Note: This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.
In my never-ending quest to review stuff that a normal person would
think unreviewable, I came across the iTunes $15 silhouette gift card.
You're probably thinking that there's not much to write about a gift
card. It's a good thing that I'm not normal.
The iTunes gift card is like many other gift cards. You buy one of these at a store, such as The Apple Store or Walgreens. The card is activated when you pay $15 and the cashier completes the transaction. (I've also seen it where you can get one free when buying several other cards or when you buy something else, like an iPod.)
Once activated, you open iTunes and click on the ‘redeem' button on the main page. There's an area that you scratch, much like a lottery ticket, that reveals a PIN. This is what you enter into iTunes. (This prevents someone else writing down the code and waiting for you to purchase the card.) Your account is thus credited $15 to use on music, apps or anything else iTunes has to offer.
If I recall, you need some form of payment, such as a credit card or PayPal account, to sign up for iTunes. If this is true, you may be asking why you'd want to use a gift card. Not everyone that has a credit card wants to use it. Some people prefer to use cash. There are also cases where someone may want to give an iTunes gift card to someone else, but don't have an account of their own.
You have to be careful because there are several different variations on this gift card. All are fine, since they all work the same way. The difference is how they're packaged. The ones that you get at the Apple Store come with a cardboard-like backing. Others are larger and have a top part that you can break off. Others are the larger size, but don't have a top part that can be broken off.
With the first two forms, you can remove the unnecessary part and put the working part of gift card in your wallet. With the third form, you have to hold on to the whole thing. Also, if you buy the card at the Apple Store, you can get a fitted envelope if you plan to give the card to someone.
The only downside to using the gift card versus a credit card directly through iTunes is that the gift cards come in whole dollar amounts. ($15, $25, $50 or $100.) The music is not often sold in whole dollar amounts, so you'll always have a little bit left over. This isn't a problem; if you want to purchase something that costs more than what you have left, the remainder will be billed to whatever form of payment you have on file.
I should warn you to check your receipt before leaving the store where you bought the card. I once bought a card from a gas station and the person ringing me up didn't enter it properly. When I got home, I found that the card didn't work; he had rung it up under a generic code. Fortunately, the gas station took it back, but I've heard of people that work at airports pretending to ring up a card, but keeping the money instead.
Except for the once instance, the card has always worked. It's definitely worth looking in to.
The iTunes gift card is like many other gift cards. You buy one of these at a store, such as The Apple Store or Walgreens. The card is activated when you pay $15 and the cashier completes the transaction. (I've also seen it where you can get one free when buying several other cards or when you buy something else, like an iPod.)
Once activated, you open iTunes and click on the ‘redeem' button on the main page. There's an area that you scratch, much like a lottery ticket, that reveals a PIN. This is what you enter into iTunes. (This prevents someone else writing down the code and waiting for you to purchase the card.) Your account is thus credited $15 to use on music, apps or anything else iTunes has to offer.
If I recall, you need some form of payment, such as a credit card or PayPal account, to sign up for iTunes. If this is true, you may be asking why you'd want to use a gift card. Not everyone that has a credit card wants to use it. Some people prefer to use cash. There are also cases where someone may want to give an iTunes gift card to someone else, but don't have an account of their own.
You have to be careful because there are several different variations on this gift card. All are fine, since they all work the same way. The difference is how they're packaged. The ones that you get at the Apple Store come with a cardboard-like backing. Others are larger and have a top part that you can break off. Others are the larger size, but don't have a top part that can be broken off.
With the first two forms, you can remove the unnecessary part and put the working part of gift card in your wallet. With the third form, you have to hold on to the whole thing. Also, if you buy the card at the Apple Store, you can get a fitted envelope if you plan to give the card to someone.
The only downside to using the gift card versus a credit card directly through iTunes is that the gift cards come in whole dollar amounts. ($15, $25, $50 or $100.) The music is not often sold in whole dollar amounts, so you'll always have a little bit left over. This isn't a problem; if you want to purchase something that costs more than what you have left, the remainder will be billed to whatever form of payment you have on file.
I should warn you to check your receipt before leaving the store where you bought the card. I once bought a card from a gas station and the person ringing me up didn't enter it properly. When I got home, I found that the card didn't work; he had rung it up under a generic code. Fortunately, the gas station took it back, but I've heard of people that work at airports pretending to ring up a card, but keeping the money instead.
Except for the once instance, the card has always worked. It's definitely worth looking in to.
