Coupon Lingo

I know from experience that there are a bunch of coupon lingo and couponing abbreviations in blog posts and tweets that, unless you know what they mean, can be very confusing when trying to follow the deal bloggers, and tweeters. I’ve started a list here, off the top of my head, and will add to it as I come across new ones.

B1G1 or BOGO - (Buy One Get One) Purchase one item, get a second of the same or lesser value for free.

B2G1 – (Buy 2 Get 1) You get it.

Catalina – This is a coupon that is printed at check-out. These come in the form of $ off coupons to use on your next shopping trip, or they are product coupons, and are based on your purchase (maybe for $ off the next time you buy that product, or for $ off a similar product).

Coupon Match-ups – Sit with the weekly circular for your store, and match up the sales with the coupons you have, or can print. Twitter is a good place to find local deal bloggers who may have done the work for you, listing the weekly sales products with matching coupons.

Coupon Stacking - Because so many stores offer their own store coupons, many allow you to “stack” a manufacturer’s coupon on top of their store coupon to get the additional savings. Match those with the store’s sales paper, and the savings can really add up!

CRT - (Cash Register Tape) When I saw this I thought it was short for Cash Reccipt, turns out I was close. I saw it in relation to a mail-in rebate offer which makes sense as you are always asked to send in your receipt with a mail-in rebate.

DND – (Do Not Double) DND in a couponing post, or Do Not Double on a coupon tells you the coupon cannot be doubled.

DNT – (Do Not Triple) DNT in a couponing post, or Do Not Triple on a coupon tells you the coupon cannot be tripled.

ECB – (Extra Care Bucks) These are CVS-only rewards.

ETS – (Excludes Trial Size) Some coupons specify the product size that the coupon can be redeemed for, but sometimes you’ll see ETS to indicate that it cannot be used on the trial size of the product.

GM - (General Mills) You may think General Motors when you see the GM abbreviation, but in the coupon lingo it stands for General Mills. GM puts out an occasional coupon insert, or you may see this abbreviation used in posts/tweets if there’s a rebate offer available somewhere.

MIR - (Mail-In Rebate) When there’s a mail-in rebate offered with a product, you need to locate the mail-in rebate form. These may be available through the company’s website, printed out at the register once you’ve paid for the product, or can sometimes be found right on the package itself. Make sure to read the fine print! Miss a step and you may not receive your rebate.

MQ – (Manufacturer Coupon) Almost all coupons are MQs – unless they are store specific, in-ad coupons. It’s easy to decifer, all MQs state Manufacturer Coupon at the top, usually next to the expiration date.

OOP - (Out Of Pocket) Your final expense after using coupons, and any kind of discount rewards.

OYNO - (On Your Next Order) Generally you are required to purchase a specified number of items to receive a coupon printed out at checkout to use on your next trip in to the store. Eg. Buy 3 Fruit Rollups get a $3 coupon to use ONYO.

P&G - (Proctor & Gamble) There is a monthly coupon insert put out by Proctor & Gamble on the first or last Sunday of most months. Coupons are usually good for the following month.

Q – (Coupon) Sometimes it’s just quicker when blogging to type Q instead of coupon.

RP - (RedPlum) Generally you will find a RedPlum coupon insert in the Sunday paper. Occasionally there are 2 different RP inserts in the same paper (RP#2).

RR - (Register Rewards) These are Walgreens-only rewards that are given out at checkout, based on your purchases. They are printed out as a coupon for $off OYNO, and are not product specific. They do have an expiration date, so plan accordingly.

SS - (SmartSource) Another coupon insert that appears in most Sunday papers. Occasionally there are 2 different SS inserts in the same paper (SS#2).

WYB – (When You Buy) An example of where you’ll see this abbreviation is a mail-in rebate offer “Get $20 WYB $50 worth of (these) products.”

YMMV – (Your Market, or Mileage May Vary) Coupon deals can vary across the nation, some may be regional, others are dependent on merchant policies. Not all deals are available in all areas, or all stores.