Creative Cloud gives you a cross-platform license.

Also, Jim is correct in saying that you can still run your older version. I have 5.0, 5.5 and 6.0 all installed at the same time.

Please let us know if Baber's method works when you order.

Paying only an upgrade price of a single platform license never  allowed you to obtain both a Windows and Mac usable license in the past. In the past, when you had only a single license, you could change Windows < > Mac, but you could not keep the platform you changed from. A single license was good only for either Windows or Mac. (not talking a Cloud subscription here.)

Just 2 weeks ago I called Adobe myself and told them the need to work with clients on both Windows in addition to our existing Mac CS6. I was told I would have to buy a second CS6 license to gain Windows and keep Mac, even if I only used one at a time.

But a simple attempt to enter an order as the original poster will tell us what happens. Hope Baber is right, that Adobe has changed it's policy. Too late for me, but great for others.

Greg Baber:

Thinking about your answer a little more, why was I told I had to buy a full second CS6 license to be able to run CS6 on Windows as well as the Mac?

The original poster was not on the Creative Cloud subscription.

What a mess.

I think what Baber is saying is Adobe considers an "Upgrade" purchase from a prior license as an entirely new separate license. That allows you to run the old version license on a different platform from the new "Upgrade" license.

So if you need to run both platforms (Windows and Mac) your options are:

1. Cloud subscription
2. Purchase a whole new second license to be able to run the current version on both platforms (what we did)
3. Wait for an point version update and upgrade going to the other platform. That allows you to run on both Windows and Mac, but one version back on one of the platforms but at a greatly reduced price until the next point upgrade.

Seems pretty convoluted and obtuse. But ..."It is what it is."