coupon apps

5 Free Handy Coupon Apps — Don’t Leave Home Without One

Paul Michael — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 10:36:56 +0000

Clipping coupons can be time-consuming and quite the chore. I’ve seen my wife spend a good hour at the kitchen table, checking out the different offers and clipping and organizing the ones we need. (We won’t even go into the extreme couponers who spend hours and hours every day clipping and shopping with them.)

Then, of course, you have to remember to bring them with you when you shop. And you also need to keep on top of them as they expire, sometimes quite quickly.

In this day and age, there has to be a better way. Well, of course there is. With smartphones being so accessible and more affordable than ever (often free with a two-year contract) you have access to a wide range of money-saving apps. Since you rarely leave home without your phone, you’ll always have access to coupons when you need them. Plus, digital coupons are always updated, so you don’t have to worry about carrying a bunch of expired ones.

But with so many free apps to choose from, which are worth downloading? What are the pros and cons of the best ones? Here are five handy coupon apps available on iPhone and Android phones right now, or in the case of the first one, very very soon. (See also: Wise Bread's Coupon Search)

1. Ibotta

This app is launching very soon, and I was given the chance to see it in action, ask the developers a ton of questions, and also arrange a special deal for Wise Bread readers (more on that in a moment).

Basically, Ibotta learns your brand and product preferences, becoming more and more in-touch with your shopping habits as you use it.

You earn cash by learning more about your favorite products and brands, and you choose what to click and how to earn. If you don’t want to watch a video, no worries, you can click on an interesting fact and still earn up to $1 or more per product offer. Unlike other coupon sites, you earn actual dollars, not points that equate to pennies on the dollar.

When you’re in store, you can then redeem your offers for cash, which can be done almost instantly using the handy receipt scanner feature. And your earnings can be posted direct to your PayPal account or donated to a school. You can also use these coupons in conjunction with traditional manufacturer coupons.

Ibotta is easy to use, and there’s already a long waitlist for the app. But Wise Bread readers have been given the chance to skip the line and be one of the first to use the Ibotta app. Just click this exclusive Wise Bread link and enter your email address. Of all the coupon apps I’ve seen, and used, this one has the greatest potential for big savings, and the learning feature makes it a time-saver and the most personal of all the apps available.

2. The Coupons App

The Coupons App gets amazing reviews, with a 4.57 (out of 5) average from over 82,000 ratings. And that speaks volumes about its ease of use and coupon availability.

With The Coupons App, the deals come to you constantly throughout the day. It also has some nice features including the barcode scanner (much like ShopSavvy) to do instant, on-the-spot price comparisons. You can also share coupons with family and friends over email and text message, as well as social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. And you are equipped with a voice search feature, for those times when you’re roaming around a store and just want a quick coupon for toothpaste or kitchen towels.

I did experience some crashes when using certain features (the barcode and voices search features being the biggest culprits), as well as ads within the app causing lock ups. But a quick look at their recent changes list shows some major bug fixes have been applied.

One great feature is that most of the coupons have barcodes that the cashier can just scan. Many coupons you get via mobile give you a code that the cashier must type in, and they really don’t like doing that. Or some places won’t accept barcodeless coupons. And some of the coupons have to be printed out, which goes against the idea of a mobile app.

Of course, like anything that’s free, you do have the usual ads to contend with, but they’re not too invasive. Overall, it's a really solid app and well worth a download.

3. Coupon Sherpa

Nowhere near as popular as The Coupons App, but still worth a look, Coupon Sherpa has some big positives and a few drawbacks.

On the plus side, Coupon Sherpa is a great resource for savings on toys and clothing items. You’ll get exclusive coupons that are only available via the Coupon Sherpa app, as well a great selection of current Internet coupons and special offers. And scrolling through the alphabetical stores list is very handy, especially when you’re in a store and want a coupon right there and then.

The app compiles the latest and greatest offers and coupons for you, so you don't have to go out there hunting for coupons when you’re looking for a bargain. And the GPS feature means you can actually get directions to the stores close to you that have the deals. That’s a nice touch, although it could use a filter to exclude stores that are nowhere near your current location.

