Rain checks: what they are and where to ask for one

You plan a trip around an advertised price, get to the shelf, and it's empty. A rain check is the store's written promise to sell you that item at the advertised price later, once it's back in stock. Rain checks aren't a perk invented by couponers; for grocery stores they connect to a federal rule about advertising. But how they work in practice is up to each store.

The federal rule behind rain checks

The Federal Trade Commission's Retail Food Store Advertising and Marketing Practices Rule, often called the Unavailability Rule (16 CFR Part 424), says retail food stores shouldn't advertise prices for products unless they have them in stock and readily available at or below the advertised price.

The rule gives stores several ways to stay in compliance when they run short. According to the FTC's description of the rule, a store doesn't violate it if:

• it ordered the advertised products in time and in quantities to meet reasonably expected demand;
• it offers a rain check for the advertised product;
• it offers a comparable product at the advertised price reduction; or
• it offers other compensation at least equal to the advertised value.

There's also an exception when the ad itself clearly says supplies are limited or the product is available only at some locations. The FTC has reviewed the rule since and kept it.

So a rain check is one option a food store can choose, not something it must always offer. A store might offer a substitute instead, or point to a limited-supply line in the ad.

Steps: asking for a rain check

1. Confirm the item is advertised. Rain checks attach to an advertised price: the weekly ad, the store's app or a sale sign.
2. Check the ad for limits. Look for "while supplies last" or "limited quantities." If it's there, the store may decline.
3. Go to customer service or ask a manager, not the cashier mid-transaction.
4. Be specific. Item, brand, size, variety and the advertised price. Having the ad open on your phone helps.
5. Read the rain check before you leave: the item, the price, any quantity limit and the expiration date the store writes.
6. Keep it with your coupons and use it once the item is back.

What varies by store

Rain check practices aren't spelled out in the coupon policies we cite on this site, and they can differ by chain, by store and by department. Some things to ask about:

• Expiration. Stores usually set a window to use the rain check.
• Quantity. A rain check may carry the same purchase limit as the original ad.
• Departments. Grocery items are covered by the FTC rule; other departments, like electronics or holiday merchandise, may follow different store practices.
• Digital deals. App-only offers may not be eligible, since they're tied to your account and a date range.

If a store says it doesn't offer rain checks, ask whether it can offer a comparable product at the advertised discount instead. That's another option the FTC rule recognizes.

Coupons and rain checks

When you redeem a rain check later, your coupons are judged on that day. If a manufacturer coupon has expired by then, it won't scan, even though the rain check is still valid. Kroger's coupon policy, for example, applies digital coupons before paper ones at the time the card is scanned, so the order of discounts follows the store's normal rules.

When it's worth asking

A rain check is most useful for items you'd buy anyway and can wait a little for: pantry staples, household supplies, pet food. It's less useful for something you need today. Either way, it costs nothing to ask.

Store practices change, and the rules above describe the FTC regulation, not any one chain's policy. Ask at your store's customer service for its current practice.