What is a Catalina?

Actually, the more I have highlighted the various Catalina offers I am maintaining, the more people have questions. I don't have an official post with the definition, so this is a great time to discuss further.

A Catalina is a coupon you receive for promotions the manufacturer offers to customers for additional savings. Catalinas are the pieces of paper that print out of the machine next to the register. They are a great way to help you further reduce your grocery budget. Never throw them away because you never know what you will get – they are definitely valuable. I have actually found OYNO Catalinas in the trash can at the U-Scan! It was at the top, it's not like I dug in the trash or anything (=:

There are two types of Catalinas:

• On Your Next Order (OYNO) Catalina
• Manufacturer Coupon Catalina

On Your Next Order Catalina

Also referred to *OYNO* or just *Catalina.* {shown above} These types of Catalina coupons are for promotions where you *purchase X and receive a Catalina valued at X to use on your next order.* An example:

Valid 2/22/10 – 3/21/10
Betty Crocker Helper Meals
Buy any 3 and receive a $1.50 Catalina;
Buy any 4 and receive a $2 Catalina;
Buy any 5 and receive a $2.50 Catalina.

This tells you that if you purchase 5 boxes of any Betty Crocker Helper Meals, you will receive a $2.50 OYNO Catalina with your receipt. On all Catalina offers, you can use coupons with your purchase these items to further reduce your OOP.

There are also times when the Catalina may be a *purchase $X in products and receive a Catalina valued at X to use on your next order.* An example of this type of Catalina is:

Valid until 5/8/10
Kraft Cheese or Dairy Products
Spend $20 on products within one week, receive a $2 Catalina.
The purchases are logged against your Kroger Loyalty Card, which is what prompts the Catalina to actually print once you have hit that $20 threshold

So when you actually meet that threshold within one week of purchase, your $2 Catalina will print with your receipt. This $20 threshold is also typically before coupons (unless noted otherwise).

Manufacturer Coupon Catalina

Other products you purchase triggers a Manufacturer Coupon Catalina to print. Just the other day, I purchased coffee creamer and received a $.75 Manufacturer Catalina. These are not always for the specific products you just purchased. Often times they are for competitor products as well. These Manufacturer Catalina coupons do not double so keep that in mind when you are redeeming them.

Here is a Manufacturer Coupon Catalina for Meijer. Note the coupon MANUFACTURER CPN with the expiration date on the top:

How do I find out about Catalina Promotions?

An easy way is to get a Catalina notification printed with your receipt. That is what happened for the Crystal Light Catalina I shared {also shown below}

Another way you may inadvertently find out about a Catalina is to have a OYNO Catalina print with your receipt. Since Catalinas will print based on your purchase, drilling down to figure out product triggered the Catalina can be challenging (especially with larger orders). Sometimes the OYNO Catalina coupons have the manufacturer noted on the coupon so you know what family the Catalina is from. But, General Mills is a huge company with several products so even then that doesn't always help.

I keep an updated list of Meijer Catalina and Kroger Catalina Promotions and Offers. While Catalina notifications may only be printed from one store, they often will work at multiple stores. There have only been a few instances where they didn't work at both stores. However, as I share in my Catalina Promotions and Offers pages, you can try to use them at different stores at your own risk. Then share and tell us if it worked :)

If you received a Catalina and have no idea why, the answer is in your receipt. Looking through the various items usually pinpoints the products, it's the quantities that gets trickier. However, a bit of online investigation helps to confirm details before I share them.

Do Catalina Coupons expire?

Yes, the expiration date is listed at the top of the Catalina.

Can Catalinas be used at any store?

Typically, the Catalina coupons are only valid at the store in which you received them (and is noted on the Catalina coupon itself). However, some stores do allow you to redeem Catalina Coupons from other stores. For example, our local Meijer will accept Catalina coupons from Kroger. This is a YMMV, but it never hurts to ask!

What if a Catalina doesn't print?

I suggest definitely keeping copies of all Catalina notifications you personally receive. As you may recall, the Purex deal did NOT print for several people. But, Carrie of Money Saving Methods was kind enough to scan the Catalina and post it for people to print. Often times, stores don't even know about the promotions so if you have a copy of the Catalina notification, a store should honor it. This of course depends on the store, manager discretion, ymmv – you get it :)

A perfect example of how having a copy of the Catalina notification in hand was with the Purex Catalina. The stores ended the promotion early (I assume because with the Kroger Instant Savings promotion, it made it a killer deal). However, most of the people I have heard from who took copies of the scanned Catalina to the store received the cash value of the OYNO Catalina.

Also, if you ever have questions on various Catalina Coupons or Promotions, you can contact the Catalina Marketing directly { or calling them at 877-210-1917 }. They should be able to validate current offers if you have SKU numbers (the problem is that you don't always have the SKU).

Do you want to help?

Finally, I am trying to keep an active list of Catalina Promotions and Offers for ALL stores (not just Kroger and Meijer). I want it to be easy to search for current Catalina offers in one place since there can be huge savings potential.

With that, if you have any Catalina Notifications that have printed and you want to share the details, either leave a comment or shoot me an email {[email protected] } with the details on the Catalina. If you still have the Catalina notification and can scan it for me, that would be great as well! I appreciate the help on this!

Do you have other questions?

Find a list of current Catalina Promotions.