That’s the good. The bad, well...it’s not terrible, but it does impact the overall experience. First, it’s very limited with its selection of grocery coupons. If you’re expecting Coupon Sherpa to serve up the same coupons you get in the Sunday circulars, you’ll be disappointed. The deals are more like “get $10 off when you spend $50” and so on. But you will find bargains at places like Barnes & Noble, Toys ‘R’ Us, JC Penney, Joanns, Bath & Body Works, PetCo and The Children’s Place. And the stores it serves up “near” you aren’t always so near.

Overall, I like Coupon Sherpa. It’s still got a place on my phone, and I use it often. But it certainly has room for improvement.

4. Best Coupons and Deals

One of the best-reviewed coupon apps currently on the market, Best Coupons and Deals is updated daily by a mix of coupon clippers and deal hounds. And that’s evident when you open it up and see how many deals it really has.

Like most coupon apps, the features on Best Coupons and Deals are what you’d expect. You get handpicked and featured deals, hot deal alerts, and a searchable, alphabetized store database. You can also share coupons with friends and family, which is maybe why it was formerly called Coupon Cloud.

There are many top brands within the app, including: Kohl's, Victoria's Secret, Whole Foods, Aeropostale, Redbox, Abercrombie & Fitch, T.G.I. Friday's, Old Navy, Bath & Body Works, Chili's, Hollister, Ulta, Olive Garden, JCPenney, Denny's, Express, CiCi's Pizza, CVS, Yankee Candle, Papa John's, The Children's Place, Boston Market, Babies R Us, Long John Silver's, Baskin Robbins, Forever 21, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Toys R Us, Walgreens, and Macy’s.

And the coupons are delivered in two formats — online codes or mobile digital coupons that you redeem via your smartphone. You can also print out the coupons, which is handy for those stores that haven’t caught up with technology yet.

On the down side, a lot of the stores listed in the index were not near me. There were issues with the phone freezing, the app closing, or the whole phone shutting down. Those were rare, but annoying. And the grocery coupons were very scarce.

Overall, I saved money with it and liked the interface.

5. Yowza!!

First, I love the name, it’s way more interesting and memorable than most coupon apps. Other apps, take note. And this one has star power, with TV star Greg Grunberg ("Heroes") championing this one.

Yowza!! is a strong app because it serves up location-based savings for shoppers. Choose how far out from your location you want coupons, and it will find them. Plus, it serves up special offers and deals specifically for Yowza!! users, deals that have been specially negotiated on your behalf.

Another nice little feature is the results tracker. It basically keeps track of all the coupons you use, giving you a running total of how much the app has saved you since downloading it.

Like other coupon apps, you get instant notifications when a favorite store puts a new coupon out there. That was particularly handy for me, as I got a notification about five minutes before I was ready to check out. It saved me $5 on the spot.

Like other apps of this nature, the selection of stores is limited, but growing. And unfortunately, when you click on some of the stores, you get served with an advertisement. But overall, this is another solid app worthy of a download. Try it out.

Now, those are the five (well, four until Ibotta is launched) that I recommend. Do you have a coupon app that’s saved you a ton of money and is not on this list? Let us know.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Have Coupon, Will Travel: Apps to Save on the Go

Jennifer Holder — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:36:07 +0000

I never pay full price for my clothes, but I hate clipping coupons (yes, like Ellen, I’m a big fan of JCP’s rebranding). And while I like the idea of Groupon and LivingSocial type websites, my terrible memory never reminds me to print them or use them when the time comes. So instead of having crumbled pieces of paper at the bottom of my purse, I’ve recently rejoined the world of smartphones (aka “society at large”) and am putting my unnecessarily expensive data plan to good use.

We’ve already brought you the best places to get coupons online (for those who like to clip) and the best apps to use to get discounts at restaurants (for those who like to dine out). Now I'm bringing you the best apps to use to save instantly while shopping — from movie tickets to new clothes to makeup. Some you might be familiar with, but hopefully some of these suggestions are unfamiliar territory to your saving sensibilities. (See also: The 50 Best Deals and Coupon Sites)

1. Coupon Sherpa

It may not carry your belongings up the Himalayas, but Coupon Sherpa will make that price tag go down. On the app, there is one side for retail stores and a whole other (new!) world for grocery stores. On the retail side, there are coupons for everything from auto stores and hardware stores to clothing shops and hair salons. As for the grocery side, let’s just say if your grandmother had a smart phone, she’d have no use for the Sunday paper.

