Universal I want to make an App Store purchase but don't want the purchase to use my account gift card balance

[Apple_Robert]

I looked in my account and from what I can see, if you have an account balance, any purchases are automatically deducted from said balance. I don't want to use my account balance for app purchases right now. I want to save the balance for Apple hardware. It didn't look to me like there was a way to use the default Apple Pay card and forego the account balance. Is this correct?

 

[0128672]

I'm pretty sure this support doc answers all those questions:

How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - Apple Support

Learn which payment method is charged when you buy subscriptions like iCloud+ or items from the App Store, iTunes Store, Apple Books, or Apple TV app. Several purchases might be grouped into one charge.

support.apple.com