While iTunes is no longer around in its original format, iTunes and App Store gift cards remain a hot commodity. Used on a number of Apple’s products and platforms, gift cards can be used to purchase music, movies, applications and more. Redeeming a gift card as a credit enables you to use that money anywhere in the App Store, iTunes store or the Book Store. The choices are almost endless with millions of songs, books, and software available at your fingertips. This article covers everything you need to know about iTunes and App Store gift cards.
How to Purchase
Purchasing an iTunes gift card is incredibly easy and can be done almost anywhere gift cards are sold. The easiest method is to purchase it at the Apple Store online. You can choose to snail mail a purchase or digitally deliver a gift card via email. iTunes and App Store gift cards can also be purchased at thousands of online retailers, including big box staples like Best Buy, Target, Walmart and more.
How to Redeem
To redeem your gift card on iOS or iPad OS:
Launch the App Store on your iPhone or iPad.
From the Today tab (far-left bottom), click on your user icon located in the top-right corner.
Now select “Redeem Gift Card or Code” from the menu options that pop up.
Choose to redeem using your camera, and your phone will recognize the gift card number on a physical card. If you enter manually, you can type in a code or copy and paste from an email.
To redeem on macOS:
Launch the App Store (hopefully located on your dock).
At the bottom left of the screen, you will see the same user icon from your iPhone or iPad. Click on it.
Locate “Redeem Gift Card” at the top right of the App Store screen.
Now use your Mac camera to scan the code off a physical card or enter it by copying and pasting from an email. Note that you may be required to enter your Apple ID and password to enter this screen.
In the event you cannot redeem a card, make sure that the physical card is entirely scratched off or the sticker is removed completely. If that does not work, Apple’s website has a list of help topics to figure out the issue.
Checking Current Balance
Locating your current balance is really easy and can be done from either your iPhone or iPad as well as directly on your Mac.
On your iPhone:
Launch the App Store and click on your user icon in the top-right corner.
The current balance is listed right below your username/Apple ID. If no balance is available, it will show $0.00.
On macOS
Launch the Mac App Store and look for your name in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
Right beneath your username should be the available balance or $0.00. The Mac App Store tends to refresh balances slower than iOS, so close and reopen the app to see the refreshed balance.
Whenever a new iTunes or App Store gift card is added, balances are reflected immediately.
What to Buy
With the gift card purchased and redeemed, it’s time for the fun to begin. With an available balance, there is a whole host of things you can buy from Apple. The App Store, with its millions of apps, is the foremost place to start spending your credit. Within millions of those applications are in-app purchases that can be used for buying additional themes, points, powers, tokens and so much more. Your App Store balance will help with those purchases.
When it comes to subscriptions like Apple Arcade, Apple TV+ or Apple Music, Apple defaults to using your App Store balance first before using a credit card. If you have an available balance, make sure it accounts for those subscription services in the event you were hoping to use it to buy new apps.
Want to purchase movies or TV shows from Apple? Your App Store balance works for these as well. The same goes for books from Apple Books and even iCloud storage space upgrades. In summary, if it’s something you want to buy that is software-based, your gift card credit will work.
What You Cannot Buy
This is easy and it pretty much relates to Apple devices. Your App Store balance will work fine to purchase apps, but you cannot use the same balance to purchase the iPhone. Instead, you need an Apple Store gift card which is completely different from iTunes and App Store gift cards.
Conclusion
Once you purchase a gift card and add it to your iTunes or App Store account, the sky is the limit. With millions of applications available and almost as many shows and movies, there is more entertainment available than you can possibly hope to ever experience. Whether it’s a subscription to Apple Arcade or a book to read, an App Store gift card is the ultimate gift.
David is a freelance tech writer with over 15 years of experience in the tech industry. He loves all things Nintendo.
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