How to use App Store and iTunes Store gift cards
On New Year's Eve, everyone expects to find nice and useful gifts under the tree. Among them something unusual may turn out: a card with the logos of App Store or iTunes. It may seem that the thing is absolutely useless. But that is only at first glance.
We will try to explain these cards in more detail because, due to ignorance, people, including advisers to the country's big sellers, make all kinds of speculations and myths about them. It is necessary to explain the nature of the gift cards, how they differ from each other, how the money is deposited into the and how it can be used later.
Let's start with the simplest. The iTunes Store Gift Card can be used to purchase any digital content from any Apple online store: iBookstore, iTunes Store, Mac App Store and App Store. Gift cards sold in Russia are denominated in National Bank of Russia rubles and cost the same as the card you purchased, either from ed apple partners or at the store checkout. That is, if you bought the card for 500 rubles, its face value is 500 rubles, etc. When activating the card, the buyer receives exactly that amount in the balance of his apple id . To recap, an Apple ID is a name and combination, which is entered when a customer buys something from the App Store. It is valid for any of the company's services, be it the iTunes Store, App Store, iCloud, iMessage, Face Time, etc.
With the iTunes Store or App Store gift card you can buy:
- Any game or program from the Mac App Store and the App Store;
- Any movie or song from the iTunes Store;
- Any book from the iBookstore;
- Any required purchases in games or applications.
No iTunes Store or App Store gift card can be used:
- Subscribe to apple services (for example, iTunes Match);
- Give an application to a friend;
- Buy real, not virtual products (accessories, devices, etc.)
- Expand iCloud storage.
ITunes Store gift cards are sold in the RF for 500, 1000, 1500 and 3000 rubles. Each denomination card differs from the other by the color of the drawing of the accompanying documentation. The denomination of the gift card is indicated in the upper right corner.
We would like to point out that Apple sells two types of its gift cards on the Russian market: the iTunes gift card and the App Store gift card. The differences are only external. And, of course, they are located in different places and on different shelves. In other words, if you see, for example, App Store cards on the shelves, the iTunes cards will be in a different location. It is easy to explain the confusion of the customers, because the of all the services is the same: they do not always understand which card can be used to buy what content.
There is only one thing to say: there is no difference between them!
With the iTunes card you can buy any application, and with the App Store card you can buy any movie or music. The only difference between the two is the image on the card.
Again, any card can be used to buy any content at any apple online store.
Customers should be aware of this, because very often this ignorance is exploited by the advisers of the main Russian apple stores. And even more consultants don't even know how these cards work. In either case, they persuade the buyer to buy both cards. They quite logically convince a confused person that with the App Store card you can only buy applications, and with the iTunes card you can buy anything. And some consultants are adamant about it.
Be that as it may, do not succumb to the ignorance of others. You should only choose gift cards by their denomination, not by their appearance, name or the seller's arguments.
Another very important detail to take into . When purchasing a gift card at the , never, under any circumstances, allow the cashier's check to be lost.
The card itself does not have the necessary 16-digit code, made up of letters and numbers, to credit the . It is printed on the receipt when the card is purchased. The card itself, which is not ed by a receipt, is of little use: there is no "security layer" on it either, just text, images and logos. All the information you need is given to you with the receipt when you buy it. In addition, the buyer receives another card with background information. In other words, when you leave the store after your purchase, you will only have the receipt and the card with the denomination. You can throw away the card. The receipt, on the other hand, must be kept. If the gift card is presented to someone, it must be accompanied by the receipt. Otherwise, the money will be thrown away.
Now let's move on to card activation. This requires access to the App Store or the iTunes Store from any iOS device. Or at least, iTunes through the computer.
On iOS devices, after opening the desired store, find the "Enter code" button. It's at the bottom of the window. There the code printed on the receipt is entered, confirming the of the in which the money is deposited.
As for working on a computer, the same manipulation is done when opening the iTunes Store.
As a reminder, gift cards denominated in Russian rubles are sold not only in Russian stores, but also in Apple's partner QIWI payment service online, or in the Russian App Store and iTunes Store. In this case, the amount corresponding to the face value of the card will be deducted from the to which the 's Apple ID is linked.
Buying online has its advantages and disadvantages. A definite advantage is that the code is saved and the denomination can be adjusted manually. The downside is that if you don't have a bank card, you can't buy a gift card. And so, without a nice card, it is not really nice to give it away. In any case, the choice always depends on the customer.
The main thing is not to throw away the receipt !!!