Looking to cut down on your pet costs? I have good news: saving money at Petco is ridiculously easy, if you know how to work it. From sniffing out a Petco discount to earning cash back with their newly revamped rewards program — we’ve got all the savings tips you need.
I’ll start with everyday ways to keep money in your pocket at Petco, then highlight the best Petco sales, and finally, I’ll simplify Petco’s fine print so you don’t get caught off guard.
Before you start, though, be sure to download The Krazy Coupon Lady app. Then “favorite” Petco, and we’ll send you the best deals as soon as they go live.
1. Join the Petco rewards program to get a $5 coupon for every $167 you spend.
Unlike PetSmart’s loyalty program, Petco’s Vital Care rewards program (formerly known as Pals Rewards) is, well, actually rewarding.
Even at the free membership level (their “Core” tier), Petco Vital Care members get one $5 coupon for every $167 they spend at Petco. This works out to 3% cash back on your Petco purchases. Compare this to one $2.50 PetSmart coupon for every $125 you spend at PetSmart, or a measly 2% cash back.
The best part? You can stack your $5 off Petco rewards on top of each other. You can also combine them with coupons and sale prices (as long as it doesn’t bring the total price below $0).
Start earning toward your free coupon by signing up for a Vital Care Core rewards account.
Related: Want to find even more savings? Follow our pet coupons, dog coupons, and cat coupons pages.
2. Find the current Petco discount offers listed on their website or app.
Petco makes a new set of Petco coupons, promotions, and sales available on their website every month.
Oh, and about those coupons. Expect Petco to make four main coupons available at the top of the page. Some require a Petco rewards membership (free to join at the base level). Here’s what those coupons looked like in February 2023:
- Buy One, Get One 50% off select dental care solutions for cats and dogs
- $3 off Stella & Chewy’s Dog Food
- Buy One, Get One 50% off WholeHearted Dental Dog Treats
- 25% off select flea and tick medicine for cats and dogs
For each Petco discount offer, they’ll specify whether it’s valid in store, online, or in both places.
3. Expect monthly savings on Petco dog food, cat food, pet supplies, and treats.
When it comes to Petco’s monthly promotions and sales, Petco tends to stick to cat and dog products. But they do throw in some savings on fish tanks, bird toys, and reptiles from time to time.
I tracked each month’s promotions from September 2022 to February 2023, and here are some of the most valuable discounts I saw:
- 50% off small animals like leopard geckos (reg. $29.99) and bearded dragons (reg. $79.99)
- 50% off Aqueon open-glass aquariums
- 20% off Canidae dog food
- $10 off Merrick dog food (30- and 33-pound bags)
- Buy One, Get One Free dog and cat toys and treats
- Buy Three, Get One Free dog treats, chews, and dental treats
Related: Use our hacks to find the cheapest place to buy Science Diet dog food.
4. Get 35% off your first order when you sign up for Petco repeat delivery.
If you’ve ever heard of Amazon Subscribe & Save, Petco’s repeat delivery program works the same way.
Basically, Petco shoppers get special discounts when they place a recurring order of one or more items. Your first repeat order will get a 35% discount, and future orders get a 5% discount. And at Petco, shipping is free on all orders over $35.
You can choose the length of time you want between orders, and you can cancel at any time.
5. Or use Petco’s curbside pickup and get 10% – 15% off your entire order.
You don’t even have to order delivery to get a discount on your Petco.com purchases. That’s because Petco rewards shoppers who order online and pick up curbside with 10% off any purchase of $50 or more. Sometimes Petco curbside pickup has given me 15% off the entire order if I’ve waited a few days with items sitting in my cart.
If it’s easy for you to get to your local store, here’s how to unlock this Petco discount:
- Place an order on Petco.com and set up repeat deliveries, which will get you 35% off your first order.
- After receiving your order, cancel all future repeat deliveries (cancellation is free).
- Place your remaining orders for in-store pickup for 10% – 15% off your entire order.
