Will using a military discount disqualify me from receiving a Black Friday gift card?

To be specific, no, if you purchase through Apple’s Veterans and military purchase option, the gift card promotion is not available.

You’ll have to choose which promo works better for you.

Shopping Event Terms and Conditions - Apple (Under Promotion Restrictions”)

Purchases made on a Corporate Employee Purchase Program or on a Veterans and Military Purchase Program also do not qualify.

I can direct you to these points in the terms of the event that may be helpful:

Purchases made on a Corporate Employee Purchase Program or on a Veterans and Military Purchase Program also do not qualify.

Shopping Event Terms and Conditions - Apple

So, choose whichever method will give you the biggest discount. For information on how the promotion works, review these points. The Gift card is emailed to your email address used for the purchase where you will have a redemption code to redeem the Gift Card. In the past, the Black Friday events have been confusing for some on how the Gift Card is accounted for in the purchase price and always raises questions, so understanding those terms first is helpful:

• During the Apple Store Shopping Event, buying an eligible product gets you an Apple Gift Card (amount varies by product). For accounting purposes, the value of the Apple Gift Card is applied as a discount off the eligible product, but customers are charged for both the eligible product and the Apple Gift Card. You can use this gift card toward future Apple purchases like devices, accessories, subscriptions, and more. This promotion is available online and at Apple Store locations.
• However, the Apple Gift Card received as part of the Apple Store Shopping Event can only be applied toward future Apple purchases, not the Apple Store Shopping Event purchase.

Black Friday & Cyber Monday Shopping Event - Apple

What seems confusing for some is that when invoiced it appears you are paying for the Gift Card, resulting in a full price purchase, but actually you are getting the discounted price. The reason why it looks like that is because you can still return a product where you received a Gift card, and you will be refunded the reduced price but your Gift Card is still active and may have already been used. Gift Cards are not refundable and Apple would not be able to take back items purchased with the Gift Card. If it was not done that way, a person could make a purchase, spend the Gift Card and return the device resulting in them getting up to $250 for free.

merlady wrote:

Also, how do I get the Black Friday gift card if I purchase online?

If you purchase online from the regular Apple Store – not the veterans and military store – during the promotion period, I would assume that the promotion would show up in your "shopping bag" before final checkout.

"Customers who purchase an Eligible Product and a Promotion Product through a Qualifying Location during the Promotion Period shall receive a discount equal to the value of the Promotion Product (depending on their purchase, as set forth in the chart below) off the price of the Eligible Product at the time of purchase. Customers will be charged for all items in their cart, including the Promotion Product. The Promotion Product is redeemable for future purchase(s) only and is not a “gift.” This offer expires when the purchase transaction is complete."

The definition of Qualifying Location seems to be, roughly,

"Apple Store locations, Apple Store Online, the Apple Store app and 1‑800‑MY‑APPLE (each a “Qualifying Location”)."

I will let you read all this and see if it answers your question.

Shopping Event Terms and Conditions - Apple

If not, contact Apple. The people here are customers like you, not Apple.

1-800-MY-APPLE (1-800-692-7753) - USA Apple Store number