Everyone loves a good gift card. They are great to give when you just don’t know what to get someone, can be bought at many places (whether using apps like Prezzee, visiting somewhere like Coles, Woolworths, or the retailer direct), and can also be picked up at a discount more often than not – especially online. (thanks OzBargain!)
Earlier this month, the ‘Apple Gift Card‘ became available for use in Australia, after originally launching in the United States back in July last year.
Now, what’s new about the Apple Gift Card, you may ask?
Previously, there have been two separate types of Apple gift cards – those that can be used at Apple Retail Stores and online at apple.com, for anything physical – a new iPhone, iPad, Mac, headphones, you name it.
There was also the ‘App Store & iTunes‘ gift cards, with different branding over the years – from ‘iTunes’ to ‘App Store’ to ‘iTunes & App Store’ or ‘Apple Music’ cards, but the end result was the same – a balance added to your Apple ID that you could use for things digitally from the App Store (buying apps, in-app purchases), iTunes (music, movies, TV shows, ringtones) and subscriptions (Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud, and other in-app subscriptions)
Once you had one gift card, it couldn’t be used for the other; which could lead to confusion (eg, a gift card for the Apple Store couldn’t be redeemed for use in iTunes)
The Apple Gift Card combines the two, and replaces both – now, one gift card is available, and you can use it for either – purchases on hardware from Apple, or for digital things on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
If you’ve still got App Store & iTunes gift cards you haven’t redeemed yet, or already have a balance – they are now ready for use in your ‘Apple Account Balance’ – meaning they can be used anywhere; Apple.com, iTunes or the App Store.
A nice perk if you managed to pick up discounted iTunes cards (as often run by Coles, Woolworths, Officeworks with discounts up to 20%), which are sadly looking to become extinct now the same cards can be used for hardware.
You can buy Apple gift cards online from Apple that are emailed to the person within an hour – available in several designs, in amounts of $30, $50, $100, or a custom amount.
And if you still love buying gift cards from your local supermarket, they still sell the physical gift cards too.
They’ll probably start appearing on your local Coles, Woolworths, or other store shelves as they clear out the old App Store & iTunes branded cards.