We know we may be slightly biased, but we think that the Rail Europe Gift Card is a pretty great thing. It combines two of life’s most delightful things: gift cards (free money for shopping? Yes please.) and travel (no explanation needed).

We’ve come up with a few creative ways to use this fun and versatile product. This list is perfect for anyone who wants to give a gift card as a gift and wants ideas for more creative presentation than just e-mailing the card to the recipient (it’s an electronic product); it’s also perfect for anyone looking for creative and helpful budgeting tricks, and for anyone who’s received a gift card and doesn’t even know where to start in using it towards their dream European trip. So basically, this list is great for everyone. Let’s get started!

1. Obvious one first: use the Rail Europe Gift Card as a gift (but with creative presentation!)

OK, so, a gift is probably the most obvious use for a gift card, seeing as the word “gift” is right there in the title. But if you want to package the gift card creatively, why not compile a little list of fun things that the recipient can do with the gift card? How exciting would it be to receive a whole list of examples (and pretty photos) of all the wonderful travel dreams this little card can fulfill? To make it easy and get you started with brainstorming, we’ve made this little sample list for you:

• Eurail Select Pass: the classic rail pass, the one that you can personalize to fit your travel itinerary.
• Norway in a Nutshell: this train + cogwheel + boat journey through the stunning Norwegian fjords is truly a once in a lifetime experience. Looking at the photos will give you some major wanderlust, trust us.
• Swiss Scenic Trains: these are the train rides of Instagram dreams. Don’t believe us? Check out this post we wrote about 7 of the most epic views from Swiss Scenic Train routes.
• City Sightseeing Tours & Passes: this includes everything from wine tours, bike tours, cooking classes, city metro cards, museum passes, vespa tours, and more! Because you’re going to need something to do when you get off the train, after all.

2. Use it to organize a totally personalized family (or friends!) vacation.

So your family or group of friends wants to take a trip to Europe, and you want to make sure that everyone gets to see what they want to see. Solution: give each person a gift card in the same amount, and everyone gets to use his or her own card to choose an activity for the vacation. This way, everyone gets an equal say (and all of the planning doesn’t fall entirely onto one person).

3. Buy yourself a Rail Europe Gift Card so that you stay on budget.

One of the most important things for anyone planning a trip is to stay within a budget that makes them comfortable. A good way to ensure you’re on track is to just buy yourself a gift card (or two, or three, or four, etc, depending on your budget) for the amount you want to spend on the trip, and then, voila! You’ve got the money you need to work with right there. Don’t let yourself buy anything with any money other than what you’ve issued to yourself on the Rail Europe Gift Card.

4. Hold a contest for your business or website.

Are you a small business owner, freelancer, blogger, etc? Contests and giveaways are a fun way to reward your customers, attract new attention, and increase engagement. Our gift card is a great prize, especially because it never expires and it’s issued electronically, so you don’t need to worry about shipping anything. Just make sure you read the Terms and Conditions for the card (it can only be purchased by and issued to US and Canadian residents, for example) to make sure that your audience will be eligible to receive it. Read the full terms and conditions and product description before offering the card as a prize to make sure the Rail Europe Gift Card is a good fit for your contest!

Do you have any more creative uses for the Rail Europe Gift Card? Share in the comments below!

(PS: if you liked this post, keep it in a safe place! We made this handy pin so you can save it to your favorite Pinterest board)