coupon code 25FRESHOFFER entered in the shopping cart. Only select customers in select regions where this is available are eligible for the offer. If you don’t see the offer on the link above, it means you are not eligible for the offer.

Offer ends 9/30/16. Keep in mind AmazonFresh has a $299 annual fee, so if you start a free trial, make sure you cancel it if the service doesn’t work for your needs. The $299 includes the standard Prime membership, so if you are already a Prime member, this is “only” $200 more per year 🙂

September 7, 2016 Filed Under: foods Tagged With: ,

Surprise Double Stars Day for Starbucks Rewards on 8/31/16 [YMMV]

I have no way of knowing if this is available to all Starbucks Rewards members or only a subset, so check your emails to make sure you are eligible. With that out of the way…

There’s a surprise double stars day for Wednesday August 31st in 2016 for Starbucks Rewards members. A late night email on Tuesday announced this promotion. You don’t have to activate it or use a coupon, it happens automatically if you are eligible.

sbux_doublestars_bonus_aug31

Strategically double-star days are great to stock up on “capital equipment” (coffee machines, coffee beans, ground coffee, coffee cups, etc) or splurge on the more expensive drinks and food items. With summer on the way out, some stores may have began the summer clearance sale, so look for that too as a way to get some good deals.

With double stars, you earn a reward for every $31.25 you spend (125 stars needed to earn a rewards divided by four).

August 30, 2016 Filed Under: foods Tagged With: ,

8oz total 4-Tea Teavana Loose Leaf Sampler for $8.74

You can put your Prime membership to good use with this offer, you can get this Rise and Shine Collection Sampler by Teavana through Amazon for just $8.74. This sampler contains four 2-oz loose leaf teas, two oolongs (one flavored, one unflavored”), an Earl Gray and a Mate (caffeinated non-tea tea).

This is a pretty good deal, this sampler sold for a lot more while on sale at the Teavana website. Paying close to $1 per ounce of brand-name tea is pretty good!

Limit up to 30 per customer. It is fulfilled by Amazon, so if you are a Prime member, you can get one sampler and still get free 2-day shipping. If you are not a Prime member, you need a $49+ order to get free shipping. Or an order with $25+ in books, which includes tea books. A good way to make a themed purchase.

NOTE: I haven’t tried any of those teas, so I can’t tell you how good/bad they are, but you can google for reviews. Keep in mind when reading the reviews that many of the people reviewing paid a lot more for these.

August 29, 2016 Filed Under: foods Tagged With: ,

B&M: 12pk Green Mountain K-Cups for $5

If you have a CVS store near you, and you drink K-Cup coffee, you may want to drop in by Saturday 9/3/16 night, they have a sale on 12-packs of Green Mountain Coffee K-Cups for $5 each. Variety is typically limited at brick and mortar stores (partially depending on how big a store is), so you will probably find the most popular flavors there. It’s a pretty good price for a one-off B&M purchase. Obviously if you need big quantities, you can get better per cup prices by buying online.

August 28, 2016 Filed Under: foods Tagged With:

Buy $10+ Starbucks eGift Card with VISA Checkout, Get $5 Bonus

A new VISA Checkout promotion is running at the Starbucks website. If you purchase a $10+ Starbucks electronic gift card AND pay for it with VISA Checkout, you will receive a $5 bonus on the gift card. The promotional period runs between August 4-29 in 2016, so if you haven’t done this already, it’s a great deal!

If you previously did this offer (before August 2016), you can do it again. I just did it and it worked fine. You MUST pay with VISA Checkout, not using the default credit card on your account.

The $5 bonus won’t show up when you pay, but when you receive the order confirmation email (it arrives within seconds), you will see that $5 has been added to the total. You can then proceed to load up this balance on your Starbucks account or immediately transfer it to one of your existing (eg default) Starbucks gift cards. Screenshot from the email below:

sbux_visa_checkout

If you do the minimum, eg you buy a $10 egift card, that’s a 50% bonus! You can email it to yourself, you don’t have to send it to other people/email addresses and jump through hoops. VISA Checkout is funding many promotions like this across the internets as they are trying to generate brand recognition and fend off competition from mobile competitors like Apple Pay and Android Pay and Samsung Pay and PayPal and such.

August 25, 2016 Filed Under: foods Tagged With: , ,

Starbucks Rewards Sugar Rush Combo for 50 Bonus Stars (August 19-21)

This is a YMMV promotion as it is sent by email to Starbucks Rewards members and I have no way of knowing whether it is sent to a subset by region or by other criteria. If you are eligible for this offer, you will see an email about it. But you also have to take action, you must click on the “Activate This Offer” link in the email to activate it. Without activation, you don’t get any bonus Stars from this offer.

sbux_50bonus_stars_combo

The offer is running for three days only, August 19-21 in 2016, it’s a Sugar Rush combo. You have to buy both a frappuccino AND a bakery item (“baked good”) TOGETHER in the same transaction/receipt. This will get you 50 Bonus Stars, in addition to the regular stars you earn from the purchase. 50 Stars are 40% towards a reward. If you assume that you’ll spend your Reward on a $7 item (eg the boxed Veggie salad which is pretty good as a freebie reward), the 50 bonus stars have a $2.80 value).

The good news if you are fan of both fraps and bakery combos is that you can use this offer as many times as you like during this promotion. The bonus stars will appear in your account (with)in 24 hours after purchase.

August 18, 2016 Filed Under: foods Tagged With: ,

Lucky Rewards: Buy $50+ iTunes Gift Card, Get $10 off Future Purchase and 200 Rewards Points

The weekly freebies parade is currently over for Lucky Rewards members, but they have a new tentpole promotion for week running August 17-23 in 2016 (the usual Wednesday AM through Tuesday PM grocery weekly-ad cycle).

lucky_itunes

If you buy $50 or more in iTunes Gift Cards, their cash register will spit out a coupon that gets you $10 off your NEXT purchase at Lucky’s. As long as you can find $10 or more to buy there in the future, then it’s like you are getting a 20% off on the iTunes gift card. On top of that, you earn 200 Lucky Rewards points, which can be used to redeem “Dollars Off” coupons ($2 purchasing power) or towards actual rewards items.

I don’t need any iTunes gift cards at the moment, so I am not going to do this offer, so I can’t tell you any more than what the email says. This appears to be an automatic offer, you don’t need to add it to your account manually.

August 17, 2016 Filed Under: foods Tagged With: , ,