Paying for my own purchases in Family Sharing

Hi McKinleyMC,

Purchases made while in a Family Sharing are billed first to any credit on your account, such as gift cards or store credit. If neither of these is present on your account, only then will it be billed to the credit card associated with the Family Sharing account. See this article -

Family purchases and payments - Apple Support

So the way to do what you describe would be to use iTunes gift cards, prepaid cards or other credits so that you always have a balance in your account sufficient to make any purchases you wish to make.

Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

Best,

Brett L

Hi Mary,

As stated above, when you are part of a Family Sharing group, the only payment methods that will be used before the group organizer's credit card are gift cards, prepaid cards and store credit. Your own personal credit card will not be considered.

If you wish to leave Family Sharing you can do so by following the steps in this article -

Leave Family Sharing - Apple Support

Of course once having removed yourself from Family Sharing, you would be responsible for your own purchases again and they could go on your credit card.

Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

Best,

Brett L

Brett L wrote:

Hi McKinleyMC,

Purchases made while in a Family Sharing are billed first to any credit on your account, such as gift cards or store credit. If neither of these is present on your account, only then will it be billed to the credit card associated with the Family Sharing account. See this article -

Family purchases and payments - Apple Support

So the way to do what you describe would be to use iTunes gift cards, prepaid cards or other credits so that you always have a balance in your account sufficient to make any purchases you wish to make.

Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

Best,

Brett L

This is really a terrible idea. Right now family sharing is set up under my wife's credit card. I want to buy music on my own credit card yet share it with my children. I'm extremely frustrated that I can no longer do this. I am not going to buy a gift card to make iTunes purposes. Change this system.

To solve this problem, I created a new Apple ID, (outside of the Family Sharing group), attached my credit card as payment method and gifted the items I wanted to buy to my original Apple ID. This way, you can also give something to another person in the group, without charging the credit card of the organizer.

McKinleyMC wrote:

Hi Brett,

Thank you for your response. I do have my own Credit Card associated with my apple id, I have for years and have made many purchases. But since my mom set up family sharing, the only option I can choose is her credit card and they ask me to verify by inputting her credit card verification code. The only other option is to cancel the purchase. I have read the support site, but it is written for the organizers of the family sharing, not for the other family members who are purchasing their own items. I hope this clarification is clearer. Thank you for your help.

Mary

Remove yourself from Family Shaing...

-> Leave Family Sharing - Apple Support

It’s only asking you to verify the organiser’s card e.g. to confirm your id, apart from a temporary store holding charge on her card the card won’t be charged, your balance will be used for the purchase.

I did just read on another forum that perhaps the organizer of family sharing has to be the one to redeem the gift cards

That's not right, an account's balance can't be shared - if it's redeemed onto the organiser's account it can only be used for the organiser's own purchases.

Asking for the credit card's security code can happen, it doesn't necessarily mean that the card will be charged (except for a temporary charge : About payment card authorization holds in the iTunes Store - Apple Support)

Dear Apple:

Purchases needs better controls, more transparency, better clarity with a family member is making a purchase.

1. An adult family member should be able to make their own purchases AND participate in family sharing of photos, calendar events, music etc!

Otherwise, DON'T CALL IT FAMILY SHARING...

I agree. I REALLY REALLY REALLY just HATE this. The quick, sarcastic, "just leave family sharing" answer is amazingly insulting and plain stupid. The reason why I'm in family sharing in the first place is to use the Find my iphone feature with my family. I have children and multiple devices, so I want to be able to login and see them. Family sharing is the way to do this.

It is shocking that no developers had the smarts to realize there's usually two parents in a family, and perhaps they would like to make purchases separately. AND still manage their kids. Two managers; separate purchases, doing different things with different likes and interests. This is really basic stuff; not being able to easily manage things is going to drive users away from Apple when some other company starts developing more useful options.

Does apple have an estimated date for a fix? Telling people to leave family sharing isn't a solution; it's just confirmation that family sharing doesn't work well yet.

Google play allows me to pick either the family or my personal account credit card. It is embarrassing that I have to go to an android to accomplish what I want

Get a Gift Card and add it to an account and the purchases will come off the gift card, not the main account holders credit card. ----- I did this but it is still asking for the Main Family Member's Account cc security code. How do I make it go/charge the itunes gift card i loaded to my own account?

That isn't true Brett.. I have $85 in my iTunes account, and when I try to make purchases it keeps going to my family sharing organizer asking for the code for credit card! It's been like that for months

I didn't think a balance could be shared.

Every time I have tried to make a purchase it asks for the code. I type in the code, and the CC is charged. Not just a holding charge but the whole amount of whatever my purchase is..

I just read that article attached, thank you, however that doesn't seem to be happening.