iTunes Gift Certificates Not Accepted at Canadian App Store
You can’t use an iTunes gift certificate to buy applications on the Canadian App Store. I’ve experienced this myself, but never really looked into it before now. But it’s true. There’s even a thread about it on Apple’s Discussion Board.
Highlights include the difference in iTunes App Store Terms of Service between the US:
“10. PAYMENT METHODS. The Service accepts credit cards, payment through your PayPal account, and iTunes Cards, iTunes Store Gift Certificates, and Allowance Account balances as forms of payment.”
And Canada:
“10. PAYMENT METHODS. The Service accepts credit cards as the form of payment.”
Further down, we get what’s purported to be a response from Apple on the issue, which includes:
Due to tax laws and commerce restrictions for software in Canada, customers residing in Canada may only purchase games and applications using a credit card.
So, not only do we get hosed on data rates, don’t have access to US TV networks on iTunes (nor Hulu, etc.), not only do we have to pay more to “upgrade” music to iTunes Plus, but if by some miracle some kindly soul gives us an iTunes Gift Certificate, we can’t even use it on apps? Second class North Americans much?
(Yeah, okay, fine: #firstworldproblem)
Anyone have any deeper insight into these tax and commerce laws/restrictions of which they spake?
(Thanks to @deabush for pointing the ToS out to us as well!)
February 26th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
This sucks
February 26th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
I downloaded an app on my iPhone and had a credit in iTunes and it did not take away from that credit when I got home to check my account.
February 26th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
I don’t have a CC to get apps with, but at shoppers drug mart in Atlantic Canada you can get a Vanilla Pre-Paid Mastercard. I use that to get paid apps that I really want. I believe they come in $25, $50 and $100.
February 26th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Uh…this isn’t true at all. I use gift cards all the time to buy apps. It might be in the TOS but it’s just not true – I don’t have a credit card with my account (used a gift card to register it) and I have about 20 or 30 paid apps on my iPhone. This is also true for all of my friends. We all live in Canada.
February 26th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
great…I just recieved a $25 iTunes gift card…I had planned on downloading Beejive to begin with… so what exactly can I do with the gift card then?
February 26th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
“great…I just recieved a $25 iTunes gift card…I had planned on downloading Beejive to begin with… so what exactly can I do with the gift card then?”
Use it to buy apps. This info is incorrect. I buy apps with my Canadian account in Canada using Canadian gift cards all the time – I set up the account with a gift card and don’t even have a credit card nor have ever used one online. This info is just wrong.
February 26th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
@Lostgame
I know the info is NOT wrong. Those of us who setup their accounts with Credit Cards cannot use gift cards toward apps. I think the reason that it’s working for ya is because you setup your account with a gift card in the first place, but again, I am not so sure if that is the correct reason to why you can use a gift card in Canada.
All I know is that I setup my account with a credit card and I CANNOT use a gift card towards apps (so does all my friends in Canada).
February 26th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Howzis?: Canadian asks mostly US audience to explain Canadian tax law…?
Rene, we don’t even understand our OWN tax law…
Maybe this is a problem of tax law based on where item was sold, vs where item will be redeemed? (Card sold in Canada, redeemed via US site, and Canada Revenue gets no GST?
Perhaps Cards cross borders too easily?
February 26th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
It’s been like this since day one, and it sucks ***. Borrowed a credit card for Netshare, but beyond that it’s only free apps for me.
February 26th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
You guys can always apply for statehood and join the US.
February 27th, 2009 at 2:49 am
well, I can take Rene off my holiday iTunes gift giving then… ;D
February 27th, 2009 at 5:18 am
Yeah this does suck
February 28th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Are they ever gonna change this so we can buy apps with itunes card cause this just sucks
March 1st, 2009 at 4:02 pm
I live in Canada but I use an American acc for the content.
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I would pay the tax if it ment i could use my god damn gift card
March 4th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
I also live in Canada and I have never registered a credit card with Apple Canada. I created my account using a iTunes gift card. When it comes time to by an app there is a spot to enter a gift card number, when I put in my iTunes gift card number my account balance increases, but I am NOT able to use this balance to buy apps.
I am awaiting to try a pre-paid credit card.
This following is an excerpt from the email from Apple support.
Dear Walter,
I’m so glad you are interested in the iTunes Store. You can use any of the following payment methods to pay for your iTunes Store purchases. Please note up front, however, that prepaid Gift Cards from Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover may be rejected if you try to add them to your account.
