5 Aldi Checkout Rules That Catch Alabamians Off Guard

Found a coupon online? Leave it at home.

Aldi won’t take it.

Aldi runs checkout by its own rules, and a few of them are nothing like what you’re used to at other grocery stores.

Here are the Aldi checkout rules that catch Alabamians off guard, and what to do about each one.

1. Checks and WIC Benefits

Aldi doesn’t accept checks.

Your Women, Infants and Children (WIC) benefits don’t work at Aldi either, and neither do insurance health spending cards such as United, Aetna Health Food and Humana Spending.

Aldi says WIC covers only name-brand formulas, while it sells only its exclusive Little Journey brand.

If you’re counting on any of them, you need another way to pay.

Aldi does accept cash, many debit cards, Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express.

Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Link cards work as well.

Contactless pay such as Apple Pay and Google Pay works.

Cash back comes in $10, $20, $40 and $100 amounts when you pay with a qualifying card.

2. Gift Card Limits

Aldi sells gift cards in $5 increments up to $100.

You can buy up to $3,000 in gift cards in one transaction.

You can spend part of a card’s balance.

Your receipt lists what’s left.

Show the physical card, or the email with your e-Gift Card, to the cashier.

Aldi’s gift cards can’t be used for online orders at this time.

Gift card balances don’t expire, and there are no fees on Aldi gift cards.

You can’t redeem a gift card for cash, except as the law requires.

Aldi calls its gift cards nonrefundable, and it can’t replace the balance on a lost or stolen card.

Third-party gift cards sold at Aldi can’t be returned either.

3. Coupon Rules

Aldi doesn’t offer online coupons, meaning a coupon you find online or on social media isn’t a legitimate Aldi coupon.

Aldi coupons are printed and handed out in stores or mailed to you.

Some may be tied to an event, such as a store’s grand opening.

Aldi won’t take an expired coupon, so check the date before you hand one over.

Aldi can’t accept manufacturer’s coupons either.

Leave them at home.

4. Rain Checks and Price Matching

Aldi gives no rain checks, and it doesn’t match prices either.

You may find a product for less at a different Aldi location.

Prices can vary by city.

Aldi can’t place holds on Aldi Finds, which are available for a limited time while supplies last.

If you spot an Aldi Finds item you want, buy it that day.

5. Bagging Your Groceries

Aldi has removed single-use plastic bags at checkout.

You can bring bags from home or buy paper or reusable bags.

Bagging is on you.

Aldi says that keeps lines moving faster.

Receipts and Returns

Aldi requires a receipt to refund you in the original form of payment.

Without one, you get a merchandise credit gift card for the item’s current retail price.

Keep your receipts.

If you were overcharged, take the receipt back and ask for the manager on duty.

If you lost the receipt, go back to the store where you bought the items.

Bring the card you paid with and ask to speak with a manager.

Aldi makes a price adjustment on an Aldi Finds item within 14 days of purchase.

Bring your receipt to the store manager.

Seasonal products and products Aldi sells on a regular basis don’t qualify.

Alcohol returns are subject to local regulations and may not be accepted at all stores.

Twice as Nice Conditions

Aldi’s Twice as Nice Guarantee replaces the product and refunds your money when you’re not satisfied with its quality.

You have to bring the packaging and any unused product back to your store manager.

If you return several units of the same product for the same quality issue, Aldi may issue refunds for all qualifying items, but it provides only one replacement item.

Aldi can limit or deny refunds and replacements when it suspects fraud, abuse or misuse.

Tax on Your Receipt

Alabama’s state sales tax on the groceries you buy at Aldi dropped from 4% to 3% in 2023, the first cut in the state’s grocery tax since 1939.

The state cut the rate again, to 2%, effective September 1, 2025.

A two-month state grocery tax holiday ran from May 1 to June 30, 2026.

You pay the 2% again.

Local grocery taxes come on top of that, and the 2023 law bars local governments from raising them.

Alabama is one of 13 states that tax food, and until 2023 it was one of only three that fully taxed it.

Quarter Deposit

Aldi asks you to insert a quarter to unlock a cart.

Dialect surveys show many people in Alabama call that cart a buggy.