Gift card for friend moving to Spain

[hamster]

My friend is moving in a month and I want to get her a gift card to help her out as a going away gift/thanks for watching our house all the time. She is just finishing grad school (with no time for a job) and won't have a paycheck from her job in Spain for a while, so she is fairly broke. I don't want to give her cash, as it would likely make her uncomfortable, but a gift card would be more acceptable.

Is there a gift card I could buy online or stateside to help her out when she gets there? Or any other ideas on what I could get?

grosnl19

[Poppy]

Hmm, I looked into the German version of Amazon when my friends moved there. I did not see a way to buy the GC in English but using Google Translate I was able to figure out what to do. Is there a Spanish version of the site? (FYI - US Amazon GCs didn't transfer to the German site and shipping would have been ridiculous if purchases were made through the US site).

[Deleted]

Amazon Spain:

www.amazon.es/cheques-regalo/b/ref=topnav_giftcert?ie=UTF8&node=3564279031

[hopenotlost]

Do you know where in Spain??? I'm so jealous. I lived in Spain, and my dad still lives there. Depending on where she's going, I could help out a little more. Supersol is a pretty common supermarket there, so is Hiporcor...maybe a gift cert to one of them? Or El Corte Ingles is another popular department store there, although it isn't all over Spain (I know there is one in Madrid, but not sure of anywhere else).

[jennybee1018]

That is tough! Will she need to buy anything in the US before she leaves? Packing stuff up, putting it in storage? Does she need new luggage? Any gift certificates that could cover that maybe? 

My sister has successfully bought gift certificates for a restaurant in a brand name hotel over here. They're usually equipped to handle the difference in currencies. 

I'm not sure what else you could do. I'll post this over on IN, to see if they have any suggestions!  (Although a lot of them may be sleeping now, so they will be around tomorrow)! 

[anna7602]

There's IKEA in Spain, but not in every city. If there's one where she will be moving, this might make a good gift card.

You could also send her a card for FNAC.es, which is like Barnes & Noble- for books, music, etc.

Not sure if you can get gift cards online for the big department store chain El Corte Ingles.

[hamster]

Jul 21, 2014 12:00:18 GMT -5 hopenotlost said:

Do you know where in Spain??? I'm so jealous. I lived in Spain, and my dad still lives there. Depending on where she's going, I could help out a little more. Supersol is a pretty common supermarket there, so is Hiporcor...maybe a gift cert to one of them? Or El Corte Ingles is another popular department store there, although it isn't all over Spain (I know there is one in Madrid, but not sure of anywhere else).

She will be in Madrid. I'm not sure where, but I think she wants an apt centrally located to nightlife but she will be working in a more rural area.

[Deleted]

Jul 21, 2014 12:00:18 GMT -5 hopenotlost said:

Do you know where in Spain??? I'm so jealous. I lived in Spain, and my dad still lives there. Depending on where she's going, I could help out a little more. Supersol is a pretty common supermarket there, so is Hiporcor...maybe a gift cert to one of them? Or El Corte Ingles is another popular department store there, although it isn't all over Spain (I know there is one in Madrid, but not sure of anywhere else).

We saw it in Madrid, Seville, Toledo, Cordoba, and Granada!

The only location we went into was Seville, and that location had a grocery store -- so you really can get anything there!

[Deleted]

El Corte Inglés is amazing, and of course they sell gift cards online! Here is their gift card page - it's in Spanish, and I don't know if they ship internationally. Maybe you can have it sent to your friend once you know where she's going to be living?

[glynn]

Off topic but we are getting a Exchange Student from Madrid one week from today. She is just 15 and I am so nervous for her to live here for 10 months.

[alleinesein]

Another vote for FNAC or Corte Ingles. They have everything at Corte Ingles and there are a few of them in the city. There is also a huge FNAC downtown by the bear statue.

H&M is also in Madrid (near FNAC)

If she likes getting her nails done you can get her a gift card to www.twentynails.com/. I know the owner and you can get in touch with her via FB if you want a gift card.

[grosnl19]

We are in Madrid! There are a few IKEA's in the city so that is a great one. Most of our apartment is IKEA (we left all of our stuff in the States). El Corte Ingles is another good one, she could also use the card at their grocery chain Hipercor. Also, Carrefour is big here...I prefer Carrefour for groceries.

There is Amazon Spain that is getting better. Three years ago when we moved here all they had were books and a few electronics :-(

[elenetxu]

Another vote here for Corte Inglés. I hate the store, but they DO have a bit of everything and as grosnl19 said I imagine the card can be used at their supermarket.