CANADA Visa MasterCard American Express
Thanks
Sincerely,
Corbelino Carvalho iTunes Store Customer Support
March 11th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
This is absolutely true. I have an Itouch not a phone, but I couldn’t even buy the paid upgrades to the Ipod without a CC. When I spoke to someone at Apple they said that something in Canadian law prohibits selling software online without a CC. This is bull, because I’ve bought games and content from both Nintendo and Microsoft from game consoles with pre-paid cards.
March 17th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Hello,
I work for a consumer organisation in Québec, if you have trouble with iTunes gift card and the fact you cannot purchase applications or games on iTunes please contact me at hemond at consommateur.qc.ca If you want information please read (in French): http://www.consommateur.qc.ca/union-des-consommateurs/?p=305
March 19th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
I got a $25 card from my sister, said “Great! I can download some apps for my iPhone!”. Tried it last night and, because my credit card is no longer valid on that account, said “credit card declined”—but I have this nice $25 balance that the app store is NOT seeing.
Boooooo. I don’t download music and now I ‘have to’ to get my money’s worth from this card.
March 27th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I am quite unimpressed with the fact that I cannot by apps with my redeemed itunes card,because I live in Canada. I now have $50 balance that was intended for apps. This is brutal, now I want my money back. I do see a few people who say that they can buy apps from Canada with a gift card, any special instructions?
April 7th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Same thing happened to me, I have only used gift cards so far to buy music, but when I tried to buy a game it spit out that I had to use a credit card etc. This really sucks, and it should be made much more clearer than what is there. There is no warning until you try to buy it.
April 8th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
The itunes Canada store quick link to gift cards states they can be used for games. https://buy.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/buyLandingPage
That is from iTunes store Canada home page > Quick Links > Buy iTunes Gifts The first sentence: “The iTunes Store makes it easy to give songs, albums, playlists, audiobooks, music videos, TV shows and games to anyone.”
I think Apple should be making refunds!
May 21st, 2009 at 12:24 am
figured it out!! finally, you see us old itunes users only had one choice in the beginning… credit cards! which still does nt make sense why can t i download apps with a itunes cards and have a registered credit card?. well if you like me are stuck with this dilemma and can t figure why others can buy apps with a itunes card . here’s what you do , start a new account with itunes, buy a gift card redeem, do not fill out the credit card info and there you go, you can download what ever you want! stupid, way to go around things, see ya
May 26th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
@Ryan: That doesn’t work for me. I signed up with a gift card and still can’t purchase. I’ve given no credit card info.
June 20th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Ya im pretty upset that us Canadians can’t buy apps with itunes gift cards! They really need to do something about it because a lot of people are wasting there money on gift cards thinking that they are getiing apps.
I had to waste mine on TV shows.
HELP!
June 20th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
Wow if i knew that you couldnt use an itunes card to buy games i would NOT have wasted 25 bucks on it. it should say somewhere on the card that you can use it to buy everything except for apps.. non-refundable.. ill non-refundable you!
July 7th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Well I got $10 back from apple. I downloaded the 3.0 update for free. I suggest everyone does it. And guess what, I’m gonna use my friends jailbroken iPod and download every single apple made app and the upload it to the web
July 8th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Well if i cant use my itunes card at the canadian apps store and i am registered as a canadian then how do i get onto the american app store to by my apps this is stupid !!! HELP PLEASE!
July 10th, 2009 at 8:00 am
jgunner Says: June 20th, 2009 at 6:48 pm Wow if i knew that you couldnt use an itunes card to buy games i would NOT have wasted 25 bucks on it. it should say somewhere on the card that you can use it to buy everything except for apps.. non-refundable.. ill non-refundable you!
It says it right on the back of the itunes card “Not redeemable for all purchases such as iPod games and App store purchases.”
Wish I had read that before I bought a $50 card to go with my brand new iTouch… sigh 50 new songs now I guess…
July 30th, 2009 at 10:42 am
I just noticed a new “Redeem” button on new page of the apps store. Is this now working for Canadian customers?
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:03 pm
I just purchased an itunes gift card, and i was ready to buy some apps for my iphone, although, no matter how many times i tired, i couldnt get an app or a game, and the only thing i could buy was music and videos. so i read somewhere that you cant buy apps with itunes cards in CANADA! but then i read a solution, and they said that you would just have to make an new itunes account with the US store, and get another itunes card… is this true ? please help!
