Apple is running a reload promotion with an extra 10% bonus. If you have in-app purchase needs and haven’t used your streaming credit yet, this may be worth considering. That said, Apple is as “generous” as ever—only once? Also, only personal versions of the Platinum Card (including various co-branded versions) have the streaming credit, so this is effectively just an extra $2. Not much. Kindle Gifting has been feeling delayed pretty often lately, so if you won’t have time to use Kindle Gifting to convert to an Amazon gift card, this could be another option.

[The quick news below was originally published on 05/06]

Many readers probably already know that reloading your Apple ID can trigger the AMEX streaming credit. See the article below:

If you really don’t watch video and don’t like the more “complicated” methods we’ve covered, directly reloading your Apple ID or Google Play balance is an excellent option. Just load $20 each month and you’re done. Of course, it’s hard to say whether AMEX will ClawBack later; KUKU doesn’t think so, but YMMV. After all, you could reasonably say you loaded Apple to subscribe to streaming services, which is a pretty solid explanation.

Reloading your Apple ID or Google Play balance does not expire, and you can use it later to buy apps or subscribe to services, such as Express VPN. Why not?

Apple has always had anti-Fraud policies, so you may find that a newly added card’s Payment won’t go through. Here are a few tips from KUKU:

  • First, you must have a US-region ID (obviously).
  • Second, newly added cards are restricted. You must wait 24h (possibly 12h) before you can reload Apple with them. The author personally called to confirm this. Back when people were getting the free $10 from PayPal, customer service manually removed the restriction for me. To be safe, add the card and wait 24h before reloading.
  • Finally, move the card you want to use to the top in Apple Store Payment settings. By default, Apple uses the top card, so don’t charge the wrong one.

If you’re too impatient and try to reload immediately after adding the card, you’ll see the screen below. Don’t keep trying multiple times, or Payment on your other cards may also fail for a while. My suggestion is to add all of your Platinum cards first. Then, if you really can’t use the credits elsewhere or can’t finish using them, reload your balance instead. (Minimum reload is $2.)