when renting iTunes movies the rental purchase gets debited from my credit card instead of the gift card

Hey there Billjumps,

Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. I understand funds for renting a movie from iTunes is being taken from your credit card instead of your gift card. I’ll be happy to help.

If you’ve redeemed the gift card and have a positive balance on your account, iTunes should attempt to use that before using a different payment method. These articles provides more info:

How App Store and iTunes Store purchases are billed

View your Apple ID balance

Are you using the correct account on your Apple TV or do you use Family Sharing in your household? I ask because the article mentions charges on other accounts in a Family Sharing group will charge your card. To make sure you’re using the correct account, look at this article:

Share Apple TV with multiple users

Have you redeemed the gift card yet? If not, do that and make sure it shows the balance available on your account:

Redeem App Store & iTunes Gift Cards and content codes

Let me know if these steps help.