Store Vouchers
 

I am visiting NY in Feb with my girlfriend to celebrate her 21st and thought it would be a nice idea to get her store vouchers off the internet for christmas and her birthday gift, so she could make the most of the shopping experience in NY. I would to get them for somewhere unique to NY and was wondering where you would suggest.I ll be spending about £800 all together is this amount too little for her to get something nice from Tiffany?

Thank You

That's $1500 US. There's plenty of sterling silver at Tiffany's, check online. She should be able to find something nice with that amount of money.

We call them gift certificates (instead of vouchers) here in the states.

Can you buy an American Express Traveler's Check card in the UK? That would be my suggestion because it would allow her to spend her money on whatever she wants rather than limit her to a single store. I know you wanted to get a gift card for a store unique to NYC, but she might find what she wants at a different store or even a smaller one that doesn't do gift cards. (You may also find it difficult to buy a gift card online from the UK, but I'm not sure of that.)

I was thinking maybe Macey's or Bloomingdales also. What are seen as the differences between the two if any?

Get an American Express Gift Card. It can be used at any store that accepts AMEX, that includes both Macy's and Bloomingdales.

Wow. Nice boyfriend. For a 21 year old girl to be given $1,500 to spend in NYC is quite the gift.

Speaking as a female, get the AMEX card as suggested. Put it in a box and wrap it up and she'll know just what to do with it! :-)

If you're set on a store gift card, definitely Bloomingdale's over Macy's. Bloomingdales has 2 locations in NYC, it's more upscale than Macy's and just generally better. Your girlfriend would be hard pressed not to be able to find something fabulous to spend the money on at Bloomie's.

I also agree that a general gift card is better than a specific store. It can then be used for several things if she wants rather than just one or one store. There's a fee for an Amex gift card. (about $4 I think) Don't know if there are other options without a fee. I know Visa also has a gift card.

If your girlfriend is young and hip, she would probably prefer Barney's--New York's version of Harvey Nichols--or Henri Bendel to Bloomingdale's. Bloomingdale's in Soho is hipper than the uptown store.

Macy's and Bloomingdale's are the same corporation, so the same gift card probably works for both of them. However, I wouldn't limit the gift to a particular store, either. If you're doing a gift card, do the AmEx or Visa type. I am thinking that AmEx might not be accepted in every single little store, though.

Personally, if it were my birthday/Christmas gift, I would prefer to receive an actual gift you have picked out yourself from Tiffany's. If you know her taste, you can go on-line and shop at Tiffany's. They have nice sterling silver necklaces starting around $150, so your budget will easily buy a beautiful piece.

You can probably arrange to pick it up at the store in NYC, and then she could exchange it if she sees something else she'd like better. Because jewelry does look different when you try it on. That would be a very personal way to approach the gift, I think.

A gift card is so impersonal. Plus, giving a gift card for cash might mean you'd spent a LOT more time in NYC shopping than you'd prefer.
:)>-

Is there a girl alive who couldn't find something to thrill her at Bloomingdales with $1500 to spend?

Haven't those American Express gift cards been raked over the coals as a bad idea for several reasons?

Hmmm, have they been raked over the coals, NeoPatrick? I must have missed those threads, so I don't know what those problems could be. I never encountered a problem using an Amex gift card, but it has been a while since I've gotten one (and given one).

Here's a link I found on a post on the Europe board. But I've read negative reports about trying to use them or use up a balance without paying a fee a number of times.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/credi...ift_cards.html

Speaking as a girl who loves getting presents, I'd vote for a Bloomingdale's or Barney's GC rather than an Amex card. Here's why: There's a part of me that realizes I could also use my Amex money to pay for dinner, office supplies, home improvements...in other words, things I NEED. With the Bloomingdale's gift card, however, she will be forced to indulge in something completely useless and fabulous. :)

I agree with the AMEX gift card - the any store she wants wil take it. But you could also take her to Tiffany's and start her there - if that's the direction you thnk she would want to go. (If you go to their web site you can see a bunch of stuff - and yes $1500 would give her a lot of choices in silver and even some in gold. (Note that in the US gold is tpically 18K - not the 10 or 12K you often see in europe).

As for Macy's vs Bloomies - Macy's is moderate, basic middle of the road. Bloomies has some of the same things but also a lot more upscale stuff and is in general more trendy. (This is most noticeable in the main stores in NYC - if you're looking at the small stores in malls they're more similar - Bloomies doesn;t feaature their more upscale stuff in those stores.)

But - there are so many unique boutiques - I would really do the AMEX gift card. (This is not the same as the super wasteful AMEX cash card so many people reco against in other threads - but just really a gift certificate you can use any place they take AMEX.)

I have a Bloomingdale's gift card in my wallet and on the back it clearly states that the card can only be used at "Bloomingdale's, bloomingdales.com, and Bloomingdales By Mail."

"You can use an American Express Gift Card anywhere". . .
So explain all those comments to the contrary in the link I posted above?

Clients of mine bought their two grandsons each a $100 American Express Gift Card. They cost something like $4.95 each to buy, plus about 5.95 each for shipping, so already that means an additional 11% of value lost. But each ended up with a small balance on the card -- something like 7 or 8 dollars, and neither could find anyone who didn't have a larger minium to use it. So there went another 7 or 8 percent of value.

I realize that Bloomingdale's cards can only be used at Bloomingdale's. That's why I'm suggesting that -- because she will HAVE to shop at Bloomingdale's, which does not sell boring things like groceries and hot water heaters.

Interesting. I just called The Gap and Banana Republic both in our local mall. I got pretty much the same answer from both. "you mean those cards that we have to call to find out the balance? No, we no longer accept them, but we do accept regular American Express credit cards that we can just swipe."

Now that I think of it, I was in a restaurant a few months ago when our waiter told the table next to us that "your Amex gift card has been declined." The man paying the bill insisted that there was a balance of $15 left on the card. He was furious that the card was declined.

I was referring to MaureenB's post about using the Bloomies card at Macy's, Kaleni.

Don't know whether they're available in the UK, but Visa also makes gift cards. Visa has a much wider acceptance at shops than AmEx. My brother gives them as a gift and I like them (have one that's burning a hole in my pocket now.) We spoke recently about Christmas presents and I told him to give the usual, he said "great - that's easiest for me." Sure, the gift-giver pays a nominal fee for purchase and mailing but not out of line to what shipping a boxed present would cost. With the ones I get you just register online with your name/address and it can be spent like any Visa -- online, in store, etc. You can confirm the remaining balance online, and when it's low then I just go a gas station and say "12.61 on pump 5" to use every last penny.

This is the one he gives, the website says for use in USA only but maybe they will mail to a UK address - I don't know.

http://www.simon.com/giftcard/

Marginal, thanks for clarifying re: Bloomies and Macy's on the same gift card. A lot of corporations do share one card, but it's good to know that Bloomies and Macy's do not.

I still vote for a Tiffany's box-- there's nothing like receiving that blue box with its white ribbon!
:)>-

bluestar, using up your balance to buy gas is interesting, but that won't work with the AMEX gift cards which state that they are not accepted at gas stations.

I'm looking into the possibility of buying a Tiffany gift card

I've been thinking about this and I agree with Maureen that actually giving her a gift is preferable, in this case, to a gift certicate, especially if you're thinking of Tiffany's. While there are lots of options there for $1500, there are many more that are more than that. (I'm not suggesting the amount of your gift is not enough, btw. In fact, I think it's too much. But you haven't asked about that).

Do you plan on shopping with her or do you want her to go on her own? If you do plan on accompanying her, why not just make it clear you'd like to buy her a (or some) birthday gift(s) and let her chose and you just pay?

Wow! Just read that link Patrick posted on Amex gift card. Just horrible! Thanks for the heads up and let's not buy that one!

A Tiffany's gift card is a great option. It comes "wrapped" like a blue box.

The only problem is if she doesn;t like anything at Tirffany's. Their stuff tends to be more classic and not so trendy - and if she's 21 she might want the sort of thing you can get in a downtown boutique instead.

If you're going with her - why not give her a card with a gift certificate that you make up yourself - cute little computer design - and the amount. Then you can shop with her - or give her your CC info to pick what she wants up to that amount. Also no problem about any small odd amount left over.

You could check out New York Magazine and Time Out New York for some trendier jewelry places if that's what you want to focus on - so she has a choice.

Decided on Bloomingdales or Barneys but having trouble ordering from the Uk anyway so probably not possible.