12 Stores That Take Competitor Coupons

I kid you not, our list of stores that accept competitor coupons used to be twice as long as it is today. But you know what happened?

The pandemic changed everything.

A lot of retailers didn’t make it out of the shifts in retail shopping brought on by the events of 2020. In-store retailers were hurting prior to COVID-19, and social distancing didn’t help their cause.

During the first part of the pandemic, many of the surviving retailers quietly removed their competitor coupon policy. And some stores stopped accepting coupons altogether.

But don’t worry. Today we’re giving you the most updated and accurate list of stores that accept competitors’ coupons that exists on the internet. Some of our old favorites are still in here, but we’re super stoked to bring you some new retailers, too.

Download the KCL app to stay up-to-date on the latest grocery coupons, or text HACKS to 57299 for even more shopping tips.

 

1. Winn-Dixie accepts competitor coupons from local stores (up to five per order).

According to the fine print, Winn-Dixie stores accept up to five competitor coupons per order. They accept coupons from competing retailers in their local market area including stores like Walgreens, CVS, Publix, Dollar General, and Family Dollar.

Since the exact list will vary depending on where you live, just visit the customer service desk to get a full list of competitors’ coupons they accept at your local store.

Bear in mind that while you can use up to five competitor coupons per order, you can only use one coupon per item — period. That means you can’t use a competitor coupon on top of a manufacturer coupon; you’ll have to choose one or the other.

Related: With the recent news that Aldi is buying Winn-Dixie, some Winn-Dixie stores may convert to an Aldi in the coming years (which means no more coupons).

 

2. Publix accepts competitor coupons from local stores — even dollar-off-the-total coupons!

Publix accepts all types of coupons from nearby competitors. Each Publix store varies on the competitor coupons they accept, but you can find a full list posted (usually near the entrance) at each Publix store.

At Publix, you can only use two coupons per item. One can be either a Publix or competitor coupon, and the other has to be a manufacturer coupon. So you could stack a competitor coupon on top of a manufacturer coupon, but you couldn’t stack a competitor coupon on top of a Publix coupon.

If the competitor coupon is a dollar-off-the-total coupon, Publix will accept it! Just be aware that you can only use one of these per day. So if both Publix and a competitor are offering $20 off your total order, you couldn’t stack them both to get a discount of $40. You’d have to pick one or the other and would only be able to claim one $20 coupon per day.

 

3. Giant will accept coupons from competitors, but they’re particular about the fine print.

Giant will accept competitors’ coupons for products as long as you’ve met the coupon’s purchase requirements.

There are a couple of caveats, though. If it’s a manufacturer’s coupon that can only be used at a competitor’s store, Giant won’t accept it. They’ll only accept coupons issued directly by the competitor.

Have a coupon that doesn’t specify product size? Giant will only match it for an item size that both they and their competitor carry.

And they don’t honor competitor coupons for prescriptions — or the rare coupon for use at wholesale clubs like Costco or Sam’s Club.

 

4. Food Lion’s competitor coupon policy is pretty generous.

Food Lion accepts competitor coupons, too, as long as they aren’t digital or earned through a loyalty program. Or from a wholesale club.

But other than that, their competitor coupon policy is pretty liberal. You can:

• Use up to two of the same competitor coupons every day (assuming you’re buying two of the same item).
• Use competitor coupons for private brand items on Food Lion brand items.
• Stack Food Lion and competitor dollar-off-order coupons.

For that last one, the Food Lion coupon will get applied first. Then, if your new total still meets the competitor’s dollar-off-order coupon requirements, it will be applied second.

 

5. Harris Teeter takes paper coupons from competitors, but the store manager will have the final say on which stores they accept.

Harris Teeter‘s management team in each of their stores determines who their competitors are.

They’ll take local competitors’ paper coupons as long as they’re not from the Internet. But competitor coupons won’t be doubled (or tripled).

They’ll also take circular and direct-mail coupons, but only one per day. You can even claim those Catalina coupons that are clearly labeled “Manufacturer’s Coupon” even if they were printed at a competitor’s store.

Harris Teeter’s coupon policy only allows you to use one coupon per item, whether that’s a Harris Teeter coupon, a manufacturer coupon, or a competitor coupon. So no stacking allowed.

