Mac App Store - No Credit Card

David.Austin.Allen wrote:
Shut down the Mac App Store (MAS) app and forget about it for a few minutes and then concentrate on the iTunes Store. Using iTunes, open your iTunes Store account using your Apple ID and configure it the way that you wish to use it; with or without a bank card, with iTunes gift cards or, if available, a PayPal account. After you have completely setup the iTunes account quit iTunes and return to the MAS. Using the MAS should now be the simple matter of verifying your account with no need to offer a bank card's information.

that doesn't work if you have an apple ID that has never been used with either store. there is no "none" option for the credit card details, and it won't let you finish without putting in credit card details.

EDIT: i mean in the itunes store, and yes i've tried both.

Message was edited by: Tardis42

Then perhaps that is a characteristic that is different for some country's iTunes store and not others. I just went through the motions of setting up a new account in the iTunes Store for Mexico and the payment methods offered were;
1. iTunes gift cards
2. MasterCard or VISA
3. None.

However, when I tried the same thing in the Australian* iTunes Store I can confirm that I was not offered that option. So perhaps Apple has greater expectations for the financial abilities of 1st world folk which they do not expect from those of us in the developing world.

*By OZ I am assuming that you are a friend of Dorothy's Down Under. BTW, you folk are in all of our thoughts, as are the many brothers and sisters of South America and South Asia during this time of floods and extreme weather in the southern hemisphere.

You couldn't download free app maybe because you are trying to look for a download button. We'll this is not showing in the AppStore. To download free Apps on account without credit card, just select the free items you want and you will be redirected to the preview of the App. On the preview page you can see the Free button with a drop down arrow that lists Copy link or Tell a Friend. Just click the Free button and the App will be downloaded and installed in the dock. Hope this solves all your problems on downloading free App using AppStore.

Message was edited by: billcrusher

Perhaps you should read closer because everyone knows that you can get free downloads and that is not the issue here. The issue here is that in order to open an iTunes account, *even if all you want are the free downloads*, in some country's iTunes Store/Mac App Store you MUST have a bank card to open the account. But that is not true of all country's iTunes Store/Mac App Store.

Please read. This HAS worked in my case.

Firstly, I went into iTunes, logged into my account and checked to see that I had no credit card on file. I did not. Then, I logged in with the same account into the Mac App Store and it simply told me to agree to the revised terms and conditions. And hey, presto, I downloaded my free app.

Hope this helped.

.

Message was edited by: David.Austin.Allen

I have come across a method for creating an iTunes account that does not require a bank card. It is legitimate because it is an article from the Apple Knowledge base. If you follow these instructions for opening an account in iTunes without a bank card, you should be able to then close iTunes, open the Mac App Store, verify your existing iTunes account and download the free apps.

Here is the link to the instructions;
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2534

I just tested this method in the Canadian, Australian, and US iTunes Stores and every time I was given the option to create a new account with no bank card.

@Bill Crusher, Helpful Lad
yes you can download free apps. That would be fine, the issue is signing in without needing to provide credit card details.

David.Austin.Allen wrote:
I have come across a method for creating an iTunes account that does not require a bank card. It is legitimate because it is an article from the Apple Knowledge base. If you follow these instructions for opening an account in iTunes without a bank card, you should be able to then close iTunes, open the Mac App Store, verify your existing iTunes account and download the free apps.

Here is the link to the instructions;
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2534

I just tested this method in the Canadian, Australian, and US iTunes Stores and every time I was given the option to create a new account with no bank card.

Yes, i've seen that. It works. BUT, i already have an Apple ID, but it has never been used on either the App Store or the iTunes store. The "confirm your details" pages that pop up when you attempt to sign in with an account that hasn't been used on either store before - even if you follow that articles suggestion to get the sign-in/new account dialog by clicking a free app - Doesn't have a "none" option on the "payment details" page.

I shouldn't need to create a new apple ID to get free apps without providing credit card details. Besides, my existing apple ID is tied to my main email account.

Message was edited by: Tardis42

The "confirm your details" pages that pop up when you attempt to sign in with an account that hasn't been used on either store before - even if you follow that articles suggestion to get the sign-in/new account dialog by clicking a free app - Doesn't have a "none" option on the "payment details" page.

