Macy’s typically has sales just about every week.  That can be a little aggravating since it feels like as soon as you buy something, it only gets cheaper next week!

I have found that the best prices are when you’re able to combine a coupon for $10 off a $25 purchase with clearance prices in store.  These coupons seem to only be issued during One Day Sales events (which are a misnomer… as they always last 2 days).  I’ve started tracking Macy’s One Day Sales on this page.  The next one coming up is January 3rd and 4th, 2014.

Here are my top tips for shopping at Macy’s.

Open a Macy’s Card

The day you open a Macy’s card, you are eligible for an additional 20% off your entire purchase.  This is combinable with whatever coupons or other discounts are available in the store that day.  You will also receive coupons throughout the year.  I’ve gotten 20% off entire purchase (or 15% off home), $15 off a purchase of $50, $25 off a purchase of $100 or $50 off a purchse of $200 or more.  I would say the 20% off coupons are the ones I most commonly receive.  Occasionally, I’ve seen $15 off a purchase of $30 coupon.  All of the coupons they send me have a printed code on the bottom for use online.

Shop the semi-annual Friends and Family Sale

Twice a year, in April and November, for a full week Macy’s holds its Friends and Family sale. They will take 25% off your purchase with a lot fewer exclusions than any other sale or your cardholder coupons. This is the time of year to buy brands like Wusthof, Henkels, jeans from Impulse, Michael Kors, Coach and many other brands that don’t typically have any discount at all. There are still exclusions, just a lot fewer than the normal list. You can also pre-sale your merchandise starting the week before. What this means is you can purchase but you can’t take it home with you until the following week when the sale starts. You can always check that the price hasn’t gone down further when you pick it up. If it has, the sales associates can adjust it for you.

Shop the monthly One Day Sales

I don’t know why Macy’s insists on calling their monthly sales “One Day Sales” when they are always 2 days! They typically hold extended hours for this sale and have specials that conclude at 1pm each day.  I have found that the best prices of the month tend to be during One Day Sales.  They also occasionally issue coupons for $10 off a purchase of $25 of sale/clearance apparel and select home items, though I have found it extremely frustrating to shop the home selection with this coupon since everything seems to be excluded and the coupon doesn’t actually list the exclusions. One Day Sales also often coincide with a Beauty Gift with Purchase Event, though not all of them do.

Compare Macys.com and in-store prices

I have had success asking store associates to match the Macys.com price in the store if I need something right away and its cheaper online.  This is particularly true in the home department.  The associates usually have no problem adding any additional coupons to the transaction.

Thanks for Sharing Program for Cardholders

In September, the Thanks for Sharing program launches and for a $25 enrollment fee ($10 of which goes to charity), you will receive 10% back of your Macy’s card purchases as a reward in February. So if you spend more than $250 during the Fall quarter at Macy’s, it is worth signing up for this program. If you don’t sign up, associates bug you until you do!

Things to Know

Coupons

Macy’s only accepts 1 coupon per transaction.  If you have a 20% off coupon and a $10 off $25 purchase coupon, figure out which one yields a better result.  If you’re not sure, I’ve found that the associates are happy to scan both and help you figure it out.

Macys.com also only accepts 1 coupon code per transaction.

Sale/Coupon Exclusions

The list of brands that never go on sale or are excluded from coupons is typically the same for every sale with the excpetion of the Friends and Family sale.  They are:

All-Clad, Eileen Fisher, Emporio Armani, Tommy Bahama, Breitling watches, Burberry, Coach, Dooney & Bourke, Dyson, Ghurka, Gucci, Henckels, Juice, Lacoste, Lalique, Lauren/Polo/Ralph Lauren/Denim & Supply, Levi’s, Le Creuset, Lladro, Longchamp, Marchesa, Michael Aram, MICHAEL Michael Kors/Michael Kors, The North Face, Not Your Daughter’s Jeans, kate spade, Sperry, Star Power by Spanx, Sterling flatware, Swarovski, Tumi, Vera Wang, Louis Vuitton, Wacoal, Waterford China/Crystal/Silver, Wusthof.

Everyday Values (EDV) are never included in any sales

There are a few items around the store with special Everyday Value hang tags. These items never go on sale and coupons never apply to them! Typically these are a bit more fairly priced than other items in the store and are usually basics like a set of plain Carter’s onesies for babies or Charter Club t-shirts for women.

Free Shipping on Macys.com Orders

Your Macys.com order of $99 or more always ships free without any additional codes required. However, it needs to be $99 or more after all discounts have been taken off.

Occasionally they also run promos where your order ships free if it includes a $50 beauty purchase or they will lower the purchase requirement to $75.