My mother-in-law bought my son a $250 CAD Apple gift card in Canada. Canadian Roblox cards had worked on his account before, but the store did not have any available, so she purchased an Apple gift card instead. We live in the United States, and the card appears to be region-locked, so it cannot be redeemed on his U.S. Apple Account. The retailer says the funds have already been transferred to Apple and cannot be refunded, while Apple says purchases made through a retailer are not eligible for a refund or currency conversion. Is there any legitimate way to use, transfer, or resell the card without losing the entire amount?
3 Answers
You may be able to sell or trade it through a reputable gift-card exchange service. Expect to take a discount, especially because it is denominated in Canadian dollars and can only be used in Canada. Verify the platform's rules and avoid anyone asking for payment details or access codes before the transaction is protected.
Redeeming the balance to your mother-in-law's Canadian Apple Account will not make it shareable with a U.S. family member. Apple Account balances generally cannot be transferred between accounts, and Family Sharing does not combine or move gift-card balances. The balance also cannot normally be used to purchase physical Apple hardware or converted into a different country's gift card.
Apple gift cards are region-specific. A Canadian card generally has to be redeemed by an Apple Account set to Canada, so it will not work directly on a U.S. account. The practical options are to return it to your mother-in-law for her to use, or find a trusted buyer or recipient in Canada. Be very cautious with online gift-card marketplaces because scams and steep discounts are common.
Unfortunately, she barely uses her phone, and the other relatives who might have used it are also in the U.S., so finding someone in Canada may be difficult.
That matches what Apple told us: adding it to her account would leave the balance tied to her, and it would not help us use it for purchases in the U.S.