Create an Apple ID in iTunes without a Credit Card

Learn how to create an Apple ID with a US address but without a credit card. Also what should you do when the none payment option is missing?

Some really good iOS apps – like Google Earth and Adobe Ideas – are available as free downloads on the iTunes Apps store but with one condition – you need to have a US based Apple ID to install them on to your iPhone or iPad.

There’s however an easy workaround to the problem – just sign-out of your existing account, create another Apple ID and set ‘none’ as the payment method (assuming that you don’t have a U.S. based credit card). You’ll now be able to download US apps with the new Apple ID.

The ‘none’ payment option is not available in my iTunes

When you are creating a new Apple ID for downloading U.S. specific apps, it may happen that the ‘none’ option is missing on your Payments screen (see the screenshot above). How do you then create an Apple ID without a credit card?

Well, there are two ways to create Apple IDs inside iTunes. You can either go to Store –> Create Account or simply download an app and iTunes will prompt you to create an Apple ID. The ‘none’ option for payment will only become available if you take the latter route.

To quickly recap, you need to follow these easy steps to create an Apple ID with a U.S. address but without requiring a credit card:

1. Launch iTunes and switch to the iTunes store. Make sure you are not logged in. 
2. Scroll to the bottom and change your country to United States. 
3. Next go to App store and download any of the free apps.

iTunes will now prompt you to create a new Apple account and this time, you’ll definitely see the ‘none’ option on the Payments screen. Thank you Mahendra Palsulefor the tip.

Watch the following video for a quick overview of the entire process.