Pay less · 34 official policies · checked Oct 2026
Store rules that hand money back.
Price matching, refunds when a price drops after you buy, rain checks, and standing discounts for seniors, students and service members. Each one in plain words, with a link to the company’s own policy page, because policies change and stores apply them with some discretion.
Price matching 9
Ask a store to match a lower price, either its own or a named competitor’s, usually at the register.
- Target
Target’s price match covers only Target’s own prices: Target.com, Target stores and Target Circle deals. Other retailers are not on the list. If Target’s price drops within 14 days of your purchase, you can ask for the difference with your receipt.
Official policy - Best Buy
At checkout, Best Buy matches an identical in-stock item sold by 19 named competitors, including Amazon, Walmart, Target, Costco, Home Depot and Lowe’s. Marketplace sellers, membership-only prices, open-box items and competitor deals from the Thursday before Thanksgiving through the Monday after don’t count. One match per item.
Official policy - Walmart
In U.S. stores, Walmart matches only the price of the identical item on Walmart.com, at the store manager’s discretion. Walmart.com does not match competitors, store prices or later price drops.
Official policy - The Home Depot
Home Depot matches local stores and online prices from Lowe’s, Menards, Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy and Target, if the item is identical and in stock at both. Marketplace sellers, membership clubs like Costco, clearance and limited-time sales are excluded.
Official policy - Lowe's
Lowe’s matches a lower current price on an identical item from a local store (shown in store) or an online retailer (by chat or phone). The competitor’s shipping cost counts. Marketplace sellers, membership warehouses, clearance and one-time promotions are excluded.
Official policy - Staples
Staples stores match identical, new, in-stock items from Office Depot/OfficeMax, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon.com, FedEx Office and The UPS Store, or from Staples.com. You can ask up to 14 days after you buy. Third-party marketplace sellers don’t count.
Official policy - Amazon
Amazon says it does not offer price matching. It does offer a Pre-order Price Guarantee: on items marked with it, you pay the lowest Amazon.com price between your order and release day.
Official policy - Kohl's
Kohl’s stores may match a competitor’s in-store price if you bring a printed ad for the identical item; stores don’t match online prices. For Kohls.com orders, it matches direct competitors that have both stores and websites. You can’t use coupons on a matched item.
Official policy - Walgreens
Walgreens stores will match the regular price on Walgreens.com for an identical item. Online sale prices, search-engine prices and pharmacy items are excluded, and screenshots aren’t accepted as proof.
Official policy
Price adjustment after purchase 4
If the price drops after you buy, some stores refund the difference within a set number of days.
- Best Buy
If Best Buy lowers its own store, online or app price during your return window (15 days for most shoppers), it will refund the difference when you ask.
Official policy - The Home Depot
If Home Depot’s price drops, you have 30 days from the purchase date to ask for the difference.
Official policy - Kohl's
If Kohl’s lowers the price within two weeks after you buy, bring your original dated receipt for the difference. Clearance markdowns and buy-one-get-one items don’t qualify.
Official policy - Macy's
Ask within 10 days of your order date and Macy’s refunds the gap between what you paid and its new advertised price. Furniture and mattresses count from delivery. Items shipped directly from vendors are excluded.
Official policy
Rain checks 3
When an advertised sale item is out of stock, a rain check lets you buy it later at the sale price.
- Kroger
Kroger’s coupon help page says rain checks, or a ‘make good’ substitute, are up to the store manager. Ask at the service desk.
Official policy - CVS Pharmacy
CVS rain checks never expire. They are given only for items the store normally carries, when no substitute is available. A rain check also extends the expiration date of a matching CVS coupon.
Official policy - Walgreens
Walgreens rain checks are for in-store purchases and last 60 days. Staff may instead let you buy a similar item of the same brand at the sale price.
Official policy
Senior discounts 3
Standing discounts by age, usually on set days and with exclusions.
- Kohl's
Shoppers 60 and older get 15% off qualifying purchases every Wednesday, in stores only. It can’t be combined with other percent-off coupons.
Official policy - Walgreens
Seniors Day: myWalgreens members 55 and older get 20% off eligible regular-price items in store on the first Tuesday of each month (the date can shift for holidays). Membership is free. Pharmacy items, alcohol and gift cards are excluded.
Official policy - Michaels
Shoppers 55 and older get 10% off their whole purchase, sale items included, every day in store and online after registering in Michaels Rewards. Some exclusions apply.
Official policy
Student discounts 5
Lower monthly prices for verified students, usually with a time limit.
- Spotify
Spotify Premium Student is $6.99 a month (vs. $12.99 for Individual) for students at eligible colleges, and it currently includes Hulu’s ad-supported plan.
Official policy - Apple Music
Apple Music Student is $6.99 a month (vs. $11.99) for verified college students, for up to four years, and includes Apple TV at no extra cost.
Official policy - Amazon
Prime for Young Adults (ages 18–24, or college students) costs $7.49 a month or $69 a year, about half of regular Prime ($14.99 or $139). It starts with a free trial.
Official policy - Disney+ and Hulu
College and grad students in the U.S. get the ad-supported Disney+, Hulu Bundle for $6.49 a month instead of $12.99, as long as they stay verified.
Official policy - Peacock
Students get Peacock Premium for $6.99 a month for 12 months (regular $12.99), with yearly re-verification.
Official policy
Military discounts 2
Standing discounts for service members, veterans and spouses after verification.
- The Home Depot
Active-duty members, reservists, veterans, retirees and their spouses get 10% off eligible items, up to $400 in savings per calendar year. Verify once online. Most appliances, lumber and other commodity items are excluded.
Official policy - Lowe's
Current and former service members and their spouses get 10% off eligible full-price items, with no yearly cap. It can’t be used on sale items, with other discounts, or on major appliances.
Official policy
Return windows 5
How long you have to return something, which matters when you spot a better price after buying.
- Walmart
Most items can be returned within 90 days. Most electronics have 30 days, phones 14 days, and items from Marketplace sellers 30 days.
Official policy - Target
Most unopened items in new condition can be returned within 90 days. Target’s own brands get one year with a receipt. Electronics have 30 days; Apple products and phones 14 days.
Official policy - Best Buy
Most products: 15 days. My Best Buy Plus and My Best Buy Total members: 60 days. Phones and other activatable devices: 14 days, with a $45 restocking fee if opened (no fee in some states).
Official policy - Amazon
Most items can be returned within 30 days of delivery if they are in original or unused condition. Check the product page, since some items differ.
Official policy - CVS Pharmacy
Returns with a receipt are accepted within 60 days. CVS store brands and cosmetics are fully guaranteed. Clearance items are final sale.
Official policy
Free shipping thresholds 3
The order size at which standard shipping becomes free.
- Walmart
Orders of $35 or more ship free. Below $35 there is a $6.99 fee, which Walmart+ members don’t pay.
Official policy - Target
Shipping is free on orders of $35 or more (before tax and discounts). Smaller orders pay a flat $5.99. Target Circle 360 members ship free.
Official policy - Best Buy
Standard shipping is free on orders of $35 or more. Members of My Best Buy, My Best Buy Plus or My Best Buy Total skip the minimum. Marketplace items never ship free.
Official policy
Not listed yet
What we couldn’t confirm
Costco (price adjustment): Costco’s customer service pages block automated reading, so we could not confirm the current terms.