Redeem guide

How to Redeem an Apple Gift Card

Q: How do I redeem an Apple Gift Card?

Open the App Store on iPhone, iPad, or Mac, tap or click your photo, then choose Redeem Gift Card or Code and enter the 16-digit code from the back of the card. Or visit apple.com/redeem in any browser, sign in with your Apple Account, and enter the code there.

Q: Where do I enter my Apple Gift Card code?

On iPhone or iPad: App Store > your photo > Redeem Gift Card or Code. On Mac: App Store > your name in the sidebar > Redeem Gift Card. On Windows: iTunes > Account > Redeem. On the web: apple.com/redeem.

Q: Why is my Apple Gift Card not working?

The four most common causes are a region mismatch between the card and your Apple Account, a typo in the 16-digit code (especially O vs 0), a retail card that wasn’t activated at the register, or a card someone already redeemed before it reached you. See the troubleshooting section above for the fix in each case.

Q: Can I redeem an Apple Gift Card from another country?

Only if your Apple Account is set to the card’s country. A US Apple Gift Card requires a US Apple Account; a UK card needs a UK Apple Account. You can switch your account’s country under Settings > Your Name > Media & Purchases, but the account must have a zero balance and no active subscriptions before Apple lets you change the region.

Q: Do Apple Gift Cards expire?

No. Apple Gift Cards and the Apple Account balance they fund don’t expire and aren’t subject to dormancy fees. A code sitting in your inbox or on the back of a physical card is still good years later.

Q: How long does Apple Gift Card redemption take?

A few seconds. Once you tap or click Redeem, the balance appears in your Apple Account immediately and is available to spend on the next App Store, Apple Music, iCloud+, or apple.com purchase.

Q: Can I transfer my Apple Gift Card balance to another Apple Account?

No. Apple permanently binds redeemed balances to the Apple Account that submitted the code — there is no transfer mechanism between accounts. If you redeemed to the wrong account, sign in to that account to spend the balance, or contact Apple Support with the code and the purchase receipt for a fraud review.

iPhone, Mac, Windows, or web — and what to do when a code won't work

Apple accepts the same 16-digit code on every surface, and the balance lands in your Apple Account in seconds. Pick the device you already have open and follow the steps below.

Code format

16-digit code

Enter all 16 digits exactly as shown on your card.

Jump to redeem steps

Quick Answer: Redeeming Your Apple Gift Card

To redeem an Apple Gift Card, open the App Store on iPhone, iPad, or Mac, tap your photo, and choose Redeem Gift Card or Code — or visit apple.com/redeem and sign in. Enter the 16-digit code on the back and the balance lands in your Apple Account in seconds, spendable on the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud+, and apple.com hardware.

Where to Redeem Your Apple Gift Card

Apple Gift Cards redeem the same 16-digit code on every Apple surface — the App Store on iPhone, iPad, and Mac; iTunes on Windows; and the web at apple.com/redeem. Sign in with the Apple Account tied to the card’s country/region storefront before redeeming, because cards are region-locked to the country they were sold for. The balance lands in your Apple Account immediately.

On iPhone or iPad

The fastest path — the App Store can scan the printed code with the camera, so there’s nothing to type.

Open the App Store app on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap the sign-in button or your photo at the top of the screen.
Tap Redeem Gift Card or Code.
Tap Use Camera and point the camera at the 16-digit code on the back of the card. To skip the scan, tap Enter Code Manually and type the code.
Tap Redeem to add the balance to your Apple Account.

For a digital Apple Gift Card delivered by email, open the gift email and tap Redeem Now — it opens the App Store with the code already filled in.

On Mac

The Mac App Store handles redemption from the sidebar once you’re signed in with the right Apple Account.

Open the App Store from the Dock or Applications folder.
Click your name (or the Sign In button) at the bottom of the left sidebar.
Click Redeem Gift Card.
Enter the 16-digit code from the back of the card and click Redeem.

On a Windows PC (iTunes)

Windows users redeem through Apple’s iTunes app. If iTunes isn’t installed, the web flow below works in any browser without an install.

Open iTunes on your PC and sign in with your Apple Account.
From the menu bar at the top, choose Account > Redeem.
Enter the 16-digit code and click Redeem to apply the balance to your Apple Account.