6. Stack Petco coupons, rewards, and sale prices for the lowest possible price.
Petco doesn’t limit how many coupons or rewards you can stack in a single order, unless your coupon would bring the subtotal below $0. That means if you have $5 in Petco rewards, you’d need your subtotal to be at least $5.01 in order to use the coupon.
Here’s how it looks to stack a Petco sale, coupon, and reward to score savings of 57%:
Buy 1 Jiminy’s Cricket Crave Dry Dog Food, 10 lb, reg. $58.99
Set up Repeat Delivery for 35% off your order
Apply 25% discount from Petco monthly sale
Use $5 in Petco Rewards
Free shipping on orders over $35
Final Price: $25.54 (57% savings)
Related: We assembled all the best pet rewards programs.
7. Petco rewards members always get a Buy 9, Get 1 free deal on pet food bags.
When it comes to saving on pet food, getting a free bag of dry chow sets Petco apart from the field. But getting their so-called Nutrition Perk is a little more complicated than I’d like it to be.
Assuming you’ve already signed up for their rewards program, here’s what you need to do:
- Download the Petco app (iOS / Android).
- Tap the “Account” tab in the bottom right-hand corner of the app and sign in.
- Select “Vital Care Core” if you have the free rewards or “Vital Care Premier” if you have the paid plan.
- Tap “Unlock” next to the nutrition perk.
Then give your phone number at the cash register when you make pet food purchases to get credit. Purchases made through the app will automatically link to your account. Note: you have to redeem the nutrition perk within 90 days of unlocking it.
TIP: Want to have that kibble brought right to you? Find out how to save on pet food delivery services.
8. Get $15 in Petco coupons each month when you upgrade to Vital Care Premier.
Petco’s Vital Care Premier membership (as opposed to the free Vital Care Core membership) is a subscription program that promises a slew of monthly rewards and coupons. It even includes unlimited free routine vet visits.
The catch? You’ll pay $19.99 per month, per pet for the plan, and each state only has a few veterinary clinics that participate in Petco’s Vital Care program. Plus your subscription fee won’t count toward your Petco rewards earnings.
And of course, getting $15 in monthly rewards with the Premier plan won’t cover your $19.99 monthly payment. You’d need to find $5 more in savings to make paying for Petco Vital Care worth it. And you can do just that with these exclusive discounts that come with it:
- 10% off food
- 20% off cat litter
- 20% off Petco dog grooming visits (reg. $38 and up)
- $20 off pet services from Rover (one-time use)
Next, we’ll go over exactly how much you’d have to spend on pet food in order to start saving money each month …
9. Petco Vital Care Premier is worth it if you spend at least $35 per month on pet food.
You don’t even have to use all of the discounts available to you with Petco Vital Care Premier to make the paid subscription worthwhile.
You can save enough money to pay for the subscription on dog food alone. It requires stacking all of your potential dog food discounts:
- 5% off any repeat delivery
- 10% off nutrition with Vital Care Premier
Those two discounts need to net you $5 in savings. To do that, you need to spend at least $35. Here’s how it works:
Buy 1 Buffalo Blue Homestyle Recipe Turkey Meatloaf Adult Wet Dog Food, 12.5 oz 12 ct, reg. $44.28
Pay $19.99 for Petco Vital Care Premier each month
Save 5% with repeat delivery
Save 10% on nutrition items
Get $15 off with Petco Vital Care rewards coupons
Final Price: $22.86 ($42.85 including Petco Vital Care)
Compare to $44.28 regular price on Petco
That’s just for food. Here’s how much you have to spend on cat litter or dog grooming to save money with Petco Vital Care Premier:
- Spend at least $20 on cat litter per month (20% discount, plus 5% repeat delivery discount)
- One dog grooming appointment per month (20% discount)
10. Save 60% every time you buy high-end cat litter — like World’s Best — from Petco.
If you’re a Petco Vital Care Premier member, then you’ll be able to get high-end cat litter like World’s Best Clumping Cat Litter (regularly $37.99) for as little as $15.39. That’s 60% in savings! You can do this by using the 20% cat litter discount that comes with your paid membership and stacking it with the $5 Petco coupons you’ll earn. Here’s how it works:
Buy 1 World’s Best Clumping Cat Litter, 28 lb, reg. $37.99
Apply 20% Petco Vital Care Premier discount
Use three $5 Petco coupons
Free in-store pickup
Final Price: $15.39 ($0.55 per pound)
By comparison, Petco’s own cat litter brand So Phresh ($13.99 for 30 pounds) comes out to $0.47 per pound. So with Petco Vital Care Premier, you’ll be paying right around store brand prices for one of the top cat litter brands. No other store can match those savings over and over again on cat litter.
