Surely some of you guys are Xboxers! Help needed.

My kids of course, are fond of their xbox360, and honestly, I've been playing a little World of Tanks on it lately. They want to buy a couple new tanks and a few garage slots, so I'm like okay, lets put some gift cards on the account and get some "gold".

The gift cards show up fine, and we have money in our "microsoft account" sufficient to cover the purchase. Problem is, they say they need additional "billing information." Now, I realize the internet is scattered with disgruntled parents that cry about how their children ran up hundreds of dollars of debt on their xbox, billed to their credit card. That will not happen to me. They will not get my info. Period.

Is there a way to spend gift cards on the xbox without inputting "billing information?" If not, that's fine. I will cut my losses and move on.

Step 1, register for xbox live. I'm sure you've done this already. Step 2, tie xbl account to MSN account (requires computer or handheld intarweb device) step 3, go to account on xbl, add code. You should be able to do it without cc info, that's exactly what the cards are for. I do it all the time.to reup my xbl gold.

mndsm wrote: Step 1, register for xbox live. I'm sure you've done this already. Step 2, tie xbl account to MSN account (requires computer or handheld intarweb device) step 3, go to account on xbl, add code. You should be able to do it without cc info, that's exactly what the cards are for. I do it all the time.to reup my xbl gold.

Interesting. What info do I need in order to acquire an MSN account?

Yes, we do have the Xbox Live account already. Just needed a screen name and an email address.

ERM, I've had an MSN account linked to my hotmail since like 1998, so I used that. If you go to MSN.com they should be able to hook a brotha up.

Yeah, MSN account should be as easy as registering for an e-mail account...mostly because that's exactly what it is anymore. I have a Hotmail account linked to my XBL, have never had to enter a credit card number.

mndsm wrote: ERM, I've had an MSN account linked to my hotmail since like 1998, so I used that. If you go to MSN.com they should be able to hook a brotha up.

Same here, you don't need to enter any CC or bank info if you're rocking only prepaid stuff.

Oops, wrong kind of boxer, excuse me.. (backing out of the room)

Still no luck, dangit. msn emails no longer offered. Is an outlook.com account going to work?

From the console, I get to the "confirm purchase" screen, it shows my microsoft account balance, but then persists in asking for "additional information." Kind of frustrating to have already paid cash money for Xbox gift cards and not be able to use them.

outlook will work just the same.

I think they require you to hook up a card now for online purchases.

It's probably easiest to go buy one of those pre-paid debit cards and load up a few bucks on it for Xbox. I can play around with my security settings when I get home, but I'm pretty sure you can also set a PIN code that has to be entered at the time of a purchase for additional peace of mind.

XBL needs an email address, GMail is free. XBL will randomly generate a screen name or you can choose one. Not sure what you're fighting? I set up my live account with a prepaid card just fine, with the absolute minimum of personal info. I've entered my debit card info a few times for download content but always delete it after the transaction is complete. Kids can't rack up charges that way.

In reply to chrispy:

Just trying to get it to work. I have an XBL account. It has an email address and a balance. In game transaction does not work. Dunno what else to try.

Okay, I have an outlook.com account that seems to work okay. Am I going to blow anything up by changing the email on my current XBL account? Or do I just need to start over?

Still "unable to download" gold. Is there something I have to change in the console setup? I'm about done beating my head on this.

1988RedT2 wrote: Still "unable to download" gold. Is there something I have to change in the console setup? I'm about done beating my head on this.

What won't download gold? The box?

1988RedT2 wrote: Okay, I have an outlook.com account that seems to work okay. Am I going to blow anything up by changing the email on my current XBL account? Or do I just need to start over?

When I first did mine, I had to register a new account to go to gold. It was a long time ago.

mndsm wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote: Still "unable to download" gold. Is there something I have to change in the console setup? I'm about done beating my head on this.

What won't download gold? The box?

I'm in World of Tanks on the xbox 360. I'm signed in with my XBL profile. I go to "buy gold" which is WoT premium currency. I get to a screen where it says "confirm purchase". My correct balance is shown, but when I click "confirm purchase" it takes me to a sign in page, and before I can input my password, it comes back with "Unable to download gold".

So this is a flaw with wot then it sounds like. If you're playing it it sounds like you already have xbl gold. That was the part I was missing before. Unfortunately, I am not terribly familiar with the game. Is there a way to sign in via PC to add the gold that way?

i'm glad i gave up playing video games before you had to spend real money on the game after you left the store with your copy of the game.. NASCAR 98 on the original Playstation never gave me this kind of grief..

In reply to novaderrik:

Yeah, it's all topsy-turvy now. The game itself they let you download for free, then to excel at it, they encourage you to spend real money from within the game.

It's all a scam.. freemium games were invented by the Canadian devil and backed by the crown prince of Canada to raise money to update Canada to make it a modern country.. I saw it in a documentary on tv a month or so ago..

novaderrik wrote: It's all a scam.. freemium games were invented by the Canadian devil to raise money to update Canada to make it a modern country.. I saw it in a documentary on tv a month or so ago..

I saw that same documentary. Exposed Lourde as a fraud as I remember.

1988RedT2 wrote:

mndsm wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote: Still "unable to download" gold. Is there something I have to change in the console setup? I'm about done beating my head on this.

What won't download gold? The box?

I'm in World of Tanks on the xbox 360. I'm signed in with my XBL profile. I go to "buy gold" which is WoT premium currency. I get to a screen where it says "confirm purchase". My correct balance is shown, but when I click "confirm purchase" it takes me to a sign in page, and before I can input my password, it comes back with "Unable to download gold".

Ahh, I have no helpful solution other than "sorry kids". I've never used "gold" to buy anything on XBL, only real $.

chrispy wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote:

mndsm wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote: Still "unable to download" gold. Is there something I have to change in the console setup? I'm about done beating my head on this.

What won't download gold? The box?

I'm in World of Tanks on the xbox 360. I'm signed in with my XBL profile. I go to "buy gold" which is WoT premium currency. I get to a screen where it says "confirm purchase". My correct balance is shown, but when I click "confirm purchase" it takes me to a sign in page, and before I can input my password, it comes back with "Unable to download gold".

Ahh, I have no helpful solution other than "sorry kids". I've never used "gold" to buy anything on XBL, only real $.

Ah, but I am trying to buy "gold" with real moneys. Haven't gotten to the part where I buy stuff with "gold."