On the Web

The web flow is the universal fallback — any browser, any operating system, no app needed.

Go to apple.com/redeem in any browser.
Sign in with the Apple Account you want the balance to land in.
Enter the 16-digit code from the back of the card.
Click Redeem to add the balance to your Apple Account.

The redeemed balance binds permanently to the Apple Account that submits the code — Apple cannot move funds between accounts after redemption, so double-check which account is signed in before you click Redeem.

What You Can Buy with an Apple Gift Card

An Apple Gift Card funds your Apple Account balance, which acts as a universal credit across every Apple storefront. You can spend it on App Store apps and in-app purchases, Apple Music and Apple TV+ subscriptions, iCloud+ storage, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Books, movies, TV shows, and any hardware sold on apple.com — including iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, and accessories.

What an Apple Gift Card can’t do: the balance isn’t transferable between Apple Accounts after it’s redeemed, it can’t be converted back to cash, and it doesn’t work at third-party retailers like Best Buy or carrier stores. The unified Apple Gift Card (introduced in 2020) replaced the older App Store & iTunes and Apple Store cards, so any modern Apple Gift Card covers both digital purchases and apple.com hardware on the same balance.

Why Your Apple Gift Card Code Isn’t Working

Most Apple redemption failures trace back to one of five causes. Walk through them in order — region mismatch is the dominant problem and the one most often misdiagnosed.

Wrong country or region

Apple Gift Cards are tied to the storefront they were sold for. A US Apple Gift Card can only be redeemed by a US Apple Account; a UK card requires a UK Apple Account, a Japan card a Japan account, and so on. If you see “This code can only be redeemed in the country or region in which it was issued”, the card and account regions don’t match. Either redeem on an Apple Account set to the card’s country, or change your Apple Account’s country under Settings > Your Name > Media & Purchases > View Account > Country/Region. Apple requires a zero balance and no active subscriptions before it lets you switch.

Invalid code

Re-check the 16-digit code character by character. The most common typos are O for zero, 1 for the letter I, and 8 for B. Apple codes use uppercase letters and digits only — no spaces, dashes, or lowercase letters. If the iPhone camera scanner keeps failing, lighting and angle are the usual culprits; switch to manual entry and the error usually clears.

Card not yet activated

Retail Apple Gift Cards bought at supermarkets, gas stations, and big-box stores have to be activated at the register at the moment of sale. If the receipt doesn’t show a successful activation, the code won’t redeem even though it looks valid. Take the card and the receipt back to the store and ask the cashier to activate it — or, if the receipt is unreadable, to void the sale and re-ring.

Code already redeemed

If Apple returns “This code has already been used” and you know you didn’t redeem it, the card was likely activated and tested by someone before it reached you — a known retail fraud pattern, especially on cards sitting on open peg hooks. Contact Apple Support with the full 16-digit code, the purchase receipt, and any details about the cashier or seller; Apple can trace which Apple Account redeemed the balance and may refund or reissue when fraud is confirmed.

Redeemed to the wrong Apple Account

This is the most painful failure mode — the code works, but the balance lands on the wrong Apple Account. Apple permanently binds gift-card balances to whichever account submitted the code, and there is no transfer mechanism. The only practical fix is to sign in to the account that received the balance and spend from there. If that account isn’t one you control, contact Apple Support immediately with the code and proof of purchase.

Where to Buy an Apple Gift Card Online

If you’ve already used the card and need another, or you landed here mid-research deciding where to buy, MyGiftCardSupply sells official Apple Gift Cards by email in 1–3 minutes — the same 16-digit codes Apple’s retail cards carry. Pick the denomination and region that matches the Apple Account you intend to redeem on: a US Apple card for a US Apple Account, a UK Apple card for a UK Apple Account, and so on.

MyGiftCardSupply ships Apple Gift Cards for more than 20 country storefronts, accepts PayPal, credit and debit cards, and Bitcoin, and has delivered to 10,000+ customers worldwide. Buy an Apple gift card online and the code lands in your inbox in a couple of minutes.

Sources

Apple Support — How to redeem your Apple Gift Card, Apple Support — If you can’t redeem your Apple Gift Card, Apple Support — Redeem a gift card on Mac, Apple Support — Use an Apple Gift Card in iTunes on PC.