CJM53BIWA
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: How do you add an iTunes Gift Card so that all purchases of any members of a Family Sharing Group can use the credit?

How can all family members of a Family Sharing Group use a gift card that has been been applied to the iTunes master account? I added a gift card to our master iTunes account for my grandson, and even though he's a family sharing group member, none of the purchases I have approved from his requests have used the gift card credit. A search of the iTunes support site failed to turn up anything that even remotely addresses this topic. It would seem reasonable to assume that any purchase made by any family member should be able to use the gift card credit since all purchases go through the master account, but this does not appear to be the case.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1), iPad 4, iPhone 6+, Mac Pro

Posted on Jan 1, 2015 11:15 PM

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CJM53BIWA

Q: How do you add an iTunes Gift Card so that all purchases of any members of a Family Sharing Group can use the credit?

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  • by ssschmidt,

    ssschmidt ssschmidt Jan 1, 2015 11:26 PM in response to CJM53BIWA
    Level 5 (4,793 points)
    Jan 1, 2015 11:26 PM in response to CJM53BIWA

    iTunes credit can only be used by the account that redeems it.  The organizer's CREDIT CARD will be charged if there is not sufficient credit for the family members purchases.

     

    I understand what you are asking, but the way family sharing is set up, you would have to give each member their own gift cards.  Otherwise, you have to use the organizer's credit card on file to pay for the purchases.

  • by CJM53BIWA,

    CJM53BIWA CJM53BIWA Jan 1, 2015 11:34 PM in response to ssschmidt
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 1, 2015 11:34 PM in response to ssschmidt

    I see no way to add a gift card to my grandson's Apple ID, perhaps because he has a child account - I'm not sure. When trying enter payment information (for adding the gift card) it just defaulted to my master account. And, since only one account can be responsible for all purchases made by any family sharing member, I think Apple should make any purchase be able to use the gift card credit when it is applied to the organizer's account.

  • by ssschmidt,

    ssschmidt ssschmidt Jan 1, 2015 11:38 PM in response to CJM53BIWA
    Level 5 (4,793 points)
    Jan 1, 2015 11:38 PM in response to CJM53BIWA

    Regarding your statement about the gift card balance being used if redeemed to the organizers account - http://www.apple.com/feedback.

     

    Regarding redeeming the gift card to the child's account, it is the same as redeeming to yours.  You have to be signed in to the iTunes store using the child's apple ID, then redeem the gift card there.  If you already redeemed the card on your ID, you won't be able to redeem it again.

     

    Redeem and use iTunes Gift Cards and content codes - Apple Support

  • by CJM53BIWA,

    CJM53BIWA CJM53BIWA Jan 1, 2015 11:46 PM in response to ssschmidt
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 1, 2015 11:46 PM in response to ssschmidt

    I'm not sure one can redeem a gift card on a family member's account. I was on my grandson's iMac using his Apple ID with the latest OS X and iTunes. When trying to enter the gift card, I could see no way to enter it. Instead, it just defaulted to my payment information since that's the master account (in other words, there is no ability to enter separate payment information for a family member).

     

    I'd like to see evidence that someone has successfully entered a gift card on a family member's account that is not the organizer (payer) account. I could not see a way to make that happen using iTunes on his iMac. Obviously, if it was so easy to enter the gift card on his account, I wouldn't be wasting my time in this forum.

  • by CJM53BIWA,

    CJM53BIWA CJM53BIWA Jan 1, 2015 11:50 PM in response to ssschmidt
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 1, 2015 11:50 PM in response to ssschmidt

    From the Apple website: Your credit applies only to your account. If you use Family Sharing, other family members can't make purchases with your credit.

     

    So, maybe this is the answer - I think Apple should reconsider this policy.