Related: Don’t miss these tips for getting cheap cat litter.
11. Petco grooming isn’t the cheapest — you’ll pay 25% – 43% more than at PetSmart.
To figure out who was the cheapest for grooming — Petco vs. PetSmart — I compared the prices for a few different services for my large dog (75 pounds). I found that Petco grooming prices were always higher than PetSmart, sometimes by as much as 43%. Here’s the price breakdown:
The only way Petco beats PetSmart on grooming prices is if you have the paid Vital Care membership ($19.99 per month). With the membership, you’ll get 20% off each grooming appointment, plus every ninth groom is free.
Related: Another perk for PetSmart is their frequent PetSmart grooming coupon offers.
12. Petco rarely has the best price on name-brand cat food — shop Amazon, Chewy, or PetSmart instead.
It’s not that Petco has unusually awful prices on cat food. But when it comes to name brands, they simply never have the best price — if they carry the brand at all.
Here’s how their prices stack up for wet cat food:
And they don’t fare any better when you compare the prices for dry kibble:
TIP: Don’t miss our best tips for getting cheap cat food.
13. The Petco return policy only gives you 30 days — half as much time as PetSmart.
When it comes to store return policies, PetSmart definitely has the upper paw over Petco.
PetSmart’s return policy gives you up to 60 days to make a return, and they let you bring back your items without a receipt. Compare this to the Petco return policy, which requires a receipt and only gives you 30 days.
By the way, Petco counts 30 days from the date your Petco.com order ships — not when it arrives — so count the days accordingly. Petco won’t accept returns of prescription medicine or pharmacy products, either, but that’s pretty standard among most pet stores.
Related: You can get a $10 off $40 Petco coupon when you return purchases from online stores like Gymshark, Revolve, and ModCloth at participating Petco stores. Learn more about this Happy Returns hack.
14. Petco price match with competitors doesn’t exist anymore — either in store or online.
Petco never made it easy to find their actual price matching policy — as in, they never posted the policy online at all. In the past, I had to call Petco Customer Service to get the scoop. And back then, they told me that Petco.com would match online prices for competitors like Amazon, Chewy, PetSmart, Target, Wag, and Walmart.
But Petco price match is no longer a thing. When I reached out to customer service about it in February 2023, here’s what they told me: “Petco no longer price matches competitor in-store pricing or any online competitor prices.” Bummer.
TIP: Petco stores will still price match Petco.com prices if you spot a lower advertised price online. Just present proof of the lower price (I use screenshots and a URL) in order to get the adjustment at the register.
15. Look for 30% – 50% off Petco Halloween costumes a few weeks before Halloween.
If Petco sticks to what they did in 2022, then the best time to buy Halloween costumes at Petco in 2023 will be around the second week of October. Last year we saw costumes for dogs, cats, and small animals drop as low as $2.50 on Oct. 12.
In both 2020 and 2021, Petco took 30% – 50% off their pet Halloween costumes much later, just a few days before Halloween. Here’s an example of a deal we saw in 2022:
Buy 1 Bootique Pizza Headpiece For Dogs & Cats (reg. $4.99), $2.50 sale price
Free store pickup
Final Price: $2.50
This is the only time of year we see a dedicated sale for Halloween costumes from Petco.
That said, Petco’s known to put unsold sale items on clearance after holidays for as much as 50% – 75% off. If you want to chance it, it could be worth stopping by on Nov. 1 in search of a Petco discount.
