Why was I charged for the gift card that I received during the Black Friday promotion?

I didn't buy anything at this year's sale, but in previous years they took the price of the gift card off the qualifying device and charge full price for the gift card. It works out to be the same total as if they charged full price for the device and gave you the card free.

($device - $card) + $card = $device + 0

I ordered an iMac on December 2nd, 2019 through Apple.com. I was offered a $200 gift card with my purchase. I did receive a $200 gift card through e-mail to use with Apple right after my purchase. All was good until I looked at my credit card statement. They had charged me separately for the iMac, in which there was no discount, and then an extra $200 for the gift card. The gift card was supposed to be a "gift" not something I had the honor of purchasing if I made a purchase. I will be calling them. This seems to be a problem for many people. I hope they resolve it.

Thank you for confirming this. I highly encourage you to speak to another Apple advisor as you should not have paid for this gift card.

Hello,

Where did you purchase this iPad?

You are welcome. Hopefully they can figure out a solution to this problem. It defeats the purpose of taking advantage of Apple's Black Friday sale!

Whichever item is discounted, the gift card has always been for use only at Apple. Whether that’s what you wanted or not, they are up front about it. No scam involved.