My hubby bought me two beautiful necklaces for my birthday. He was thrilled because he saved 70% and received $20 in Kohl’s Cash, which he also gave to me so I could buy a little something. Yes, my frugality has definitely rubbed off! I had never used Kohl’s Cash before, so I wasn’t sure how exactly it worked. Surely there must be some catch, right?

It turns out there is a minor “catch”, which I will get to later, but overall it is a great promotion, and really is like getting paid to shop.

During Kohl’s Cash promotion periods you can earn $10 in Kohl’s Cash for every $50 you spend. This is based on the final total, after any discounts are applied but before tax is added. The cashier will hand you a printed Kohl’s Cash receipt that can be redeemed later during the specific dates listed on the receipt.

So what’s the catch? It’s fairly simple. When you redeem your Kohl’s Cash, the discount is applied before any total transaction discounts. So if you have a coupon for 20% off your total purchase, that discount will only apply to any remaining total in excess of your Kohl’s Cash amount. This frustrates some shoppers, but it is clearly stated on the back of the receipt, and it makes sense to me. Sales tax can only be applied to items you pay for, and a total transaction discount works the same way. Sale discounts for individual items are taken before the Kohl’s Cash is applied, however, and your Cash can be used on any sale items, including Clearance. Kohl’s Cash cannot be used to purchase gift cards, but you can certainly give the Kohl’s Cash itself as a gift, like my hubby did.

There are many other stores that offer similar promotions, but there is typically a minimum purchase requirement. Not at Kohl’s. You can use Kohl’s Cash on any purchase, large or small. You can also stack multiple Kohl’s Cash receipts on a single transaction. Today I found a pair of jeans for myself for $16.00 and a pair of corduroys for my son for $4.00. My total? $0.00!

DISCLOSURE (what’s this?): Although I am an affiliate of Kohls.com, I do not profit from this particular post in any way.