Similarly, check out the Coupon App, which also stores tons of coupons for your disposal. If you have both of these apps going at the same time, you’ll never pay full price again.

2. Foursquare

Sharing where I am has never been enticing to me until now. When my friend and I recently went to New Orleans for the weekend, we ran up and down Magazine Street discovering Foursquare deals on everything from coffee to pizza to souvenirs. Simply open the app, click Explore, then Specials, and get to shopping. It’s definitely worth a check to see if you can unlock more than just a “Crunk badge” after pulling an all-nighter. The cool thing about Foursquare is that the deals are on local stores, rather than just big corporations. In fact, I recently discovered a 10% off coupon at my favorite local outdoor store, and I can't wait to go use it!

3. Facebook

Face it — Facebook is already installed on most of your phones, so now use it for something more than liking your friend’s baby pictures and links to cat videos. Go to Facebook’s very own check-in and deals website on your phone to see what’s available in your area — there are lots of check-ins that will save you money. Also, keep your eyes peeled for signs in stores saying “Follow us on Facebook and we’ll take such and such percent off your purchase!” You can also follow your favorite stores on Facebook and take part in weekend sales and special discounts through events and more.

4. Yelp

Yelp is less invasive than Foursquare but just as easy to use. Download it on your phone, and when you are out shopping, open it up and hit Deals. The app will show you all the discounts close to you. You can also click on Nearby and then Deals or Check-In Offers. You don’t have to check in at every place, but it doesn’t hurt to look and see if you can save a little bit of dough (speaking of dough — this works for restaurants as well!).

5. Key Ring Reward Cards

Instead of having scores and scores of cards on your key ring, scan them into your phone with the Key Ring app. That way, next time you check out, you won’t have to rifle through your keys for the right card, just through your phone. The app also lets you sign up for cards in the store and instantly and offers occasional coupons as well.

Please note — memorizing your phone number works too.

6. Movie Theater Apps

Nowadays, I mostly resort to waiting for a movie to come out on DVD before I bother to watch it. But if you’re a continual patron at Regal Cinemas, there’s an app for that. And included in the app are specials (only one I found was free refills, unfortunately), promotions, and sweepstakes. Fandango’s app is only really good for showtimes and trailers, but you can save your loyalty cards and credit cards in the app for faster check out. I didn’t find one for Carmike Cinemas, but I’d say it’s only a matter of time before they jump on the app bandwagon.

7. Entertainment Coupons

The Entertainment Coupons app is free, but the savings aren’t…necessarily. Memberships run around $30 per year (depending on your area). This is the app for those thick coupon books you may have seen floating around in certain cities. In fact, these books are global — my flatmate in New Zealand had one, and I can attest to the fact that they are an excellent deal if you like to go out and about. But if you’re more of a grocery store shopping/rent a movie type of person, this app wouldn’t be for you.

8. Individual Store Apps

True, having a billion apps on your phone can be somewhat annoying (and after playing with all of these my phone isn’t quite functioning as an actual…phone), but if you happen to frequent a particular store often (like the CVS Pharmacy on your corner or the Publix down the road), then having a store-specific app on your phone will save you money. Target ’s app offers daily deals and the weekly ads, and while somewhat ironically, so does JCP’s. Simply Google your favorite store and “app” afterward, and there’s bound to be something out there!

9. Price-Comparison Apps

There are a lot of apps that offer the chance to compare prices online while in the store. It’s actually how I saved a lot of money on my camera. I went to Best Buy, played with a few cameras, and picked out which one I wanted. Then I hopped on Amazon Mobile, found it $50 cheaper, and purchased it on the spot. And if you’re a lucky Android user (or, okay, fine it works for the iPhone now as well), you can use Google Offers on the Google Shopper app to take advantage of some great deals from 30 different sites, all on your phone.

10. Shopkick

Treat yo self 2011 (er, 2012)! The makers of Shopkick have partnered with thousands of retailers across the U.S. to offer points (or “kicks”) for just walking into a store. Then, while you’re searching for the perfect purchase, the app shows you in-store deals, and you can get more kicks for scanning certain items. Once you link your Visa credit or debit card to the app, you get more points for purchases. After you collect a certain amount of points, you can redeem them for movie tickets, Starbucks coffee, donations to charity, and more! Hey, maybe even some fine leather goods…

What are some apps that you use to save money while shopping?

This article is from Jennifer Holder of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: