Bed Bath & Beyond offers $100,000 makeover in old-coupon contest

Bed Bath & Beyond is turning old paper coupons into a contest, offering a $100,000 home renovation to the shopper who brings in the oldest eligible discount. The promotion ties the retailer’s comeback effort to one of its best-known customer habits: saving its blue-and-white coupons for years.

The company said in an announcement that its “Legendary Coupon Hunt” is open now and runs through July 13. Shoppers must bring their Bed Bath & Beyond coupons to Bed Bath & Beyond + The Container Store and Kirkland’s Home locations to enter, according to the company.

The top prize is a $100,000 home renovation, Bed Bath & Beyond said. The company also plans to give $500 gift cards to 100 top entrants and $100 in spending money to 50 additional winners.

Amy Sullivan, president of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., said in the company’s announcement that customers had long treated the coupons as if they might matter again. “For decades, our customers treated these coupons like treasure,” Sullivan said, adding that people kept them in purses, filing cabinets, cookbooks and memory boxes because they expected them to be useful one day.

A return to a familiar retail symbol

Fortune reported that Bed Bath & Beyond stopped accepting the physical coupons in 2023, the same year the struggling retailer filed for bankruptcy and closed its remaining brick-and-mortar stores. Overstock.com, now Beyond Inc., later bought the brand and relaunched it online, Fortune reported, but the new version did not honor the old paper discounts at first.

Fortune reported that Bed Bath & Beyond reopened its first store in August 2025 and plans more locations this year. The retailer also plans to resume taking coupons at stores after the contest, including expired, faded and decades-old versions, according to Fortune.

The campaign arrives as coupons remain widely used, though many shoppers now rely on digital codes. A 2026 Capital One Shopping report said 93% of Americans either use coupons or had redeemed one in the previous year, up 26% from the year before.

Capital One Shopping also reported that 169.2 million Americans used digital coupons in 2025. The report said 67% of consumers use online discounts, compared with 59% who use physical coupons.

Couponing keeps a broad following

Fortune noted that coupon habits are not limited to shoppers under financial strain. Bill Gates has recalled that Warren Buffett used coupons to pay during a McDonald’s lunch, according to Fortune, despite Bloomberg estimating Buffett’s wealth at $146 billion.

Fortune also cited television producer Shonda Rhimes as a high-profile coupon user. Rhimes said on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast last year that success had not changed her habit of clipping coupons and looking for sale prices.

Actor Sarah Michelle Gellar told CNBC Make It in 2018 that she still cuts coupons, according to Fortune. Gellar said that if a coupon is available, she uses it, and that she may wait before buying an expensive item such as a leather jacket.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.