What You Can (and Can’t) Use an Apple Gift Card For

Apple Gift Cards are one of the most common Apple-related gifts given during the holidays, so if you’ve received one today, here are all of the things you can and cannot use it for.

After redeeming an Apple Gift Card, the value is added to the Apple Account balance and automatically applies at checkout when making eligible purchases. It can be spent on a wide range of Apple products, services, and digital content.

Apple Gift Cards are marketed as a single, flexible balance that works across Apple’s ecosystem, but there are clear limits on what they can and cannot be used for once redeemed to an Apple Account.

What Apple Gift Cards Can Be Used For

• Purchasing Apple hardware and accessories on apple.com, in the Apple Store app, or in an Apple retail store.
• Using the balance toward Apple hardware when checking out, with any remaining cost paid using another payment method.
• Buying apps and games on the App Store, including in-app purchases.
• Paying for digital media, including movies, TV shows, and books through Apple’s digital storefronts.
• Covering subscriptions to Apple services such as Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+ storage, as well as eligible third-party app subscriptions billed through the ‌App Store‌.

What Apple Gift Cards Can’t Be Used For

• Making purchases outside Apple’s ecosystem, such as goods or services from non-Apple retailers.
• Starting certain recurring payments, such as AppleCare+ plans, without an additional credit or debit card on file.
• Redeeming or using balances across different countries or regions, as gift cards are typically region-locked.
• Transferring to or purchasing other gift cards.
• Exchanging for cash or cash equivalents.

While Apple Gift Cards are intentionally designed to be more versatile than older ‌App Store‌ or ‌Apple Store‌–only gift cards, they still come with some limits. For users, the key distinction is that Apple Gift Cards work best for Apple-direct purchases and subscriptions, but they can’t replace a traditional payment method for gifting or non-Apple spending.