Walmart Savings Catcher App & Real World Expirements
Last week I wrote extensively about Walmart’s new Savings Catcher program and how it aims to get you to shift your grocery shopping over to Walmart. The system works by automatically comparing the price of items you purchased at Walmart to other competitors in the area. If Savings Catcher finds a lower price, then you get back the difference.
The real deal with Savings Catcher is that Walmart is paying back 2x the difference (up to $599 per year) if you send the money to a Bluebird card up. This could add up really quick and certainly helps to strengthen Bluebird when comparing it to the Serve card.
My part 1 of this Savings Catcher review went over the program and the terms and conditions in detail. Today I am going to share my real world experiences with Savings Catcher, show you how to transfer savings over to Bluebird and go over in detail how to use the Savings Catcher app! You can also see how to redeem your Walmart Bucks on Bluebird.
Savings Catcher in the Real World – Experiment #1 Chosen Items
What I did last Thursday was choose three items from each store that I thought would be more expensive at Walmart. Unfortunately it was difficult to find higher priced items as Walmart still had the lower price on almost everything that I looked at.
Luckily I did manage to find one item that was lower priced at each of the major competitors in my area. I submitted the receipt on Thursday around noon Pacific time and the processing was completed on Sunday evening around 8pm.
Item 1: Progresso Vegetable Classics Split Pea (Vons)
The first item I tested was Progresso Vegetable Classics soup. The soup was on special at Vons for $.99 per can and Walmart sold it for $1.48. As you can see below, Savings Catcher found the lower price at Vons and matched it. Since I will be transferring the difference to Bluebird, my effective cost is $.50 per can!
Item 2: Betty Crocker Scalloped Potatoes (Albertson’s)
I had a harder time finding an item for Albertson’s since everything I looked at was cheaper at Walmart. Finally I was able to find their special for Betty Crocker scalloped potatoes for $.88. The price at Walmart was $1.25 and the package size matched up to the ad. Savings Catcher found Albertson’s price and matched it. With double to Bluebird my effective price is $.51.
Item 3: Triscuit Crackers (Smith’s)
The final test item was a box of Triscuit crackers which was advertised at Smith’s which is a Kroger brand for $1.99. I made sure the size of the box matched up with the ad and purchased them at Walmart for $2.50. Fortunately Savings Catcher did find a lower price, however it wasn’t the lowest price. Savings Catcher found the crackers for $2.29 at Von’s and matched to that price instead of the $1.99 at Smith’s. The result was a cost of $2.08.
Conclusion: As you can see, Walmart’s Savings Catcher did pretty good job in saving me money, however it missed out on one sale item. Smith’s is the largest competing food chain in Las Vegas, meaning it should be on the comparison list per their terms & conditions.
Savings Catcher in the Real World – Expirement 2: Random Items
My second experiment was a quick one. I decided to purchase a couple varieties of soda, knowing that it is commonly on sale somewhere. I think purchasing items which are usually discounted at one store or another is the best use case for Savings Catcher. Soda is a good example of this. On any given week at least one major store has it on sale. Theoretically this should mean that you can get a substantial discount by buying it at Walmart.
Item 1: Diet Rite Soda
Diet Rite is made by RC Cola and thus is usually priced differently than Coke or Pepsi. Walmart was selling it for $1 per 2-liter bottle. Savings Catcher found that Vons had it on sale for $.79 each making our effective cost $.58 per 2-liter.
Item 2: Diet Pepsi
Diet Pepsi or Pepsi can be expensive since it is a name brand. Walmart sells 2-liter bottles for $1.48 each and these are almost always on sale for $1 per 2-liter bottle somewhere. Savings Catcher found that Albertsons had them for $1 each, meaning our effective cost became only $.52 per 2-liter.
As you can see, purchasing items which are frequently on sale at one or more stores is a good strategy. Of course the best use of Savings Catcher is probably to just use it for all of your everyday purchases. Since Walmart is already cheaper for most items, even if Savings Catcher misses one or two things, with the double transfer to Bluebird, you are no doubt coming out ahead.
How To Transfer Reward Dollars to Bluebird
Once your receipt is processed, if they have found a lower price, then you will have Rewards Dollars in your account. To start the transfer process, click the “Set redemption method” button. This only needs to be setup once.
You are now on a screen which shows that you can get half the money on a Walmart gift card or double on your Bluebird. If you don’t already have a Bluebird then you can sign up, but since you read this site, I am sure you already have one. Just click already have Bluebird if you do!
You will now be prompted to enter your Bluebird username and password. When those fields are completed, simply click the green “Redeem” button and you have now doubled your money!
When everything is complete, you will receive a message on screen confirming that the funds have been loaded on to your Bluebird card.
The next time you login and have Rewards Dollars available, you simply click the orange Redeem to Bluebird button and you are done!
What Does it Look Like In Bluebird Account
When you login to Bluebird you will see your normal “real money” balance at the top like usual. If you look on the bottom of the main page, there is a new section called Walmart Bucks. Your Walmart Bucks balance is displayed right there.
If you want to see the details of the balance, simply click on the link and you will see a breakdown of your Savings Catcher money and the matched 2x bonus.
The Savings Catcher App
Savings Catcher is built into the Walmart app and works exactly like the website as shown above. One nice feature is that you can use your phone’s camera to scan the barcode on the receipt right after checking out. This way you don’t risk forgetting to enter your receipt information into the website or losing the receipt before doing so.
The app also allows you to see your receipts, the price matched amounts and redeem your Walmart Bucks. Essentially you can do everything on the app without ever having to touch a computer. This is a great feature since it really opens up the service to both the more phone savvy and the more computer savvy among us.
