What Can You Buy With an Xbox Gift Card? Games, Game Pass and More

An Xbox gift card adds money to your Microsoft account, and that balance works across the Microsoft Store on Xbox consoles and Windows PCs. You can spend it on games, DLC, in-game currency, apps and Xbox subscriptions like Game Pass. Microsoft's own support page lists one notable exception: account balance can't pay for a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Key facts

• An Xbox gift card becomes Microsoft account balance, usable on Xbox consoles and Windows PCs.
• Balance pays for games, DLC, in-game currency, apps and Xbox subscriptions such as Game Pass.
• Microsoft says balance can pay for Xbox-related subscriptions but not a Microsoft 365 subscription.
• Balance can't be spent in Microsoft Store retail locations or swapped for cash, and can't be transferred to another account.
• If a purchase costs more than your balance, the balance is used first and the rest goes on another payment method.

Because it's one balance on one Microsoft account, a card redeemed on your console can be spent on your PC, and the other way round.

What you can buy with an Xbox gift card

Games for Xbox and Windows

Every game in the Microsoft Store, on console or PC. Many games are part of Xbox Play Anywhere, which means buying once gets you both the Xbox and the Windows version, with your saves shared between them. Look for the Play Anywhere label on the store page before you buy, because it can save you buying the same game twice.

DLC and add-ons

Expansions, season passes, character packs and cosmetic bundles for games you own.

In-game currency

Purchases inside games on Xbox go through the Microsoft Store, so your balance pays for them. Fortnite's V-Bucks, Roblox's Robux, COD Points and Minecraft's Minecoins all work this way. We cover two of the most-asked ones separately: buying Minecraft and Minecoins with an Xbox gift card and buying COD Points with a gift card.

Game Pass

All Game Pass plans can be paid from your balance, and renewals take money from it if there's enough. Paying for Game Pass or PS Plus with gift cards has the renewal details.

Gifts for friends

The Microsoft Store lets you buy a digital game as a gift: on the game's page choose the gift option, then enter your friend's email address or gamertag. The money comes out of your balance. That's a big difference from PlayStation, which has no gift button at all.

What you can't buy with an Xbox gift card

If you play PC games through Steam, an Xbox card won't help there. A Steam card is what you want, and what you can buy with a Steam gift card covers that side.

How to spend your balance, step by step

1. Redeem the card at xbox.com/redeem or in the Microsoft Store on your console or PC.
2. Open the Microsoft Store or the Xbox app and choose what you want.
3. At checkout, pick your Microsoft account balance as the payment method.
4. Confirm. The game, add-on or currency is added to your account straight away.

Xbox gift card or Microsoft gift card?

Both add money to the same Microsoft account balance, so for spending they behave alike. The difference is mostly branding and where they're sold. Our guide to Microsoft gift cards vs Xbox gift cards covers the details, including region rules.

Buying for a child

If your child has their own Microsoft account in your family group, an organiser can add money to it from the Family Safety site, and the child can spend up to that amount. A gift card redeemed on the child's account works the same way. Our guide to Xbox "Ask a parent" explains when approval is still needed.

When your balance doesn't cover the price

Microsoft says that if an item costs more than your balance, your account balance is used first and the difference is charged to your other payment option. If you'd rather not use a card at all, wait until the balance covers the full price, or add another gift card first.

One more limit from Microsoft's terms: balance can't be used in Microsoft Store retail locations, can't be exchanged for cash or other gift cards, and can't be moved to another person or Microsoft account. Redeem it on the account that will do the spending.

Check the region before you redeem

Xbox gift cards are sold for a specific country or region, and they redeem on accounts from that same region. A US card won't go onto a UK account, even though both are "Xbox gift cards". If a code fails with a region error, see using an Xbox gift card in another country.

Tips for stretching your balance

• Check Game Pass first. If a game is in Game Pass, playing it there can be much cheaper than buying it.
• Watch the weekly deals. The Microsoft Store runs weekly sales plus big seasonal ones.
• Stack cards. Several cards add up in one balance, so two $25 cards are the same as one $50.
• Look for Play Anywhere. One purchase, two platforms.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use an Xbox gift card on PC?

Yes. Your balance belongs to your Microsoft account, so it works in the Microsoft Store and the Xbox app on Windows, not only on a console.

Can I buy Robux with an Xbox gift card?

Yes. Redeem the card, then buy Robux inside Roblox on Xbox or through the Microsoft Store. Our guide to buying V-Bucks and Robux with gift cards covers both.

Can I buy Microsoft 365 with an Xbox gift card?

No. Microsoft's support page says account balance can be used for Xbox-related subscriptions but not for Microsoft 365.

Do Xbox gift cards expire?

The money on a redeemed Xbox gift card doesn't expire. Do gift cards expire? compares Xbox, PlayStation and Steam.

How do I get Xbox gift cards without spending money?

You can earn them. Microsoft Rewards pays in Xbox credit, and rewards sites such as XPReward let you swap points from offers for $25, $50 and $100 Xbox cards. Create an account to see the offers in your country.

Sources

Microsoft balance rules checked on 2 November 2026 against:

• Microsoft Support: Spend the money in my Microsoft account
• Xbox Support: Using a Microsoft account balance to make a purchase
• Microsoft gift cards terms and conditions