Gift card suggestions for a friend in Philly?
July 5, 2018 5:33 PM
A friend is moving to Philadelphia and I want to get her a gift that will help her settle in to her new life there. The thing is, what she mostly needs right now is money (she will be between jobs). I don't want to just give her a bunch of cash, but I also don't want to put a lot of money into a gift when she might rather just have the money. So I'm thinking gift card as a good middle ground. But gift card to where?
I'm tempted to just get her a Target gift card and be done with it, but is there something more Philly-specific that would be good? She has a dog and a cat and likes science, dance and social justice. Any suggestions? Any ideas about how to help make a transition to Philly better for someone who will be on a limited budget?
I'm tempted to just get her a Target gift card and be done with it, but is there something more Philly-specific that would be good? She has a dog and a cat and likes science, dance and social justice. Any suggestions? Any ideas about how to help make a transition to Philly better for someone who will be on a limited budget?
You may want to look into a service called GiftRocket. They do online gift cards to specific places in different cities - but the recipient has the option of trading it in for cash value at the Gift Rocket web site.
Maybe look for a shop in Philadelphia that she might like, and that way she either has the option of using it at that shop, or saying "I'd rather have the money" and trading it in.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:46 PM on July 5, 2018
Maybe look for a shop in Philadelphia that she might like, and that way she either has the option of using it at that shop, or saying "I'd rather have the money" and trading it in.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:46 PM on July 5, 2018
I mean I live in Philly and go to Target so much that my mom got me Target gift cards for Christmas and my birthday. But I also live 3 blocks from a Target, so if your friend is further away it's not quite as helpful. OTOH, the Targets have grocery stores and are reasonably priced, and are by far the best place to pick up cheap staples in Center City (like no, I don't need organic corn starch).
If she likes coffee, there's good old standby Wawa. If you want to up the ante, La Colombe is a coffee treat that she might not splurge on herself!
If she's taking public transportation, you could get her a SeptaKey preloaded with the amount you want to gift (but I think you'd have to buy in person, not sure they're available online).
You could also do a gift card to Petco/Chewy/other petstore -- easy to buy online, and much more convenient to get a huge bag of litter delivered than lugging it home from the petstore.
posted by DoubleLune at 5:58 PM on July 5, 2018
If she likes coffee, there's good old standby Wawa. If you want to up the ante, La Colombe is a coffee treat that she might not splurge on herself!
If she's taking public transportation, you could get her a SeptaKey preloaded with the amount you want to gift (but I think you'd have to buy in person, not sure they're available online).
You could also do a gift card to Petco/Chewy/other petstore -- easy to buy online, and much more convenient to get a huge bag of litter delivered than lugging it home from the petstore.
posted by DoubleLune at 5:58 PM on July 5, 2018
Ooh, these are great suggestions so far!
I'm not sure where in Philly she'll be.
posted by aka burlap at 6:31 PM on July 5, 2018
I'm not sure where in Philly she'll be.
posted by aka burlap at 6:31 PM on July 5, 2018
Reading Terminal Market sells gift cards that are usable at everything but the temporary vendors. Iconically Philadelphia, but also gives her the option to treat herself or get affordable groceries or maybe both. (Or I suppose buy some touristy junk, if that her thing.)
posted by sputzie at 6:39 PM on July 5, 2018
posted by sputzie at 6:39 PM on July 5, 2018
It's a little bit hard without knowing where she will be living, because Philly is a large place.
However, there are 3 Targets in center city, so you can't go wrong there. There's also a Trader Joe's and a Whole Foods just north of center city (center city is accessible for most people in Philly but if she is buying lots of groceries it may not be convenient for her to carry them home, depending on where she lives and whether she has a car).
If she is relying on public transit, a SEPTA gift card would be great! (you could get her a key card and put money on it; google "SEPTA key card")
A museum membership could be good, or movie tickets, if you want to get something fun rather than practical. The Ritz movie theaters are great.
posted by bearette at 6:55 PM on July 5, 2018
However, there are 3 Targets in center city, so you can't go wrong there. There's also a Trader Joe's and a Whole Foods just north of center city (center city is accessible for most people in Philly but if she is buying lots of groceries it may not be convenient for her to carry them home, depending on where she lives and whether she has a car).
If she is relying on public transit, a SEPTA gift card would be great! (you could get her a key card and put money on it; google "SEPTA key card")
A museum membership could be good, or movie tickets, if you want to get something fun rather than practical. The Ritz movie theaters are great.
posted by bearette at 6:55 PM on July 5, 2018
Ohh- Wawa gift card is pretty good. They can be found everywhere.
posted by bearette at 6:56 PM on July 5, 2018
posted by bearette at 6:56 PM on July 5, 2018
Well, Wawa convenience stores are (IMO) several steps above other convenience stores, and pride themselves on being clean and customer friendly. Many of their stores sell gasoline. Of course, their prices are not rock bottom, but I enjoy knowing that even when I'm in an unfamiliar area I can stop in a Wawa and it will be safe and the food will be fresh. We often give Wawa gift cards as gifts. Wawa also runs specials like large "hoagies" for a smaller fixed price, or soda deals. Customers will hold the doors for each other in many cases.
It's not unique to Philadelphia, more Delaware Valley plus some other regions. FWIW.
posted by forthright at 6:59 PM on July 5, 2018
It's not unique to Philadelphia, more Delaware Valley plus some other regions. FWIW.
posted by forthright at 6:59 PM on July 5, 2018
Definitely WaWa -- they sell staples as well as prepared food, and are pretty much everywhere. I've lived off of Wawa for a couple days without feeling grody at the end of it, and their prices are quite reasonable, if more than, say, Aldi.
