[Thorzdad]

So, I was given a very nice Apple Store e-giftcard for Christmas from a client. Yay me. But...Is there really no way to use Apple Store credit in iTunes or the App Store other than by buying myself an iTunes giftcard and having it snailmailed to me? That seems to be the only option open to me when looking around on Apple's site. There doesn't seem to be an option to even email an iTunes giftcard to myself

[Spheric Harlot]

Quite possible.

Where I used to work, gift cards contained funds that were no longer in the possession of the store, but parked in an external bank account with absolutely no legal way for the store to get at it unless someone explicitly paid via the gift card. The necessity for this sort of legal construct arises since the funds must be removed from the company, as they have been "sold" to the customer, but the gift card itself is not legal tender.

So the store cannot access the money, and certainly cannot transfer it to another store, even if that store is a subsidiary or sister company.

[OldManMac]

No, it's not possible. An Apple gift card can only be used in the online store, or a physical Apple Store. The iTunes gift cards can only be used to buy from the iTunes, App, or iBook stores.

[Thorzdad]

Geez. That's nuts.
Guess I'll buy an iTunes gift card from the Apple Store and have it snailmailed to me.

[OldManMac]

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

Geez. That's nuts.
Guess I'll buy an iTunes gift card from the Apple Store and have it snailmailed to me.

At first glance, it sounds crazy, but the physical/online store are a completely different entity than the iTunes store. Any company as large as Apple has different business units that aren't necessarily intertwined. They have to have ways of accounting for revenue to each different division, so as to allocate the proper amount of resources to that division. This is one of those ways.

[Thorzdad]

Here's where this really gets silly...You cannot use an Apple Store gift card balance to purchase an iTunes gift card.

[andi*pandi]

That's ridiculous.

[Thorzdad]

Tell me about it.
So, now I'm stuck with a rather generous Apple Store credit, and no way to spend it on stuff I'd like to get...music, some games, etc. Other than a nice pair of earbuds, there's really nothing in the A-Store I want. I'd like to get more RAM for the iMac, but I'm not buying it at Apple's obscene mark-up, and the one piece of gear I actually want/need, they don't sell.

[andi*pandi]

Sell it on ebay?

[Thorzdad]

It was an email card, and I've already redeemed it.

[andi*pandi]

buy an ipod nano and sell that on ebay?

I know, too much work.

Similar vein, my work gave us $100 GC to the LandsEnd "company store" where we could pick out our own stuff and emblazon it with the company logo, if we so wished. There's not much in the company store for selection. I bought some pants (no logo) but don't like them. I cannot return them to LandsEnd, or use my credit at the real Lands End store. So my options are: sell pants on ebay, return pants to company store (and pay return fee) and buy some other thing. Bah humbug.

[osiris]

I recently bought a couple of iMacs, but one was DOA and had to return it. The Apple Store (SoHo) couldn't exchange the thing without ringing up a whole new ticket, so they created an Apple card to cover the cost of the computer, but they over charged it by $20. So they gave me the $20 Apple gift card as a bonus. Now I have a $20 Apple Card I can't really use... maybe I'll buy a really expensive screen protector for my iPhone?

It would be nice to move this credit to the iTunes store, dammit.

[Spheric Harlot]

You can buy an iTunes gift card in variable amounts now, I've heard.

[Thorzdad]

Yes, but you can't use your Apple Store credit to buy it.

[mindwaves]

Somewhat relevant:

DailyTech - OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.3 Update Now Available

The ability to redeem iTunes gift cards in the Mac App

[Spheric Harlot]

Not really relevant.

iTunes credit has always worked in the Mac App Store. You just couldn't redeem cards directly there.

This is about APPLE Store credit.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

A relative from another province gave me an Apple gift card last Christmas - the nearest Apple Store is a couple thousand miles away from me. Apple could offer me no solution other than swiping it at an Apple Store. I also found out the hard way that they can be pretty useless.