That was not my experience following the steps in the linked Apple Knowledge Base article in three different iTunes Stores which I tested before reporting here; US, Australia and Canada. In all three stores in the area requesting bank card info there were radio buttons for MasterCard, Visa, AmEx, etc., and None. The exact card options were different in each store.

Click to view full size - this was in the US iTunes Store

RacerX I keep seeing you say Apple does not require a credit card to download free apps...but in reality it does.
I have been trying to download free apps from the app store to Mac and it wont let me proceed without entering credit card info.
Does anyone know any way around this?

We have given the link from Apple for how to create an iTunes account without a bank card more than once here. A Mac App Store account is an iTunes Store account. If you successfully set up the iTunes Store account first, without a bank card, you can then sign into that same account from within the Mac App Store with a simple verification of the account and download all of the free apps that you want.

So here it is again;
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2534
Follow the instructions precisely for creating the iTunes account from a Mac.

David.Austin.Allen wrote:
That was not my experience following the steps in the linked Apple Knowledge Base article in three different iTunes Stores which I tested before reporting here; US, Australia and Canada. In all three stores in the area requesting bank card info there were radio buttons for MasterCard, Visa, AmEx, etc., and None. The exact card options were different in each store.

Creating a new account? yes there's a "none" option.
trying to get my existing apple ID, that has never been used to log in to either store, to let me sign in? to either store? there isn't a "none" option.

I am using my existing Apple ID.

If you have only used that existing Apple ID to sign into the Apple Discussions or to make purchases from the Apple Store online and have never used that Apple ID to open an account in the iTunes Store, then you are creating a new iTunes account with it.

and when i do that, there is no "none" option.

http://img153.imageshack.us/i/screenshot20110124at629.png/

This is what i see if i click "new account" and follow the instructions.

http://img822.imageshack.us/i/screenshot20110124at631.png/

This is what i see if i try to sign in with my existing apple ID, that has never been used on any of the apple online stores, only on the forums & bugreporter

http://img546.imageshack.us/i/screenshot20110124at632.png/
(confirming of passwords etc)
http://img220.imageshack.us/i/screenshot20110124at633.png/

Why are you doing this in the Mac App Store?

If you scroll back to my instructions on JAN 17 I plainly explained that this is a method to set up an account in the iTunes Store first following the instructions offered in the Apple Knowledge Base article. In that comment I said, "If you follow these instructions for opening an account in iTunes without a bank card, you should be able to then close iTunes, open the Mac App Store, verify your existing iTunes account and download the free apps."

1. Quit the Mac App Store app.
2. Open iTunes.
3. Chose iTunes Store in the left column and enter the iTunes Store. (Make sure that you are in the iTunes Store for your country by checking the flag icon by scrolling down to the bottom right corner of the page.)
4. From the iTunes Store menu bar, click to enter the App Store. (It should be between TV Shows and Podcasts in the iTunes Store menubar.)
5. After the iTunes App Store has opened, on the right side of the page find Top Charts, scroll down to Free Apps and click See All>.
6. Choose any free app and click the Free button.
7. In the window that instructs you to Sign in choose Create New Account.
8. Click Continue.
9. You'll need to read and agree to the iTunes Store Terms & Conditions. Make sure you check the box next to where it says "I have read and agree to the iTunes Terms and Conditions."
10. Click Continue.
11. Use your Apple ID for your email address and password, continue to create and answer your security question, then enter your birthday. Click Continue.
12. Select None as the payment option.
13. Continue to fill out the required name and address fields.
14. You'll then see a screen that says 'Verify your Account'. Click Done and then check your email for a verification email from iTunes Store.
15. Open the email and click the link enclosed in the email to activate your account.
16. Once you click on the link, iTunes should then prompt you to sign in with your account name and password.
17. You'll then see the below "Congratulations" screen. Click Done to be taken to the App Store home page.
18. Quit iTunes.
19. Open the Mac App Store app.
20. In the Mac App Store go to the Store dropdown menu and click Sign In.
21. Use your Apple ID that you just used to create your iTunes account.

From this point on it should be a simple matter of verifying the iTunes account information. After that you should be able acquire free apps.