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Can You Use a Coupon the Day It Expires? If I were to make a checklist before leaving the house to go shopping, it would look like this:
- Keys
- Purse
- Phone
- Coupons
Yeah, I use coupons a lot. Not in a crazy, steal you neighbor’s Sunday paper kind of way, but I’ll take extra savings when I can. They add up.
If you’re new to couponing, you might have a few questions about how coupon expiration dates work. I’ll do my best to answer them, starting with a question I see a lot…
Table of Contents
- Are You Allowed to Use a Coupon on the Day It Expires?
- How Do Coupon Expiration Dates Work?
- Business Day vs Calendar Day
- How Long Does a Coupon Last?
- Why Do Coupons Have Expiration Dates?
- What Do I Do with Unused Coupons?
- Can You Use a Coupon After it Expires?
- How Coupon Expiration Dates Work
Are You Allowed to can you Use a Coupon the Day It Expires?
You can absolutely use a coupon on its expiration date. Coupons you use at brick and mortar stores are good until close of business on the date printed on them. Online coupons are usually valid through the end of the calendar day, meaning midnight in the time zone where the business is located. The day after the coupon’s expiration date is when it can no longer be used.
How Do Coupon Expiration Dates Work?
Manufacturer coupons and store coupons are valid through the date printed on them. A coupon with an expiration date of 5/31/21 is good through end of business on May 31st. The bar code on the coupon contains the expiration date so at checkout it will scan successfully through the printed expiration date.
Business Day vs Calendar Day
What’s the difference between business day and calendar day expirations? The difference comes down to the exact time a coupon becomes expired.
If your local Target closes at 10pm, you only have until 10pm on the day it expires to use the coupon even though there would still be two hours left in the calendar day. If your nearest Walmart is open 24 hours a day, your coupon is valid until midnight of the expiration date.
It’s the same coupon and the same expiration date, but you have an extra couple of hours to use the coupon at Walmart since Target’s business day ends at 10pm.
To give you another example, suppose you’re a night owl living in New York and have a coupon from an online retailer. You decide to redeem your coupon on the day it expires. If the company operating the website is located in California, you might have three additional hours to use your coupon due to the time difference.
How Long Does a Coupon Last?
Manufacturer coupons usually expire within three to six months from when they’re issued. There are exceptions. You might find a coupon valid for a year and another expiring in a month. Store coupons tend to expire in one to four weeks.
Coupons used to have expiration dates far into the future. You would also sometimes see coupons with “No Expiration Date” in bold print on them. That’s no longer the case as companies are a bit more strategic in the way they use coupons to market their brands.
Why Do Coupons Have Expiration Dates?
Coupons have expiration dates because companies want you to buy the product tied to the coupon within a certain time frame. These days, coupons are often tied in with large scale promotional campaigns which include print ads, TV commercials, online promos, and in-store displays.
You often see this sort of all out marketing blitz a lot with new product launches. Brands want to gather as much data as possible as quickly as they can to see if the product will be successful. They can use the data to guide their future marketing efforts, test additional strategies, or make changes to the product.
What Do I Do with Unused Coupons?
Overseas military bases accept coupons up to six months past their expiration dates. If you know a military family stationed overseas, you can help by sending them your unused active or expired coupons. If not, there are websites that can help you get them to military bases outside the U.S. for distribution.
Here are a couple of websites you can send your unused active or expired coupons to for distribution to military families for use in on-base stores and commissaries:
Only send active or expired manufacturer coupons. Coupons can be clipped from newspaper inserts, grabbed from in-store dispensers, or acquired from other sources. Store coupons and restaurant coupons cannot be used.
Can You Use a Coupon After it Expires?
Yes, you can use a coupon after it expires in some circumstances. If you’re in the military and stationed overseas, on-base stores accept manufacturer coupons up to six months past their expiration date. Otherwise, some retailers and restaurants do have an unofficial grace period for accepting expired store coupons, but not manufacturer coupons.
For example, Bed Bath & Beyond, CVS, and Chipotle are three places I’ve had success using a coupon a couple of days past the expiration date.
It won’t hurt to ask or give it a try. Some stores really seem to go out of their way to find you a comparable coupon or deal if you tell them your coupon is expired. Helpful employees have alerted me to new coupons at Walgreens, Joann, and Kroger.
How Coupon Expiration Dates Work
Just about all coupons have an expiration date either printed in a prominent location right on the coupon or somewhere in the fine print. If a coupon doesn’t expire, you’ll almost always see “No Expiration Date” printed on it so there’s no confusion.
Coupons do not typically have an expiration time specified. On the expiration date, you’ll have to use the coupon by 11:59pm or the close of the business day where you shop, whichever comes first.
Some stores and restaurants will take expired coupons or find you a new one if one exists. There may be a grace period for store coupons that allows them to scan as valid a day or two past the expiration date. The only way to know for sure is to try.
It also doesn’t hurt to speak with a store manager or ask the cashier at checkout if it’s a coupon you really want to use. The worst case scenario is they won’t accept it and you either put the product back on the shelf or pay full price.
If you have unused coupons you would otherwise throw away, send them to a military family instead. Valid coupons can of course be used, but military families overseas can also use manufacturer coupons up to six months past the expiration date at on-base stores. Coupons for food, baby products, and household items can really help our troops and their families.
If you need help finding coupons or using coupons as part of your money saving strategy, here are some additional articles that should help:
I hope your questions have been answered. Good luck saving money with coupons and reaching your financial goals!
