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A classic American department store, Macy’s showcases the American dream of starting small and becoming enormously successful.
The store first opened as a dry goods store in New York City in 1858 and has grown to become one of the most recognizable store brands today.
Macy’s has withstood the test of time with its consistent recipe for success: selling high-quality items and brands at affordable prices.
THE Macy's Deal Shopping Guide
As icing on the cake to their reasonable prices, Macy’s makes it fairly easy for even novice bargain hunters to get a good deal. However, if you dig deeper and work a little harder, you can save even more money.
Here are Dealspotr’s top tips to saving as much money as possible at Macy’s. With these tips, you might end up getting today’s hottest deals at 1858 prices.
Sign up for the Plenti rewards program
The Plenti rewards program is only a few months old and is still relatively unknown to many shoppers. The program is free to join and is run by American Express.
It works across multiple stores and services, obviously including Macy’s, but also including AT&T, Exxon, Rite Aid, Direct Energy, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Nationwide Insurance, and Hulu.
The program is similar to many grocery store rewards programs and doesn’t require members give up any personal or payment information, including credit card information.
The Plenti concept is fairly simple: members earn 1 point for every $10 spent at Macy’s and 2 points for every $10 spent on Macy’s beauty or fragrance items.
Once you hit 100 points, you earn $1 in rewards credit. Plenti also offers occasional special promotions for extra points, such as a recent promotion that rewarded members with 200 points after they spent $100 at once in Macy’s for the first time.
The beauty of Plenti is that points can be earned at one place and redeemed at another partner.
Let’s say you fill up at Exxon and earn 1 point for every gallon of fuel—those points are combined with purchases from other stores and can be redeemed for rewards credit to use at Macy’s.
The more you use Plenti and the more stores you visit, the faster the points add up.
Frequent Macy’s shoppers may benefit from the Macy’s American Express credit card, which gives cardholders 1 point for every $1 (instead of $10) spent at Macy’s and 2 points for every $1 spent on Macy’s beauty and fragrance items.
If you link the credit card to your Plenti account, you’ll also earn 1 point for every $1 spent anywhere you use the card.
Using the Macy’s credit card can exponentially increase the speed you earn points, especially if you take advantage of special bonus point offers in addition to your normal spending.
Get the Plenti App
One of the best ways to stay up to date on your Plenti account is with the mobile app.
Once you’ve activated your account, you can easily check your points balance on the My Plenti app or through Plenti.com or Macys.com.
To capitalize on your rewards, let the points accrue for at least a few months before redeeming them all at once on a large item that is discounted or on sale.
With this strategy you can get a large item for free, or at least heavily discounted. Don’t forget that Plenti points must be redeemed with two years of earning them.
Use Macy’s Coupons and Macy’s Promo Codes
Macy’s tends to offers more coupons and promo codes than many other department stores, which presents you another way to save if you read the find print.
There are typically a lot of terms and exclusions for Macy’s store coupons and promo codes, so be sure to read the fine print or look up exclusions online.
Even a coupon with a “store-wide” discount might exclude multiple brands or types of products, such as luxury brand names or multiple store departments.
Macy’s coupons also tend to be tricky with fast expiration dates and numerous limitations about what coupons can be combined with each other and with certain sales and promotions.
Some coupons are only offered to Macy’s credit card holders, so be sure to check your coupon applies to your purchase before you check out.
It might sound like a daunting task, but Macy’s coupons are actually worth the struggle because they are so valuable and frequent.
New coupons are typically introduced almost every week; the good news is that exclusions rotate among the departments and brands, so you can usually wait it out for a coupon to include a brand or product you have your eye on.
If you are willing to be patient and detail-oriented, Macy’s coupons present a huge savings opportunity.
Dealspotr.com posts the newest Macy’s promo codes when they are released every Friday.
Check back before your weekend shopping trips to score some extra savings! Macy’s is also known to send coupons in the mail, so check your mailbox or local newspaper for sales ads late in the week.
Macy’s also posts the latest deals on the coupon section of Macys.com
Shop Clearance Sales
Because Macy’s sells so many items, shelf and warehouse space is a hot commodity.
To get items moving faster and avoid wasting space on items that aren’t in season or just aren’t selling, Macy’s regularly has huge clearance sales.
The idea is that the huge discounts will motivate people to buy the items and will free up more space for newer items, but what it really means is that you can get amazing discounts on top merchandise.
Some other department stores rarely have clearance sales, but this is definitely not the case at Macy’s.
Between all of the store’s many departments, there is almost always at least one clearance sale going on somewhere in the store. Hit the clearance racks to maximize your shopping discounts.
As is the case with many other clearance sales, the biggest discounts are on items that are almost out of season. That means the best time to score a deal on a winter coat is to shop in late February or early March as the weather begins to warm.
Conversely, you can save serious cash on next year’s swimsuit by shopping towards the end of the summer, usually around the end of August or beginning of September.
The same seasonal approach can also lead to huge savings on non-clothing items in the bed, bath, and kitchen sections.
For example, towels and bedding with spring designs or pastel colors will be full price in March but will likely be discounted in the middle of the summer.
Create a Macys.com Profile to Save 15%
To create a better shopping experience, sign up for a profile on Macys.com. Even better, and unlike many other retailers, Macy’s offers customers a 15% off coupon just for creating an account.
The sign-up process is simple; just complete a profile with your name, address, email address, birthday, and gender. After the form is completed, you’ll receive the coupon in your email.
As a way to save even more, see if your friends and family members have Macys.com profiles. If they haven’t yet signed up, ask if they are willing to let you create a profile on their behalf.
You can either use their email address or another one of your email addresses, and you’ll receive a new 15% off coupon for each person you register.
Sign up for new accounts before making large purchases to make your coupon go even further.
Download the Macy’s App
It seems like every department store has an app these days, but Macy’s is definitely one of the best, especially for shoppers looking for a good deal.
One of the best features is the My Wallet section, which lets you store promo codes and coupons in your account and automatically applies them to your in-store or online purchases.
This means you don’t have to worry about missing a deal or rushing to find the right coupon code.
The Offers section showcases the store’s current promotions and sales—take full advantage of this area by allowing push notifications on your smartphone so you will always be alerted to a new sale or coupon.
The app also lets you save even more money by avoiding shipping costs by using the “Pick up in store” option. This feature lets you pick up the item at your local Macy’s store within a few days instead of paying to have the item shipped to you.
Follow Macy’s on Social Media
Macy’s might not have the most active social media accounts, but it is still worth following the store on Facebook to learn about exclusive sales and promotions.
Macy’s frequently announces promotions for a free gift with purchase on its Facebook page, as well as surprise in-store events like celebrity meet and greets on Twitter.
Macy’s also runs giveaways and opportunities to donate to charity, such as the store’s recent “American Icons” promotion that partnered Macy’s with Got Your 6 to support American veterans.
Social media is also one of the best ways to contact customer service representatives, as you can reach someone much quicker and easier than waiting on hold to call someone or waiting to talk to someone in the store.