In the Phoenix area, Winco is the only store offering a “FREE” Thanksgiving turkey in 2023. Offer started early on 11/11/23 and ends 11/22/23 (the Wednesday before Thanksgiving).

Fry’s (Kroger) has an offer for $0.89 per pound with $25 purchase, rumored to be $0.59 per pound with $25 purchase with a digital coupon week of 11/15/23.

Safeway will price match Fry’s and Basha’s price. Not a deal.

Winco Thanksgiving 2023 Free Turkey deal: FREE turkey, any size, with $125 purchase. Milk is the only exclusion (other than obvious exclusions like gift cards, alcohol, stamps, etc.), and the price of the turkey doesn’t count.

Winco has the best grocery store prices hands down (yes, far better than crappy Aldi), but you can still screw up your FREE turkey deal if you don’t know much about shopping at Winco.

Three “Free” Thanksgiving Turkey Traps at Winco

“Free” Thanksgiving Turkey Trap at Winco #1: You don’t have $125 plus tax in your checking account or in cash.

• Winco doesn’t take credit cards, so if you have to finance your groceries on a credit card, you can’t take advantage of the “free” turkey deal.
• Food sales tax at Winco in Glendale, AZ is 2.5%. Shop at Winco in Phoenix, AZ or Winco in Surprise, AZ for NO FOOD SALES TAX!
• Regular sales tax at Winco in Glendale, AZ is 9.2%. Shop at Winco in Phoenix, AZ for 8.6% sales tax, or Surprise, AZ for 8.5% sales tax.
• Per $100 in groceries, you’ll pay $2.50 for shopping in Glendale, AZ—don’t go there!
• Per $100 in regular items, you’ll pay an extra 60 cents for shopping in Glendale, AZ instead of Phoenix, AZ, or an extra 70 cents for shopping in Glendale, AZ instead of Surprise, AZ. With the price of gas, normal items might not save you enough on the sales tax difference, but do everything you can to not buy groceries in Glendale, AZ!

“Free” Thanksgiving Turkey Trap at Winco #2: You don’t know the current deals at other grocery stores.

For example:

• Fry’s (Kroger) has a deal this week on 10 pound bags of Russett potatoes (digital coupon, limit 5 bags) for $1.99. Winco’s current price on 10 pound bags of Russett potatoes is $3.98. So you’d effectively pay $1.99 for your “Free” turkey at Winco if you chose to buy your Thanksgiving potatoes at Winco because you were trying to buy all the items on your Thanksgiving menu grocery list in one place.
• Kroger bacon is on sale at Fry’s for $11.97 for three pounds (digital coupon, limit 5 packages). The cheapest bacon at Winco right now is $3.98 for 12 ounces of Bar-S bacon. You’d have to buy four packages of 12 oz bacon to equal one three pound package of bacon, so you’d pay $15.92 for bacon at Winco—that’s another $3.95 you might pay for your “FREE” turkey by shopping only at Winco.
• Fry’s has Land O’ Lakes butter for $3.49 (digital coupon, limit 5). Winco’s butter (cheapest option, Winco brand) is $3.68 per pound. You will need at least three pounds of butter for Thanksgiving between pie crusts, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, rolls—and butter on the table for the rolls, stuffing…so you would pay another $0.57 for your “Free” turkey by buying butter at Winco. 

By overpaying on just those three items, you’d effectively pay $6.51 for your “Free” turkey. To avoid this pitfall, write down the sale prices from your local grocery stores before you visit Winco, or check the prices on your phone as you shop. The only way to see Winco’s prices is in person, so if you’re not a frequent Winco shopper, take a few extra minutes while you’re there to write down the prices of your typical grocery items as you shop, for future reference. Winco’s prices rarely change because Winco doesn’t run typical sales.

“Free” Thanksgiving Turkey Trap at Winco #3: You don’t have room for a turkey and $125 worth of perishable groceries in your fridge or freezer.

The easy fix for this is buying non-perishable items to get your Winco receipt up to $125. These are the non-perishable, non-grocery items I bought at Winco this week to get my free Thanksgiving turkey so you can compare the prices to your store:

Paper products Winco prices 11/13/23:

• Toilet paper: Scott 1000 toilet paper 20 rolls, $16.98 (I bought two packs—we all know why). $0.85 per roll.
• Kleenex 72 count $1.10 $0.015 per tissue.
• Napkins 500 count $2.98, $0.006 each.
• Aluminum foil, heavy duty, Winco brand, 37.5 square feet (the long one, to cover the turkey and ham) $2.98.
• Paper bowls (Christmas poinsettia pattern), 24 count 20 oz $2.68, $0.11 each.
• Paper luncheon plates (Christmas poinsettia pattern), 45 count, 8.62 inches diameter, $2.68, $0.06 each.
• Plastic straws 100 count, $0.99, $0.01 each.
• Giant foil turkey roasting pan, 16”x13”x3”, Handifoil, $1.48 (keep the turkey in the roaster to defrost so it doesn’t leak all over your fridge!) 
• Ziploc bags, Winco brand, 38 count gallon storage, $2.48 $0.07 each.
• Ziploc bags, Winco brand, 38 count quart freezer, $2.48 $0.07 each.
• Latex gloves $2.18 (good for handling gross, raw turkey and chopping jalapenos!) 10 pack. $0.22 per pair.

Cleaning products Winco prices 11/13/23:

• Rinse aid for dishwasher Brillo Basics 8 oz $1.50 $0.19 per oz.
• Bleach half gallon (we use to chlorinate our pool) $1.38 $0.02 per oz.
• Persil 100 oz detergent $12.97.
• Ajax 21 oz $1.24, $0.06 per oz.
• Barkeepers Friend $1.74 for 12 oz, $0.145 per oz. I chose to overpay $0.46 (measured in cost per ounce difference) to avoid going to Walmart; it’s $2.24 for 21 oz ($0.106 per oz) at Walmart.
• Ecos Dishwashing soap (we use this as a gentle hand soap; it’s less than half the price of Method hand soap).

Miscellaneous products Winco prices 11/13/23:

• Anchor Hocking 8×8 glass casserole (I broke mine recently, good price) $4.98 and it’s $5.18 at Walmart.

Winco definitely has the lowest grocery prices in the Phoenix metro. With a little planning, you can easily score a 22 pound Thankgsiving turkey at Winco for free!

Read all of the All Day Mom Thanksgiving posts here!