question

When it comes to a platform where you're required to make all purchases through their marketplace, you need to be very careful to be in compliance with their policies. In the case of Apple, there have certainly been reports of rejected titles in forums like StackOverflow (http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5818656/in-app-purchase-and-coupons). The implication in the posts we've seen have been that giving out coupon codes for things that are also sold in their store is definitely bad, and giving out codes for things that are one step removed (normally purchased with in-game virtual currency, which is in turn sold in the iTunes marketplace) may also get your title rejected (potentially well after launch). Basically, if they feel - for any reason - that you are bypassing their marketplace, their terms of service gives them the right to pull your title.

My advice would be this: Work with your contacts at Apple. Get a written response that verifies that your specific use of coupons is okay. Being very specific about the scenarios in which you will do this (give dates for promos and total numbers on codes you'll be giving out, for example) may give you a better shot at this. But if you cannot get a response specifically saying that what you want to do is allowed, I would err on the side of caution and not use the coupon codes for the Apple version of your game.