 

 

6. Lowe’s Foods will accept competitor coupons as long as they’re paper (not digital) — up to four per day.

Lowe’s Foods will take local competitor coupons as long as they’re from a competitor’s circular or direct mail coupons. That means no competitor digital coupons. They’ll also take Catalina coupons that print at competitors’ stores as long as the Catalina clearly states “Manufacturer Coupon” — and as long as it actually scans at checkout.

Lowe’s Foods is pretty explicit about whose coupons they’ll accept and whose they won’t. While it’s not an exhaustive list, they will accept coupons from:

• Food Lion
• The Fresh Market
• Harris Teeter
• JustSave Foods
• Publix
• Target
• Walmart
• Whole Foods

They will not accept coupons from:

• Wholesale clubs (Sam’s Club, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Costco, etc.)
• Dollar stores (Dollar General, Family Dollar, Fred’s, etc.)
• Drug stores (CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, etc.)

You can only redeem up to four competitor coupons per day, and only one if the coupon is a dollars-off-total offer.

 

7. H-E-B will only accept competitor coupons that include the words “Manufacturer’s Coupon.”

Before you get too excited, know that H-E-B is picky about which competitor coupons they will accept. If the coupon has a competitor’s logo on it but also says “Manufacturer’s Coupon” on it, you’ll be allowed to use it. This might happen a lot with stores like Target, where it’s actually a manufacturer’s coupon but it’s got that red bullseye logo on it.

But if the coupon is a store coupon issued by Target itself, that will be a hard no.

 

8. Your local PX/BX actually will take coupons (and allow you to stack them), as long as they aren’t expired.

That’s right! Military Exchanges accept local competitor coupons. The coupon has to list a specific price, and it’s gotta have a date listed — the coupon can’t be expired.

Exchanges even allow you to stack these coupons. You can use one Exchange coupon and one competitor coupon per item.

TIP: Commissaries don’t take competitor coupons, but they do accept expired manufacturer coupons if you’re stationed overseas for up to 6 months after the expiration date. So have all your friends back in the States mail you all their expired coupons!

 

9. Menards has a few big exclusions to their policy, and the manager usually has the final say.

Menards accepts local competitor coupons, but there are some pretty big exclusions. First, the competitor must have a location in the same market (and that call is at the general manager’s discretion).

Competitor coupons aren’t valid on sale items, end-of-season discounts, closeouts, or special promotions, which is a major bummer.

Menards won’t accept coupons that are for a percentage off your total order. They will accept coupons that are for an explicit price, BOGO coupons, and even coupons issued for a store credit card as long as you’re using your Menards card to pay.

TIP: Menards and Home Depot go head-to-head with their rebate programs, and you can take advantage of this by learning all about the Home Depot 11% Rebate and the Menards 11% Rebate.

 

 

10. Ace Hardware stores are independently owned, so you’ll need to make a phone call to check.

Now, Ace Hardware is a little tricky. Most of the stores are independently owned, and each one sets their own coupon and price match policy for the most part. So it’s not a definitive “yes” with this one.

But it’s also not a definitive “no”! Be sure to call your store to see if they’ll accept competitor coupons, and learn about any conditions that may apply.

 

11. PetSmart takes paper competitor coupons with a valid expiration date and barcode.

PetSmart will gladly take physical competitor coupons for exact products as indicated on the coupon (no mobile coupons). If the coupon doesn’t have an expiration date or is missing an expiration date, they won’t take it. The coupon must also have a barcode and cannot be used for live pets or services.

 

12. Ask about the competitor coupon policy at your local fast-food restaurant.

Fast food chains are heavily franchised, so the coupon policy at each location is going to vary. But at some locations — places like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s — they will actually accept competitor coupons.

The way this works is that usually they’ll only honor a coupon that they can match with a similar item of their own. So if you had a coupon for two BK original sandwiches, McDonald’s might honor it for two McChickens.

But if you took a Wendy’s chili coupon into Burger King? It’s probably not happening.

 

Stores That Don’t Accept Competitor Coupons

Like I said earlier, lots of retailers we used to include on this list dropped off post-pandemic — or never accepted competitor coupons at all. Keep in mind that price matching policies are different; some stores will match a lower price at a competitor’s store just to keep your business.

Here are a few of the stores that don’t take competitors’ coupons:

• A.C. Moore
• Dick’s Sporting Goods
• Home Depot
• JoAnn
• Lowe’s
• Meijer
• Michaels
• Office Depot/OfficeMax
• Petco
• Target
• Walmart

Related: Which stores price match in 2023? Here’s the full list of retailers who will price-match competitors.