August 9th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Alright so bought a gift card last night to download some apps on my touch, and ran into the same problem as it sounds like all of you ran into, it wanted me to register with a CC, and then I read articles like this all over the net.. After the fact of course.. But dumb question.. They say that we can’t buy them because Canada has different tax laws right? What is the difference between the buying a song and an app, the tax laws are the same are they not? So if this was a true reason, you should not be able to buy anything with a gift card, plus shouldn’t it come with a warning that it isn’t good for apps and games? Since it says right on the front “Get the latest music, movies, tv shows, and more.” What is the and more if it isn’t games, apps, updates, or anything like that? Thats my rant and an apple rep will be getting the same one in about 10 mins..
August 13th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
This has happened to me aswell… It makes sense that the laws want to tax the **** out of us bu hopefully apple could work something out. There missing out on a lot of Canadian revenue.
August 15th, 2009 at 4:44 am
50USD US Itunes Account – $12.50
August 20th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
yup, I fell into the trap too. While it is not Apple’s fault Canadian taxes are messed up, it is Apple’s fault that they didn’t find a way around it like Nintendo or Sony, or that they didn’t make it clear on the card that it can’t be used for apps.
So… I’m gonna jailbreak my iPod and Crapple can be damned.
August 30th, 2009 at 10:15 am
I live in Canada also and I just wanna say that i bought a $25 and $15 gift card yesterday to buy some apps and games for my itouch and like Oroka said they dont even make it clear you cant use the gift cards for games or apps so now i have $40 worth of credit on my itunes account thats only good for music and video????? WTF is that, why dont they make it clear that if you live in canada and buy an itunes card you can only use it for MOVIES AND MUSIC….THEY SHOULD BE TELLING PEOPLE THESE THINGS DONT YOU THINK???
September 5th, 2009 at 10:59 am
I just got off the “chat mode” in iTunes support.
I was told that I can only purchase apps using a CC and cannot buy apps through a prepaid card.
When I asked if it was different money I received a reply that it is in the terms and conditions that I signed when setting up an account.
This sucks.
September 12th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Wish I’d found this page BEFORE I bought a gift card! I used it to create an account without entering any credit card info, but I wasn’t able to download the paid software update or any paid apps. Guess I’ll find some music or movies to waste it on… At least I only got the $15 card!
September 19th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Lostgame is having some kind of awesome glitch! I live in canada and started an acount with an iTunes card of 25 bucks. It wouldn’t let me buy apps so I contacted the apple store support.
They said you need a credit card to buy apps because we r CANADIANS!!
It’s soooooooooooooooo unfair. Especialy when u don’t own a credit card.
September 25th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
If you can’t buy software form apple via pre-paid cards, then how is it that I can buy games from Xbox Canada via pre-paid cards… (same also with my Wii) WTF is Apple lying about then? Why did I buy an Apple with razor blades hidden in it?
September 26th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
oh well, at least we get medicare haha
September 27th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Well I guess thast why you gotta jailbreak your ipod, That way all the apps are free.
September 30th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
I’ve been pursuing this issue for some time. The Canadian Minister of Industry (Hon. Tony Clement) has stated in a letter to my MP and myself that he is unaware of any Canadian laws preventing me from using iTunes store credit for purchasing apps. See his letter here:
http://www.jimwhitelaw.com/2009/09/itunes-credit-in-canada.html
October 16th, 2009 at 1:26 am
It all boils down to the fact that Apple does not want to have to pay the Canadian taxes. That is it, plain and simple! I know this from my sister working for Apple (through a temporary service), and it is taught in training classes to state that it is “due to international tax laws”, which it really is. If it is phrased that way, it is not a lie. Apple does not want to pay the taxes for the apps, and the don’t want to alienate their customer base by being honest with them.
Let me give you a little more information: many, many Apple agents are employees of temporary agencies, working in call centers that are full of nothing but temp workers. They are required to take 3-4 chats at a time. When you answer one of the surveys after a chat, email, or phone call, anything less than 4, out of a scale from 1-5, can get the agent fired. If you state that you hate Apple policy and give a “Meets Expectations” or lower on any section of the survey, it is counted against the employee. Apple does not care if you place in the notes that you loved the agent but are unhappy with Apple’s policies. They are so concerned with their JD Powers standing that they don’t give a **** about all the temporary workers they have through Volt and Kelly Services, and other agencies!
November 5th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Ive bought and used US itunes cards here with no problems. You just have to switch to the US store in itunes before entering the code. I great place to get itunes gift cards is http://iTunes-GiftCard.com Great service, quick delivery!
November 5th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Ooops, made a typo, the site name is http://iTunes-GiftCards.com The other site I don’t know at all
November 6th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
it’s nice.. i may try to put it on my mozilla firefox… but how about internet explorer?
November 20th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
thank u all 4 warning me,i was going 2 buy one now i have no choice unless jailbreaking it