A Septa Key card would be amazing, but do note that the website to load/re-load the card (and the kiosks) are breathtakingly poorly-designed. I hope they wind up in textbooks someday. My suffering should be good for something. This site is older, but still provides a pretty good walkthrough for the process.
posted by kalimac at 7:29 PM on July 5, 2018
A Septa Key card would be amazing, but do note that the website to load/re-load the card (and the kiosks) are breathtakingly poorly-designed. I hope they wind up in textbooks someday. My suffering should be good for something. This site is older, but still provides a pretty good walkthrough for the process.
posted by kalimac at 7:29 PM on July 5, 2018
I have no idea how much you're spending on this, but you might want to consider maybe a smaller, secondary gift card to a food delivery service. I've moved on a shoestring before, and having money specifically earmarked for ordering food made a huge difference. It means that there's no pressure to unpack the whole kitchen right away, or to cook yourself something at nine p.m. when you've been carrying boxes all day. Even twenty or thirty bucks on a grubhub gift card can make a big difference.
posted by mishafletch at 11:13 PM on July 5, 2018
posted by mishafletch at 11:13 PM on July 5, 2018
I live in Philadelphia, and if I were in your friend's situation, I would welcome an Amazon gift card. That way, she can spend it on nearly anything (including groceries - PrimeNow just expanded to Philadelphia) and not be limited to a single retailer. Don't get me wrong, I love Wawa, but it loses its charm on the third consecutive day.
posted by coppermoss at 7:22 AM on July 6, 2018
posted by coppermoss at 7:22 AM on July 6, 2018
I would also steer clear of Caviar given their recent handling of the death of cycle courier killed while working for them.
posted by coppermoss at 7:24 AM on July 6, 2018
posted by coppermoss at 7:24 AM on July 6, 2018
Wawa might not be that useful depending where she lives - when I lived in South Philly and worked in Fishtown, I never encountered a Wawa anywhere where it would have been convenient to stop by. Ditto when I lived at 29th and Girard and worked in Old City.
posted by Aubergine at 8:50 AM on July 6, 2018
posted by Aubergine at 8:50 AM on July 6, 2018
Yeah, Wawa if you specifically want something Philly-specific-ish (and if it's close enough for her to stop by one for lunch occasionally).
For even more Philly-specific and coffee-snobbish, I'd love Rival Bros or La Colombe.
What would make me feel super good about the city is to get a Venmo and a note saying "Here, have a real nice dinner on me. I hear great things about [entry on Philly Mag's list near where she lives or works]."
Amazon is a lot closer to cash-equivalent though.
posted by supercres at 9:26 AM on July 6, 2018
For even more Philly-specific and coffee-snobbish, I'd love Rival Bros or La Colombe.
What would make me feel super good about the city is to get a Venmo and a note saying "Here, have a real nice dinner on me. I hear great things about [entry on Philly Mag's list near where she lives or works]."
Amazon is a lot closer to cash-equivalent though.
posted by supercres at 9:26 AM on July 6, 2018
Wawa is a no brainer. I’d love to get one if I were moving to Philly.
posted by Ike_Arumba at 2:06 PM on July 6, 2018
posted by Ike_Arumba at 2:06 PM on July 6, 2018
Nthing Reading Terminal Market—it truly really is special and, as others have pointed out, it gives you the option of either splurging (within reason) or getting well-priced, high-quality groceries. And it is an extremely Philly thing—low-key, down to earth and full of surprises if you open your eyes.
Something slightly classier would be a year's membership to the Art Museum, which is really pretty reasonable. I don't know if it's under-rated or correctly rated, but it definitely isn't over-rated. It's a great, chill, old-school-in-the-best-way art museum, and knowing you can go for free whenever you want would be a huge comfort to me if I was finding my way in a new city on limited finances. When I was broke finishing my PhD in Chicago I would go to the Art Institute for free often and it really, really helped.
I know WaWa is a local institution, and it is a cut above other such places, but I'm just not feeling it as a gift. And while they are omnipresent, they're not omnipresent: AFAIK there isn't one either in Brewerytown (where I live now) or Fairmount (the slightly fancier neighborhood down the hill. I'm sure there's one I'm missing nearby but goes to show they aren't, in fact, everywhere.
posted by Stilling Still Dreaming at 12:10 PM on July 25, 2018
Something slightly classier would be a year's membership to the Art Museum, which is really pretty reasonable. I don't know if it's under-rated or correctly rated, but it definitely isn't over-rated. It's a great, chill, old-school-in-the-best-way art museum, and knowing you can go for free whenever you want would be a huge comfort to me if I was finding my way in a new city on limited finances. When I was broke finishing my PhD in Chicago I would go to the Art Institute for free often and it really, really helped.
I know WaWa is a local institution, and it is a cut above other such places, but I'm just not feeling it as a gift. And while they are omnipresent, they're not omnipresent: AFAIK there isn't one either in Brewerytown (where I live now) or Fairmount (the slightly fancier neighborhood down the hill. I'm sure there's one I'm missing nearby but goes to show they aren't, in fact, everywhere.
posted by Stilling Still Dreaming at 12:10 PM on July 25, 2018
Thanks for the amazing answers, everyone! I did find out where she is going to be living, and it turns out there aren't any WaWas in her neighborhood. But she is fairly close to the Reading Terminal Market, so I ended up getting her a gift card to there, and she was excited to get it. It was hard to choose among all the good suggestions! Thanks again!
posted by aka burlap at 7:11 AM on August 13, 2018
posted by aka burlap at 7:11 AM on August 13, 2018
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posted by entropone at 5:44 PM on July 5, 2018