Last week, we spotted that Amazon was taking pre-orders for a $15 "Microsoft Windows Gift Card", which the site said would be released on October 18th, the same date as the launch of Windows 8.1. Now a new report claims that Microsoft has now activated a way for Windows 8 owners to pay for apps in the Windows Store with a gift card or promotional code.
As reported by McAkins Online, the new option appeared in Windows 8 this weekend. It"s unknown if this is just for Windows 8 apps or if it will also be available for Windows Phone 8 app downloads. Whatever the case, this is something that will likely be welcomed by many owners of Windows 8 devices, particularly those with young kids who can now be allowed to pay for apps via a gift card without having to use their parents credit card information.
This also means that Microsoft will soon join the ranks of Apple, Google and Amazon, all of which offer retail gift cards that let people buy apps, videos and music from their respective download stores. Microsoft has yet to comment about the launch of these new Windows gift cards. So far, they have not responded to our inquiries on this subject.
Source: McAkins Online | Image via McAkins Online