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From time to time, retailers will discount iTunes Store Gift Cards and I'm tempted to stock up since discounts are enticing ways to shop. It appears that Apple has three sorts of gift cards available in the US. I am interested in the usually colorful or music related one. enter image description here

Originally, these cards only worked to buy music from the iTunes Store, but now my Apple ID works with several other store fronts in addition to the expected iTunes music store on iOS, Mac and Windows:

Which of these will accept a US purchased credit from a physical or electronic iTunes Store Gift Card if your Apple ID has a US billing address? Which of these will not be able to spend credit redeemed from the iTunes gift card. I do know that the Apple Store gift cards are accepted at the Apple Retail stores, but I've never seen them discounted or available anywhere but from Apple Retail.

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This is a partial answer, but when I log into the Mac App store and into iTunes (including to browse iOS apps) on my Mac, the same account credit (some of which came from gift cards) appears on my account. I have not found a way access this credit from store.apple.com. I don't currently have a working iOS device to test any of the iOS stores. –  Daniel Lawson Feb 10 '12 at 16:54

2 Answers 2

up vote 10 down vote accepted

You can use redeemed value from an iTunes gift card to buy from the following stores:

The only gift cards that are accepted at an Apple Retail Store are Apple gift cards. The Apple Retail Stores and the Apple Store online do not accept iTunes gift cards as forms of payment.

You can not use redeemed value from an iTunes gift card to buy an Apple gift card or anything else from the following stores:

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One oddity - I was prevented from enrolling in iTunes Match when I only had a gift card balance, but once I added a credit card, the purchase went through - but spent down my card balance. I'm not sure how to interpret it. The gift card truly paid for the service, but only in conjunction with the potential to pay having been added at the time of purchase. I'm tempted to try again with iCloud :-) –  bmike Apr 12 '12 at 15:01

The front side is actually irrelevant for the card. If you buy any iTunes gift card for and with US dollars, you can redeem it with any US Apple ID.
It will at least work with the Music store, iOS App Store, Mac App Store, and iBookstore.
(I've been using those cards ever since, since I don't have a credit card.)

You can use up to 8 Apple Gift cards (not iTunes Gift cards) at once to pay for your purchase at an Apple Retail Store, according to the the Apple website. (I don't know about the Apple Store app or the online store, since I don't live in the US.)

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Thank you for the advice. Even though I asked specifically for the US - would it be worth editing your question for the country where you are the best or just asking that question here? Do link to your new question as I'd be interested in voting for it as well. –  bmike Feb 10 '12 at 17:57

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