Guide
How to spend leftover Apple Account balance
Apple does not cash out store credit and will not let you change country while a balance is left. Here is how to clear it down to zero in under a minute, without subscriptions, without wasted time.
TL;DR
Apple does not convert Apple Account balance back into money. The only way to spend a leftover balance is to buy something inside the App Store, iTunes, or a subscription. Zero Balance picks the closest combination of small App Store items to clear the balance to zero in under a minute.
Why Apple will not let you cash out
Apple Account balance is store credit, not a bank account. Apple's terms say the balance is non-refundable and spendable only inside their ecosystem: App Store, iTunes, Apple Books, iCloud, Apple Music, and so on. The only strategy is to spend it down.
Three ways people try this (and which actually work)
1) Buy one expensive app or subscription and hope the amount lines up exactly. In practice you almost always end with a few cents stuck.
2) Buy many tiny items manually - tedious and imprecise.
3) Find a combination of purchases that matches the leftover exactly - this is what Zero Balance does.
How Zero Balance does it
Zero Balance offers eight in-app price tiers, from very small to moderate. When you enter your remaining balance, the app finds the closest combination of those tiers, then shows you the plan - total, overage if any, and how many Apple confirmations it will need. Confirm the purchases and your balance trends to zero.
What if only a few cents are left
Then the plan will overshoot by exactly the smallest tier. The plan review screen shows the exact overage before you confirm. If you are okay paying a few cents extra to finally hit zero, go for it. If not, leave it.
Related questions
Can I get the money back instead of spending the balance?
No. Apple does not refund Apple Account balance back to a bank card. You can only refund a specific purchase via reportaproblem.apple.com.
Can I gift my balance to someone else?
No - the balance is tied to your Apple ID. You can only give an App Store gift card or gift a specific app.
Does this work with regional storefronts?
Yes. Zero Balance works with whichever App Store storefront you are signed into. Purchases and tiers are localized automatically.
Clear your balance in under a minute.
Free to download. Pay only for the small items you choose inside the App Store.