Article By: Cesar Garcia
As any other iPhone user, I need some apps. At first, I tried out a bunch of free apps, but after some time I gave in. I journeyed over to the for-pay side of the App Store. All that polish, all those big titles, all those non-fart apps. I have grown as an iPhone user, and I need more. Then, I think “Ok, it’s just this time,” and “It’s just $0.99. There’s a whole bunch of free apps that will continue making me happy,” and I get passed that one, but then I come back. “It’s just another one.” Another $0.99… $500.00 later, you realize that it wasn’t just one.
This is the case for a lot of people. Well, not all these people live in the US, so some are probably getting hit with “International fees” in their credit card. In Portugal, and even though we do have a PT iTunes Store, the money goes directly overseas. My bank keeps cashing in on those fees for every app I get. 500+ apps later, at a mere 0,42€ every time (that’s what banks “usually” charge here), it already adds up to +200€!!! Just in fees! Hopefully I’ve been wise enough to have (at least) 70% free app buy rate, so those 200€ decrease drastically. Still, I had to find a better (cheaper) way. Insert iTunes gift cards.
As most know, you can gift iTunes money to people. Buy an iTunes gift card, e-mail it to someone and they can redeem that money into their iTunes account. Every purchase from then on bills their iTunes balance — not the credit card. These gift cards extend to apps as one would expect, so you just have to offer yourself the gift card. Boom! International fees from app purchases avoided completely. You’re still charged the fee for buying the card, but if you buy a “big” card (iTunes tops at 50€ per card) you can buy a whole bunch of apps, fees free, before you need to reload your account with another gift card.
I asked around, and most my friends either didn’t know about the fee at all (They’re kinda pissed now) or they had never thought of this. So, as obvious as it may seem, I still hope it helps some of you “International people”, save a couple of coins!
Photo Credit: penguincakes
