In short: If your Spotify gift card is not working, clear your browser and computer cache before trying anything else. Gift cards won’t work for Premium Family, Duo, or Student.
Redeeming a Spotify gift card is easy, but often it’s not working. In this article, I’ll share with you all the possible reasons why a Spotify gift card is not valid, along with the proper solution.
Why is my Spotify gift card not working?
It’s annoying when you’re trying to activate a Spotify gift card only to find it not working. Here are 7 reasons why your Spotify gift card is not working, along with the solution.
1. Browser and computer cache needs clearing
When I was searching for an answer on Google, I noticed most people saying the same things over and over again. Here is the answer to getting your Spotify gift card to work:
Clear your browser and computer cache. It’s that simple.
Whichever browser you use, make sure to clear all cache, cookies, and browsing data. Then, clear the cache for your computer. Once you’ve done this, the gift card should work.
Do not do anything else before clearing your browser and computer cache, and don’t assume some poor cashier did not activate the card. Chances are, you have a perfectly good card.
2. The country of your account and gift card do not match
The gift card you are trying to redeem must match your Spotify account’s country and region settings. If the region between the two is different, the gift card won’t work.
Where did you buy the gift card? Did you buy it in a different country or received it from a friend? There is a good chance that the gift card is not made for your country.
You can learn more about Spotify’s country and region settings here.
3. You’ve entered the code incorrectly
Spotify gift card codes are alphanumeric characters, which means they are made of capitalized alphabets, numbers, or a combination of both. Make sure you enter the code correctly.
For example: try 0 (zero) instead of O, and I instead of l (lowercase L). If your code has been damaged and you can no longer read it, contact Spotify and they can help.
While it sounds simple, a lot of people have entered their gift card codes incorrectly. I think entering the wrong code happens to the best of us, so double-check the code you’ve entered.
Don’t worry if you entered the wrong code. Your gift card won’t be affected. After 4 wrong attempts, you will get an error message. If you do, you can try again after 24 hours.
4. The gift card has not been activated
Every Spotify gift card needs to be activated by the cashier of the store. If you bought your gift card from a store, it might not have been activated when purchased.
Return to the store and ask the cashier to activate it. Even if you have the receipt from the local market that said it was an activated card, there’s no harm in asking for the cashier’s help.
5. The code has been redeemed
Check whether the code has been redeemed or not. You can do this on your account page. You can also check whether you have applied for that gift card on other accounts.
6. You are not an individual Premium user
You can only redeem a Spotify gift card to pay for individual Premium plans. Spotify gift cards won’t work for Premium Family, Premium Duo, or Premium Student.
Gift cards are also not redeemable with other discounts and promotions.
Even if you have switched from the Family plan to regular Premium, you’ll need to wait until the plan is over, usually next month, before you can redeem a Spotify gift card.
For example, your Family plan ends on March 23. You switched to regular Premium on March 5. You’ll need to wait until March 24 (when the family plan is over) to redeem a gift card.
Do you have a friend or family member who needs Spotify? If you are not an individual Premium user, you might as well give the gift card away to them so they can enjoy free music.
7. You have an 18-month stack of Spotify Premium
Have you redeemed plenty of gift cards in the past? Or, you’ve bought Premium membership for the future? You can only stack 18 months of Premium time on your account.
You can view your plan and payments on your account page, under Your plan. If you have more than 18 months of Premium time on your account, you cannot redeem a Spotify gift card.
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