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santa-itunes-gift-card-250x198.jpg
App Store & iTunes gift cards have been a popular tech-themed stocking stuffer for years. If you unwrapped one today, we have eight ideas for what to buy across the App Store, iTunes, Apple Books, and beyond in 2018.

Start with Apple's instructions for redeeming App Store & iTunes gift cards.

1. Apple Music subscription

App Store & iTunes gift cards can be used to fund an Apple Music subscription, which costs $9.99 per month for individuals, $4.99 per month for students, and $14.99 per month for families of up to six people in the United States. Apple Music offers a free three-month trial in most countries.

Apple Music provides unlimited streaming of over 50 million songs with an active subscription and is available on an iPhone or Android smartphone, iPad, Mac or PC, Apple Watch, Apple TV, HomePod, Sonos, and Amazon Echo speakers.

apple-music-devices.jpg

To pay for Apple Music with an App Store & iTunes gift card, simply redeem the card and the monthly or annual subscription cost will be drawn from any store credit tied to your Apple ID. If the balance is zero, then Apple Music will be billed to another valid payment method on file, such as a credit card.
Apple Music
Join Apple Music on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC
2. Other subscriptions

App Store & iTunes gift cards can be used towards a variety of other subscription-based services available on the App Store, such as Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, ESPN+, Tidal, and Dropbox. These subscriptions are available within the apps.

Note that Netflix has experimented with removing the option to pay for a subscription via iTunes for new customers in certain countries.

3. iCloud storage

When you sign up for iCloud, you automatically get 5GB of free storage for photos, videos, and other files. If you need more space, you can upgrade to a larger storage plan, including 50GB for 99 cents per month, 200GB for $2.99 per month, or 2TB for $9.99 per month in the United States. Prices vary in other regions.

icloud-storage-plans.jpg

To pay for iCloud storage with an App Store & iTunes gift card, simply redeem the card and the monthly cost will be drawn from any store credit tied to your Apple ID. If the balance is zero, then the iCloud storage plan will be billed to another valid payment method on file, such as a credit card.
Buy more iCloud storage
iCloud storage plans and pricing
4. Popular paid apps and games
Nowadays, many apps and games are free and rely on in-app purchases, but these are some of the most popular paid titles on the App Store:Alto's Odyssey -- $4.99
CARROT Weather -- $4.99
Dark Sky -- $3.99
Deliveries -- $4.99
Fantastical 2 -- $1.99
Yoink -- $5.99
Procreate -- $9.99
LumaFusion -- $19.99
Halide -- $3.99Prices are based in U.S. dollars and vary in other regions.

5. In-app purchases and game currencies

Spend your App Store & iTunes gift card balance on in-app purchases and game currencies, be it V-Bucks in Fortnite, PokéCoins in Pokémon GO, extra moves in Candy Crush Saga, gems in Clash of Clans, or something else.

6. Holiday movies on sale in iTunes

Many holiday movies are on sale in iTunes for a limited time, including classics such as Home Alone and A Christmas Story.

$7.99:Arthur Christmas
Gremlins
The Night Before
A Christmas Carol
Edward Scissorhands
Happy Christmas
home-alone.jpg

$9.99:Home Alone
Elf
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Die Hard
A Christmas Story
The Polar Express
How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Ultimate Edition
The Santa Clause
It's a Wonderful Life
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
Jack Frost
The Nativity Story
Miracle on 34th Street
The Nightmare Before Christmas
ScroogedPrices are based in U.S. dollars and vary in other regions.

7. Disney audiobooks

Disney has a variety of audiobooks available on the Apple Book Store, with some free and others priced under $20 in the United States.

8. iMessage sticker packs

imessage-stickers.jpg

If you still have a dollar or two left in store credit after working through this lift, elevate your iMessage game with some sticker packs.
Use iMessage apps on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
Use stickers with iMessage on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touchIf you have any other ideas, let us know in the comments section!

Article Link: 8 Ways to Spend the iTunes Gift Card You Unwrapped Today
 

trip1ex

macrumors 68040
Jan 10, 2008
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1,899
You can’t pay for Netflix via iTunes any longer in the US unless you were already doing so.

Merry Xmas.
 

ugahairydawgs

macrumors 68030
Jun 10, 2010
2,965
2,472
Is anyone else able to draw down monthly payments for iCloud storage from an iTunes GC balance? I always have a pretty good outstanding balance and it always pulls the payment from the credit card on file.
 

