This is now March 2014. I'm trying to get Mavericks "free" but after I click on the free button, Apple still demands a credit card. I called a clerk. He said there is no way to bypass this requirement, unless I use an ITunes gift card ... which costs money, thereby rendering Mavericks un-free. I would like to register my deep displeasure at this subterfuge and this coercion. I hear that there is a way to enter a credit card, and then to delete it. If this approach works, it's still unsatisfactory, since my credit card would exist for a time and surely could be stored. If enough people complain, will Apple change this policy?