Conclusion
While this is a long post, hopefully you now have a better idea of what Walmart Savings Catcher is and just how it works. While there was one little hiccup in my price matching, overall the service worked pretty well. I love the convenience of the app as it is so easy to scan the receipt just after check out and not have to worry about it again.
Although the 2x rewards to Bluebird only lasts until February, I still think it is a fantastic deal. On lower priced items where the difference is great, the percentage savings is substantial. For example with the soda, I realized a 50% savings over the lowest price which is phenomenal.
In the end I really do think Walmart’s Savings Catcher is a game changer since it combines their lower prices on many everyday items with the ability to price match sales items at other stores which in the end should results in an overall savings. Combined with the 2x savings when transferred to Bluebird, this is a no-brainer!
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I recently transferred my saving to an e-card as I did not want the other option.
When and how do I get my money?
Hoping you can help! Initially, I had all my savings catcher reward $ put on an ecard. However, I recently got a bluebird account and have received my card. But….I can’t find a way to change my redemption method from ecard to bluebird account. Can this be done? Or will I have to create a new savingsccatcher account with a different email? That could get confusing since my bluebird account is already linked to the same email as my savings catcher. Thanks!
Okay.. I started using the WalMart app before I got my bluebird card.
Is there anyway I can transfer the money I’ve already redeemed to my ecard to my bluebird card??
No. Unfortunately not. Once it is transferred there is no way to go back.
Hi have a question about wallmart redeem catch i have $56 but i dont know howi can redeem it to bluebird please explain to me how and thank you for your help
I have been using the Walmart savings catcher app for about a month and I have received $27 on my e-gift card. Every two weeks, when I get paid I shop at Walmart and spend $200-$250, give or take some, on food and household items. For the majority I buy Great Value, but certain things I buy brand names. Usually cereals and detergent are brought name brand. So I’m curious if someone has tested buying store brand vs name brand, with regular items they normally buy using savings catcher. Maybe one day I will buy all name brand to see if I will save more with savings catcher than buying mostly great value.
I have been using this app and I have money in the “redeemed” section of the reward dollars but nothing in the “now available”… how do I get the money to become available to use?
Thanks!
The only thing I do not like about Bluebird is that when applying they ask for your social security number . So I stopped the sign up on there site because I just don’t give out my social security number on sites or on line. 🙁
Had the catcher before knowing about bluebird….bit have since signed up. ….how do I get it on my card to double it….set up redemption not an option
Set redemption method. Got it. In the beginning when I didn’t have a Bluebird card I probably said egiftcard. Is there a way to go back and add the Bluebird option?
Thank you for the info. Your explanation and examples far surpass the direction from both Walmart or Bluebird sites.
I’m now using both. We’ll see if all goes well when going to use the funds from the Bluebird card.
Maybe they should hire you to do this!
Thanks Rita! I’m glad I could help.
Someone always has to complain. You did a great job explaining how the system works.
And to the person complaining about the boxed potatoes and “sugar water,” many people do eat those products. That being said, the Savings Catcher will work on produce also. My first day trying it out, I needed a few ingredients for recipes, including produce. I bought a red and yellow pepper, which were $1.64 each. At Meijer’s they were only $1.00, and Savings Catcher caught this and I earned .64 on each. I had it sent to Bluebird, so I then earned $1.28 on each, making them .36 each in the long run. Great deal, and you can use the Savings Catcher for “healthy” items.
Thanks Cammi. I believe it works for any products that aren’t weighed. So weighed produce won’t work, but the ones sold at a fixed price will. It is definitely a good way to save money. I am glad it has been working for you!
How do you spend Walmart bucks?
Do you have to use your BB card when you use them on ur next purchase?
If so how does it distinguish between hard earned cash and WM bucks?
This is how it works according to the Walmart website.
“Eligible uses of Walmart Buck$ at Walmart properties or online at Walmart.com may change from time to time without notice.
Each time you make an eligible purchase in-store at Walmart or online at http://www.Walmart.com, the purchase amount will be deducted first from your Walmart Buck$ balance. If the funds credited to your Walmart Buck$ balance are insufficient to cover the full amount of the eligible purchase, the remaining purchase amount will be debited from your Available Funds. You are not allowed to expend funds in excess of the sum of the amounts credited to your Walmart Buck$ balance and your Available Funds. Use of amounts credited to your Walmart Buck$ balance are subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Walmart Savings Catcher program in effect from time to time.”
so you can’t use the Walmart bucks that are on your bluebird card only at walmart
Walmart Buck$ can only be used in-store at Walmart or Walmart.com. More info here: https://savingscatcher.walmart.com/faq
Okay. I get that you can save some money by using Savings Catcher. But really, all this work for $5.80? Think of what you could save if you bought real potatoes and skipped the sugar water.
You really are missing the point. I am not a regular grocery shopper in my family and thus picked out items I knew were less money to test the system. I don’t typically buy the items that I demonstrated, but found them to work for my test.
Look at it this way. For the first test I paid $6.71 up front and saved $1.56. This means that had I gone to the other stores and found the lower price, my total cost would have been $5.15. Since Walmart is paying back double on Bluebird, my actual out of pocket cost is $3.59. That is actually about a 30% reduction from the price matched price.
Many families spend hundreds of dollars a month (sometimes a week) on groceries. If they are able to see a 10-15% reduction in their overall costs due to Savings Catcher and Bluebird then it adds up to a significant amount of money. The real use for this is getting all of your groceries at Walmart and then letting the system match everything automatically without you needing to do any of the work.
This isn’t a sales pitch. I am just evaluating the program to see if it works. For those who don’t shop too often for groceries, then it probably will not be a significant savings.
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