The Difference

One pretty common misunderstanding about coupons is the difference between the following two phrases: "One coupon per purchase" and "One coupon per transaction." They are NOT the same thing. Some cashiers are confused and think that they are.

Each item you buy is a purchase. All of the items you are purchasing combined is a transaction.

One coupon per purchase means that you can only use one manufacturer's coupon per item that you are buying. If you try to use two manufacturer's coupons on one item, then that is called coupon fraud and you actually can get into trouble for that. (You can only combine a manufacturer coupon and a store coupon if each coupon permits it.)

One coupon per transaction means that if you have multiple coupons that say "one per transaction" and you want to buy multiple items of that same product, then you will need to do separate transactions. You can do one transaction right after another (as long as the store lets you--I try to remember to ask before I even begin my first transaction), or you can run your first transaction out to your car and then come in and buy more, etc. If I'm doing several transactions, then I try to keep an eye on the line behind me, and if it's taking a long time, then I'll sometimes let the person behind me buy their stuff before I do my other transaction(s).