This is your expert tips guide to shopping at Macy’s.

Be sure to check out the BeFrugal $100 Macy’s gift card giveaway as part of our Daily $100 Gift Card Giveaway!

1. Online & Printable Coupons

Each week, Macy's normally offers multiple online coupon codes and printable coupons. These can be good for anywhere from 10-30% off. Typically these coupons are specific to departments, such as 20% off all Women's Apparel, 15% off Sale and Clearance Items, etc, but occasionally, sitewide coupons will be available. To find the latest online and printable coupons, check BeFrugal.com for Macy's Coupons. You can also find a listing coupons at Macy's.com in their "Deals & Promotions" section.

In addition, Twitter can be a useful online tool for finding Macy's coupons. You don't need a Twitter account; just go to Twitter.com and search for "Macy’s printable coupon". You can also get printable coupons for Macy's through their weekly flyer and by signing up for the Macy's email newsletter.

With both online and printable coupons available, the question becomes, should you buy online or at the store? In many cases, both the printable and online coupons for Macy's will be identical offers. (But there are times when a coupon is exclusively for online use or in store use.) To maximize your savings, you should check both types of coupons and go with the lowest price for your specific order. You'll also want to consider if and how much shipping will be if you buy online, how much time and gas money it will take to get to the closest Macy's, and how quickly you would like to get the product.

(Note: For both online and offline coupons, you cannot stack multiple coupons… in other words, you can't use a coupon for 15% off your total order plus another coupon for 20% off women's apparel on the same item to get 35% off.)

2. Check the Weekly Flyer

Grab your local Sunday newspaper to find Macy’s weekly ad flyer, which will include the top deals for your local Macy's. Sometimes a coupon is included on print advertisements – remember to hand that coupon to your sales associate before you check out at the store. Also, some print advertisements will include an online promo code which you can use for online orders.

3. Sign up for Macy’s Email Newsletter

The easiest way to stay up-to-date with Macy’s sales and events is to sign up for their emails. They’ll send you both online and in-store exclusive sales and event information right to your inbox. If text messaging is more your speed, you also can choose to receive text notifications of sales. As with many major retailers, Macy’s offers an incentive to signing up for their emails. These incentives are typically up to 15% off, but you have to wait to receive your discount email after you sign up. (Tip: Make sure your Macy’s emails aren’t being filtered to your spam folder.)

4. Free Shipping on Purchases of $99+ at Macy's

It’s always more convenient to shop online but who wants to pay for shipping? On macys.com, if your order is over $99 - shipping is free! But even if your purchase is under $99, the standard shipping charge is only $8. (However there are some exclusions to standard shipping fee such as special items, furniture, etc. Make sure you are aware of those exclusions before purchasing.)

5. Use Your Macy’s Credit Card

On top of sales and coupons, we suggest opening a Macy’s store credit card to save even more cash. You’ll receive 15% off your purchases that day and the next day. Plus you never have to worry about losing your receipts. As a cardholder, you can make returns 180 days later without a receipt. Even though the APR is up to 24.5%, if you pay your balance off immediately you’ll avoid paying interest fees. Cardholders also receive numerous other benefits such as discounts on sale and clearance items during certain sales events that could reach up to an extra 20% off. You can open a Macy's card account either online or in-store.

6. Earn Cash Back on Your Online Order

Sign up as a BeFrugal.com cash back member and you’ll receive 2.2% cash back on all of your Macy's online purchases. Earning cash back is simple and free plus you can stack this on top of online coupons for extra savings!

7. Find In-Store Deals Late in the Week

Most short-term sales start on a Wednesday or Thursday and end on a Sunday, so try shopping at Macy’s during the weekend or late in the week to take advantage of the Macy's sales schedule.

8. Wedding or Gift Registry at Macy's

Brides will tell you that Macy’s has one of the best wedding registries around! Not only will guests from all around the country recognize the Macy’s name, but there are numerous benefits for the couple when you register at Macys such as discounts on jewelry, Macy’s "Sip & Scan" events and, the best part, their Star Rewards Program. To take part in this program, you simply sign up for a Macy’s store credit card. As a cardholder you then receive up to 5% rewards when your friends and family buy YOU gifts from your Macy’s registry – some exclusions apply on certain items. About a month after your wedding, Macy’s will send you a Macy’s rewards card for the total amount you earned. That’s like getting cash back on items that you didn’t even pay for! Plus, after your wedding is over you will typically get exclusive offers for items in your registry that you did not receive.

9. Discounted Macy's Gift Cards

You should never pay full price for Gift Cards! Either for gift ideas or just for yourself, you can purchase discounted gift cards for up to 25% off their retail value. The best places to find Macy’s discounted gift cards would be to search ebay.com or use a discounted gift card finder.

10. Become a Macy’s Employee

The ultimate, most extreme way to never paying full price at Macy’s is to work there! Many current and former employees of Macy’s list employee discounts as one of the biggest perks of working there; in fact some consider employee discounts as part of their pay. Macy’s employees receive up to 20% off mostly anything. Occasionally, Macy’s will offer "Double Discount" days, where employees can receive up to 30% to 40% off when using a Macy’s credit card. And if you want to save even more money, employees can also use most coupons available to the public on top of their employee discount.

A Few Other Things You Should Know

After all this shopping and saving, if in the unfortunate event you are unhappy with your recent Macy’s purchase there are 3 options:

Call Customer Service

The first place to start addressing your concerns is directly with Macy’s Customer Service. You can either fill out a contact form on their website or call them at 1-800-289-6229. Macy’s also offers a cool feature called "Click to Call". Instead of waiting on hold for a customer service agent, they’ll call you back!

Macy’s Return Policy

If you are looking for a full refund or just want to exchange your merchandise, there are 3 scenarios:

1.You cannot mail merchandise purchased at a Macy’s store to Macys.com for a return/exchange. There are certain restrictions on Macy’s return policy with special items such as jewelry, bridesmaid dresses, furniture, area rugs, gourmet food & gifts, bonus gifts, mattresses.

2. Purchased at a Macy’s store, return/exchange to a Macy’s Store: You will receive a full refund due by the original payment if it is within 180 days of the date of purchase with original receipt present. You’ll receive a store credit if you do not have your receipt.

3. Purchased on Macys.com, return/exchange to a Macy’s Store: Within 180 days of the date of purchase, bring your merchandise in the original packing materials and invoice with bar code that was shipped with your order to any Macy’s store for a full refund. Shipping costs will not be refunded. Return/exchange your Macys.com order by Mail: A Return Form and pre-addressed shipping label are shipped with every Macys.com order. Complete the Return Form, repack your order with the original invoice and adhere the pre-addressed shipping label to the box. Ship your order from your nearest Post Office. It usually takes about 7 days for your order to be refunded to your credit card. Shipping costs will not be refunded.

Reaching Out to the Better Business Bureau (BBB)

As one of the leading national retailers, Macy’s works extremely hard to provide their customers with the best shopping experience and customer support. Macy’s, Inc has been a BBB Accredited Business since 1965 with an A+ rating. In the unlikely event you would like to submit a complaint to the BBB seeking their mediation, you can visit their BBB Business Review page and click File a Complaint.

Download BeFrugal com's PDF Guide to Macy's. 

Visit the BeFrugal page for Macy's to check out promo codes and coupons for additional savings. You can earn Cash Back through BeFrugal when you shop online, and if you sign up for a free Cash Back account today, you can get a $10 bonus!