16. Wait for Petco fish tank deals right before and after Black Friday, when they hit 50% off.
They used to be famous for a “Petco dollar per gallon sale” that happened a few times a year. And while Petco doesn’t market this as an official sale anymore, we still find deals for 50% off tanks, typically in the months of January, April, July, and October. If you’re in the market for a new aquarium, it’s worth waiting until right around Black Friday for these types of deals on Petco fish tanks.
In 2022 we saw a Petco tank sale with aquariums as low as $1 per gallon in the months before and after Black Friday. That’s how we found this 10-gallon Aqueon glass aquarium tank for $9.99 (regularly $19.99) in October 2022 and this 20-gallon tank for $27.49 (regularly $54.99) in late December 2022.
TIP: During Black Friday itself, look for Petco BOGO deals on pet advent calendars, holiday toys, and seasonal treats.
17. Shop January clearance deals for 50% off Petco dog beds and cat beds.
Petco dog beds and cat beds always get a 50% off sale during their annual after-holiday clearance. We’ve found clearance deals on cat mats and pet throws, too. Chese these out:
Buy 1 EveryYay Essentials Tan Round Cat Bed (reg. $29.99), $15
Free store pickup
Final Price: $15
Buy 1 Reddy Brown Faux-Fur & Fleece Pet Throw (reg. $34.99), $17.50
Free store pickup
Final Price: $17.50
Related: Here are the other after-holiday clearance sales you can’t miss.
18. Get Petco free shipping on any online order that’s more than $35.
Between Petco, PetSmart, and Chewy.com, Petco has the lowest free shipping minimum at $35.
Both PetSmart and Chewy have a $49 free shipping minimum.
19. Order by 2 p.m. and get Petco same-day delivery on orders over $35.
Like PetSmart, Petco has teamed up with DoorDash to provide free, same-day Petco delivery on all orders over $35. Simply place your order before 2 p.m. and you’ll receive it the same day. In my area, I’ve been able to order after 4 p.m. and still get it the same day.
Of course, as is the case with any DoorDash delivery, you have the option to tip your driver.
20. The Petco credit card gets you 6% cash back on all of your Petco or Petco.com purchases.
If you sign up and get approved for a Petco Pay credit card, you’ll get an instant 20% off your first purchase. But the long-term perk that could make this card worth your time is the cash-back benefit, which comes out to 6%.
Petco Pay cardholders get two Vital Care rewards points for every dollar they spend with the card at Petco or on Petco.com — twice the points you’d earn without the card. If you have the Mastercard version of the card, you can also earn one to two points per dollar at other retailers besides just Petco.
As is the case with any store’s credit card, the interest rates on Petco Pay are a brutal 29.99%, so pay off your balance each month.
Related: We can point you in the direction of the best store credit cards.
21. Don’t bother looking for a Petco military discount — they don’t have one.
While you can’t find a military Petco discount, you can find plenty of military discounts from other retailers — including PetSmart, who offers monthly service discounts for seniors and military members.
22. Buy discounted Petco gift cards from Raise.com and save 2% – 3%.
Raise.com is a website that sells full-value gift cards at a discounted rate. I think of it as a way to create your own coupon.
At Petco, the savings I found were pretty slim — only 2% – 3.3% savings on full-value gift cards. But hey, it’s better than nothing, and if you know you’d spend the money anyway, then you should check out Raise. Oh, and first-time users get $10 off their first purchase.
Related: Read up on our favorite tricks for getting discounted gift cards.
23. Use Ibotta to get 1% cash back on your Petco purchases.
Ibotta is a cash-back app that gives you money back when you purchase select items at participating stores. And Petco is one of those stores.
All you have to do is go to Ibotta.com (or use the app), search for your store, and select the “Shop” link from the Ibotta page. Your rebate will get automatically calculated at checkout and should appear in your account one week after checkout.
You can also get 1% cash back on anything you buy (except gift cards) when you shop Petco from the Ibotta app. If you buy a Petco gift card through their site, you’ll get 4% back!
TIP: Here’s everything else you gotta know about how to use Ibotta.
I hope this made saving money at Petco and finding a Petco discount simpler and easier for you. Any questions? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
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