How to Redeem an iTunes Promotional Code on your iPhone

If you're reading this, hopefully that means that you have a promotional code that you need to enter into iTunes -- either a code for a free app or a gift card code -- and we're excited for you because we like free stuff! In this blog post, we're going to provide directions for how to enter that code from the App Store app on your iPhone.  You can also redeem your code in iTunes on your computer, but we will leave that to another post.


Before you open the App Store app, it's a good idea to open the email containing the promotional code on your iPhone, and copy it to your clipboard.  While reading the email, if you tap and hold on the screen, a cursor and magnifier will appear, allowing you to place a cursor near the promotional-code text.  After you get the cursor in the right area, lift your finger from the screen, and tap "select".  If your cursor was close enough, the code might be highlighted for copying, or you might need to adjust the selection range a bit.  After the selection range is correct, tap "copy".

Now that we have the code ready to go, click the physical Home button to return to your home screen, and then tap on the App Store icon to launch the App Store.  Click on the "Featured" section in the lower-left corner of the screen.  Scroll to the very bottom of the "Featured" section, and you should see two buttons: "Redeem" and "Account: <Your email address>".   If you see "Redeem" and "Sign In", tap "Sign In" to get yourself signed in to your iTunes Store account.  If you're signed in, tap "Redeem". 

Almost done!  Now, tap on the text field that says "Code" for entering the promotional code, and then tap on it once again after the keyboard pops up.  You should see a little popup to paste your text, tap "Paste".  Make sure that your promotional code looks correct (and that you didn't accidentally copy a little extra junk along with the code), and then tap "Go" on the keyboard or "Redeem" in the upper right.  Assuming the code is valid, good things should start happening in a moment!