Populus

macrumors 603
Aug 24, 2012
5,868
8,347
Spain, Europe
I recommend a game I just purchased this Christmas, the fourth iteration of The Room: Old Sins. It is apparently shorter and easier than the previous trilogy, but for a couple of bucks it is a good entertainment choice. And probably a good introduction to the series (I have all of them). Old Sins is now half the price.

Also on sale, a game from my country, two Spanish brothers are behind Starman: A tale of light. Its regular price of 4-5 and now it's only 1$ on iOS. It's also available on MacOS with a much higher pricetag. It is a great puzzle game with gorgeous art. Take a look at it, because sadly the App Store is not featuring it and it is barely visible.

________________

By the way, is it possible to pay Netflix with my Apple funds? Is it more expensive or same price? Is it still mandatory to register a debit/credit card? Thank you.
 
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B4U

macrumors 68040
Oct 11, 2012
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Undisclosed location
It is sad to have to advertise for Apple Music like this!
The number 1 should have been In-app purchases, given the crappy business model of the gaming industry right now.
 
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ZZ Bottom

macrumors 6502a
Apr 14, 2010
829
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How about transferring to and from my Apple Pay Cash account?

Likely not since these cards often sell for 10-15% off. Apple is fine with that since they get ~30% cut of store sales, but if you could buy an App Store card for 15% off, then convert to currency, you’d be instantly getting 15% free. Obviously Apple’s not interested in giving money away.

I’m bummed they still can’t be used for Apple Store purchases, but it’s the same reason as above.
 
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ZipZap

macrumors 603
Dec 14, 2007
6,112
1,467
I would add info on how to pay for Apple Music on a yearly basis at the end of the trial, which saves money.
 
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simonmet

Cancelled
Sep 9, 2012
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Sydney
In-game currencies? You mean borderline gambling! No, these should not be supported and I’ve long argued Apple are abhorrent for allowing them in the App Store. They’ve ruined the ability to find decent games that don’t use them.

Subscriptions and expansions sure, but don’t support scammy freemium in-game currencies MacRumors. Take a stand!
 
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Piggie

macrumors G3
Feb 23, 2010
9,182
4,112
In-game currencies? You mean borderline gambling! No, these should not be supported and I’ve long argued Apple are abhorrent for supporting them in the App Store. They’ve ruined the ability to find decent games that don’t use them.

Subscriptions and expansions sure, but don’t support scammy freemium in-game currencies MacRumors. Take a stand!

I'm not disagreeing with you, but how do you feel about Fortnight ?
 

simonmet

Cancelled
Sep 9, 2012
2,666
3,664
Sydney
I'm not disagreeing with you, but how do you feel about Fortnight ?

All I (think I) know about Fortnight is it’s kind of the biggest thing right now, it’s probably a FPS and probably uses in-game currency. The latter two are why I’m not the least bit interested in finding out any more.
 

fhall1

macrumors 68040
Dec 18, 2007
3,875
1,319
(Central) NY State of mind
Is anyone else able to draw down monthly payments for iCloud storage from an iTunes GC balance? I always have a pretty good outstanding balance and it always pulls the payment from the credit card on file.
My iCloud sub pulls from my stored iTunes card balance. I don’t remember doing anything special to make it do that.
 

nburwell

macrumors 603
May 6, 2008
5,556
2,459
DE
Is anyone else able to draw down monthly payments for iCloud storage from an iTunes GC balance? I always have a pretty good outstanding balance and it always pulls the payment from the credit card on file.

My iCloud storage plan has always pulled from my iTunes store credit when I receive the receipt each month.
 

bikenfool

macrumors newbie
May 15, 2020
1
0
You cannot pay your iCloud subscription charge from an Apple gift card. I am guessing that Apple may've changed their policies since this article was written. I applied my gift card to my AppleID account. My iCloud "account" uses that same appleID. The fee continues to be charged to my credit card that is affiliated with my account. The terms and condition page, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201238 All the way at the bottom:

Accepted payment methods for iCloud storage upgrades include credit cards, debit cards, and your Apple ID balance. If you don't have enough available funds in your Apple ID balance to complete your upgrade, you'll be charged the remaining amount. Apple Store gift cards aren't accepted as payment for upgrading iCloud storage. Learn how to manage the amount of storage you're using.
 
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