The activation issue can be resolved - stateside at least!
I read the reviews and knew I was taking a risk by ordering it through Amazon, but...I did it anyways. And sure enough, when I gave it to my step-son - CAN NOT BE ACTIVATED due to blah, blah, blah. I didn't bother trying to resolve it through Amazon; I went right to the source - SPOTIFY. I have dealt with their customer service staff on a prior (unrelated issue) and as usual, they BLEW MY SOCKS OFF. They were able to resolve the issue in less than 24hrs once I provided a few items - the Amazon receipt, photo of front/back of the gift card and the account information I was trying to apply it to. VOILA! Done deal and my step-son is a happy camper. SIDE NOTE: I can't speak to the inability to use for x, y and z as he was only upgrading from a free to a 3-month premium account.
Rating: 4 stars