Coke Rewards Program -- How it Works and How to Decide If You Should Join

I am an avid bargain hunter. Now, I know that a lot of people say that, but I really fit the description better than most. How can I say that? Well, for one thing, I never go to the store without my coupon box (which is filled with hundreds of coupons, sorted alphabetically by category). Also, I do tons of manufacturer rebates-I send out at least 10 to 15 rebates each month, and some months I send out many more than that. I have helped quite a few other people learn how to save money in these ways as well.

Is that all? Not hardly. I participate in dozens of online surveys each month which earn me paypal, cash, and points toward gift cards. I never purchase anything online without a coupon and sale. You can often find me scanning the racks at local thrift stores and flea markets-I even buy Christmas presents for my kids at these places.

So, when I heard about the Coke Rewards Program that started last year, I was quite excited. My family is a Coke family, not a Pepsi family, so we were a natural to take part in this program. Plus, the items that could be earned looked so good!

The program is very easy to understand. All you have to do is save the caps from certain bottled drink products and the cardboard codes from 12-packs of those same products. Then, after you have registered at the Coke Rewards website (which takes only a few moments), you simply enter the codes at the site. You can bank the codes to save up for a specific prize or spend them right away-your choice.

To know if this program is right for you, ask yourself these two questions:

Does my family drink any of the participating products?

The program has recently added several new drinks to the participating product list. Chances are, someone in your family will like to drink at least one of the choices on the list-but, if no one in your household will drink any of the products, this program may not be a good one for you. After all, you would have to purchase products that would not be used by your household just for the purpose of getting the points, and that would be a definite grocery budget killer. So you can decide, here is the complete list: