Discover how to pick and send international gift cards to a friend or family member abroad.
Looking for the perfect gift for a friend going abroad? Looking to surprise a family member with a present after a move to a new country? Want an easy and hassle-free way to send gifts to friends and family back home after you’ve moved abroad yourself?
It’s sometimes tricky to get the art of international gift buying down — from itchy socks to a sweater that’s just not their colour. Not to mention, shipping abroad is expensive (even without the surprise customs charges!).
But there’s one present you can’t go wrong with — a gift card. An international gift card is a fool-proof choice if you’re looking for a gift for a family member or friend going abroad or if you’ve moved to another country yourself and want to send gifts back home. They’re easy and free to send and offer someone total choice over how to spend their credit.
But how do you find the right one?
In this post, we show you how to find the ideal gift card for friends or family abroad or for friends and family back home following your own move. We’ll also show you how you can find and gift the perfect digital gift card with Recharge.com.
Let’s jump in!
Which gift cards can be used internationally?
First off, let’s take a look at your options when it comes to choosing a gift card that can be used internationally.
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Check the company’s gift card policy
Before you jump in and buy a gift card, you first need to double check if your chosen gift card can be used in the country you are sending it to. Different providers have different policies about where their gift cards can be used.
For example, Amazon is one of the most popular gift cards that you can buy. However, you can’t just buy your Amazon gift card from your own dashboard — set to the country you are in.
You need to purchase an Amazon gift card based on the country your friend or family member is currently in. For example, if they are in The United States, you will need to buy a gift card from Amazon US.
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Physical gift cards vs digital gift cards
You have two main choices when it comes to gift cards: physical or digital. Physical international gift cards are normally plastic and are pre-loaded with a credit amount of your choice.
Physical gift cards can be a bit of a hassle if you’re looking to send abroad. You’ll need to tick off buying your gift card, your envelopes, and the right stamps. You’ll also need to head to the post office to post your present.
You might consider buying a physical gift card. However, a big drawback of physical gift cards is that they aren’t always redeemable in the country you’re sending them to.
In comparison, you can easily buy digital international gift cards online without leaving your sofa — while ensuring they arrive in your friend or family member’s inbox straight away.
With Recharge.com, you don’t have to fret over finding the right gift card that you can buy in your own currency and current country and that is also redeemable in the country you’re sending it to. You can easily choose the currency and country you want your gift card to be used in.
In addition, you can also personally benefit from this customisability. For example, if you live in Portugal and want to charge your American PlayStation account, you can with a gift card from Recharge.com.
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The different varieties of international gift cards to choose from
Beyond choosing between a physical or digital gift card, you also have a wide selection of gift card varieties to select as gifts to send abroad.
Practical gift cards are an awesome choice if you’re looking to send a gift card to someone who has just touched down in a new country. You can use a practical gift card to help them cover a few nights at a chic and cosy Airbnb or help fund their first adventures around their new home with an Uber Gift Card. You can also help them furnish their new home with a shopping gift card.
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In comparison, entertainment gift cards are a great choice if you’re looking to help keep a friend or family member entertained while they settle into their new home. While gaming gift cards are an ideal choice for a gamer who has just moved to a new place.
If you’ve just moved abroad yourself, entertainment gift cards are also a hassle-free way to surprise friends and family members back home on special occasions like Birthdays. To personalise your gift, you may like to include a note with a film recommendation or reference a favorite film or show you loved watching together.
In addition, digital gift cards are a hassle-free way to help support friends and family back home — without relying on money transfers. You can purchase gift cards to cover clothes, food, transportation, furniture and appliances, and mobile top-ups.
Let’s take a look at some of these options in more detail and how you can choose the right one for your loved one.
How to choose the best international gift card
Looking for the best international gift cards online for your friends or family? We put together a quiz to help you find the right gift card for your favourite people.
The best shopping international gift cards
If you’re looking for ideal gifts for overseas friends, you can give your friends tons of choice by surprising them with a shopping international gift card. International gift cards for shopping are an awesome gift for a friend going abroad — let’s take a look at some of your options.
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Amazon Gift Card
A true classic — with almost 12 million products in their marketplace, an Amazon Gift Card gives your loved one almost endless choice. This is a great gift card choice when they’ve just moved to a new country and are looking to kit out their apartment — whether they need pots and pans or cute cushions and bedding.
You can also send an Amazon gift card to friends and family living back home if you’ve moved to a new country. With an Amazon gift card, loved ones can buy almost everything they need — including food, furniture, toiletries, appliances, technology, toys, and clothing.
You can easily choose the amount to add to your gift card and buy in a click with PayPal. Gift cards will need to be purchased based on the country your friend or family member is staying in. For example, if your friend is moving from France to New York, make sure you buy an Amazon.com gift card that’s pre-loaded with USD.
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Gift cards from their go-to store
You can also choose a gift card for your loved one’s favourite store — whether that’s a jewellery boutique or a sports store. Consider where they like to shop and if there’s a store in their country of residence. Just like your Amazon gift card — always remember to buy a gift card that can be used in their current country.
For example, if they’re a beauty addict and love to fill their basket up with new eyeshadow palettes and lipsticks at Sephora — see if there’s a department store in the country they’re moving to. Sephora has over 260 stores around the world and their gift cards can be used online or in-store.
How to buy an international gift card for shopping abroad
With Recharge.com, you can buy international shopping gift cards as gifts to send abroad. We offer shopping gift cards with instant digital delivery – so your friend or family member won’t have to wait!
Here’s how to buy yours:
- From the Shopping gift cards page, select your gift card of choice.
- Select your friend or family member’s new country. You can do this by clicking on the flag icon and abbreviated location at the top right-corner of the page.
- Select the amount you’d like to load onto the card
- Type in the recipient’s email address details
- Pay securely using PayPal or your card — in your currency of choice
And you’re done!
The best international gift cards for gamers
If you know a gamer, then you may have heard them rave about their number one platform — whether that’s the Xbox or Nintendo. Indulge their gaming addiction with the best international gift cards for gamers.
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Xbox Gift card
With a digital gift card, you can help fuel their all-day gaming sessions on their platform of choice. An Xbox Gift Card is super versatile — credit can be used to buy games, map packs accessories, and ad-ons. They can also be used to buy films, music, and shows.
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PlayStation Gift Card
The PlayStation Gift Card is another popular option — alongside Nintendo, PlayStation was ranked as the number one game console in 2021. Your friend or family member can use their gift card to shop both new releases and their old-school gaming favourites — whether they play on a PS2 or PS5.
For bonus brownie points, you can also buy someone an international gift card for a subscription membership — like PS Plus.
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Nintendo eShop Card
You can also shop for a gift card for Playstation’s top rival — Nintendo. A Nintendo eShop Card offers a host of new games and in-game items to choose from. This gift card can also be used to buy games from the Nintendo Switch, 2DS, 3DS, or Wii U.
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Steam Gift Card
If your friend or family member is a PC gamer, you can surprise them with a Steam Gift Card. Steam offers special discounts on popular games every day and you can choose from household names and more niche indie games.
How to buy an international gaming gift card
From the PlayStation Store to the Nintendo eShop, with Recharge.com you can purchase a range of gaming gift cards for international use as a gift for a friend going abroad or for a loved one back home.
Here’s how:
- From the gaming product page of your choice in your friend or family member’s country. You can do this by clicking the flag icon and abbreviated location at the top right-corner of the page.
- Select the amount you’d like to add to the card.
- Add the email address details of the person you’re sending your gift too.
- Pay quickly and securely using PayPal or your card — in your currency of choice.
The best international entertainment gift cards for overseas friends and family
Moving to a new country can be lonely and a new album or a much-loved show can be the perfect comfort activity to help your friend or family member settle into a new place. Let’s explore some of the best options.
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Netflix Gift Card
You can’t go wrong with a Netflix Gift Card. Netflix is ready to watch in over 190 countries. Another cool thing about Netflix? Each country has its own content and movies — so your friends and family members can get to know their new culture and buff up their language skills by watching shows and films popular in their new home.
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Spotify Premium Gift Card
The Spotify Premium Gift Card is an awesome choice for any music lovers in your life who have just moved aboard. People can use Spotify Premium to listen to music wherever they are — on any device — including mobile, tablet, or laptop.
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App Store and iTunes Gift Card
The App Store and iTunes Gift Card is a brilliant choice for that friend or family member is a devotee to all things Apple. Power their iPod or iPhone with new songs or audiobooks as they explore their new home abroad. They can choose from over 60 million songs with Apple Music. They can also choose from apps, games, books, and magazines – making it a super versatile gift choice.
An App Store and iTunes Gift Card is also a lovely choice for a loved one back home. To help connect while you’re away, you may like to create a playlist of music recommendations that have a ton of meaning for you both and reminds them of some great times you’ve had together.
You can select the amount preloaded on the card and send it via email — just be sure to buy your card for the Apple Store of the country where it will be used. You can do so easily on Recharge.com before checkout.
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Twitch Gift Card
Delight the streamers in your life with a Twitch Gift Card. They can use it to buy subscriptions (allowing them to access special benefits on their top channels), ‘Bits’ (a digital way to show support to other streamers) and gift their favourite subs to others.
How to buy an international entertainment gift card
You can buy a Netflix Gift Card, Spotify Gift Card, or Twitch Gift Card with Recharge.com quickly and easily — just:
- Select the card in the current country your friend or family member is in
- Choose the amount to load onto the card
- Fill in their email address details
- Pay using PayPal or your card — in your chosen currency
They’ll receive their gift card in seconds!
The best international gift cards to support loved ones abroad
From new languages to learn to not yet having a local support network — it can be hard moving to a new place. You can help support the transition with the right gift card. In addition, gift cards can be a vital way to support your loved ones if you are living abroad.
Read on for our recommendations.
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Send Mobile Top-Up Abroad
Mobile top ups are a great way to help your friend or family member stay in touch with you and their other loved ones in another country. With Recharge.com, you can easily select your friends or family member’s provider and the amount of credit you want to send via email. 30 seconds later — a unique code will arrive in their inbox. Read more about how to top up for someone else.
Recharge.com helps anyone, anywhere top up their data and minutes immediately. We offer top-ups from all of the most popular providers — including Vodafone, O2, EE, Lebara, Three, GiffGaff, and Virgin Mobile.
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Just Eat Gift Cards
Help someone get to know the best local takeaways, cafes, and restaurants with a Just Eat Gift Card. Maybe they moved for work and are too busy to cook or maybe you just want to treat them to a relaxed night in that doesn’t involve washing the dishes. You can give them a host of local eateries to choose from with a pre-paid Just Eat gift card.
A pre-paid Just Eat gift card is also helpful for supporting loved ones back home. Help ease the expense of meals and groceries by supplying them with a Just Eat gift card, so they can cover their food costs throughout the week.
Buy an international gift card for yourself
This may sound strange at first look, but a pre-paid gift card can give you fast access to your go-to entertainment and games services when you’re abroad.
Many entertainment service accounts are country-specific. For example, Sony accounts. So if you have a UK Sony account but you’ve moved abroad to Portugal, you won’t be able to top up your account with a Playstation gift card you buy in a shop in Portugal. You’ll only be able to top up your account with a UK Playstation gift card. The easiest way to do this? With an online platform like Recharge.com.
Gift cards are also a great way to stay on budget if you’re looking to control your spending. You can remove your credit card or Paypal details from your places like your Just Eat or Amazon accounts and limit your spending to the pre-loaded credit you’ve added to your card.
Available in your inbox within seconds, digital gift cards give you the freedom to buy, play, watch, shop, listen, and stay in touch with friends and family on your own terms.
Find the perfect international gift cards as gifts to send abroad
Nobody wants to have to deal with hefty shipping costs and custom charges when trying to send a gift to a friend or family member abroad. Or find out that your loved one can’t use the gift card you’ve sent them in the country they live in.
That’s why digital gift cards are a great choice as gifts to send abroad for an instant, hassle-free gift that’s free to send and guaranteed to work in its destination. With so many digital gift cards to choose from — you can easily find a great match for your friend or family member.
Want to shop Recharge.com’s international gift cards online? Head here.
