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October 26, 2007

Early Adopters Aid Africa: iPhone Owners & Product Red

Every once in a while, an opportunity comes along that, although it may not be the most straightforward of choices, can help others with absolutely no increased cost to you. One such opportunity arose for our household earlier this summer when my husband Shane became an early adopter of the new Apple iPhone. I asked him to do a write-up here to share what he learned. So here it is:

Do you own an iPhone? Did you buy your iPhone before August 22nd? Do you know somebody who can answer yes to both? If so, that person qualifies for Apple's $100 credit for early adopters.

Hey, this isn't a gadget blog! Why is this guy talking about iPhones here?

Simple: There is a way to use your store credit to help Africa. I did.

There aren't that many interesting things you can buy from Apple for $100. Sure, you could put it towards a new iPod or something, but you did just get an iPhone... So one of the most useful purchases you can make with $100 is buying stuff through the iTunes Store - Music, Movies, Games, etc. It turns out that you can use your $100 store credit to buy iTunes Gift Cards (but not iTunes Gift Certificates).

iTunes Gift Cards come in a variety of themes, but one of them actually donates 10% of the profit to the (PRODUCT) RED campaign, which raises money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, primarily in Africa.

So, you can turn your $100 in to a bunch of songs and videos. However, if you make a wise choice of cards to buy, you can have an additional $10 go towards a good cause. It doesn't cost you anything additional to choose this card over the other themes, and you get four $25 (PRODUCT) RED gift cards, for yourself or to give as gifts for the upcoming holidays!

It's straightforward to do this, and fast. First, you go to the Apple site and claim your credit. They'll send your phone a free SMS message with a code that you then enter to get an Apple Store Credit number and PIN. This can then be used immediately in the online store to order four $25 (PRODUCT) RED cards. They only come in $25 denominations. The shipping was free for me, so may be free for you. I had to enter my credit card information as well as the Apple Store Credit information, but the $100 was fully deducted from the store credit and no charge was placed against my credit card.

So if you bought an iPhone early on and are eligible for this credit, please consider using it this way and telling your friends and acquaintances about it, as well!

Posted by shane at October 26, 2007 4:22 PM