Oyster Card
Jun 1, 2013, 12:12 pm
#17
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,154
Out of curiosity, similar situation for me coming up, and I've been debating the regular or visitor oyster card myself. I've been leaning towards a car service from LHR to our hotel, so I'm thinking that I'm not likely to be in a spot right away to buy an oyster card, and I'm guessing our first use might actually be on a bus from near our hotel to wherever we might be going from there. At least for this trip, I'm not thinking travelcard is going to be useful (from what I can tell, only the 7 day is where it really makes a difference from an oyster card?), so that restriction doesn't seem to be all that big of a deal for me. Not being able to refund it right there at the end of the trip would be somewhat annoying though too (although don't know if I'll get a chance to run by a ticket office and do that anyways).
Jun 1, 2013, 12:15 pm
#18
Moderator: UK and Ireland & Europe
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Biggleswade
Programs: SK*G, Lots of Blue Elsewhere
Posts: 13,613
The advantage of a travelcard over Oyster is the standing set of 2-for-1 offers if you buy it from a National Rail station.
See http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/
See http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/
Jun 1, 2013, 12:27 pm
#19
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,762
You know, there is such misuse of the terminology that it gets tiresome to try to correct it.
An oyster card looks like a credit card and it is the same size as a credit card and you can put different things on it. One thing you can put on it is a 7 day travelcard for whatever specific zones you wish. For most people, they take very few trips out of zones 1 & 2 that even if arriving at Heathrow and intending to be in London for around a week, they purchase a 7 day trvelcard for zones 1 & 2 and this is embedded on the oyster card. To cover travel outside the indicated zone, every oyster card allows a payasyou go extra account so in this case you would also purchase something like £4.50 in payg to cover your trvel from Heathrow (zone 6) to the edge of zone 2...the price is indicated as an oyster zone 6-3 single and there are time of day differences. Clearly indicated on the tfl web site.
You can also go pure payg on oyster card if you're going to be in London for 4 days or less (actually for me 5 days works but I don't want to get into a nit picking argument with anybody). With payg, fares are deducted from your payg account as you enter and leave the system but are capped at the cost of a one day ticket (I think they re-instituted a small discount but I'm not sure). Again prices are listed on the tfl web site.
Now if you're going to be in London for less than 5 days or so, you can buy individual one day travelcards for the needed zone. Again there are slightly different prices depending on whether your trip starts before 0930 on a weekday (called peak) and the rest of the day (called non peak).
Now the national railroads issue their own travelcards for London. One day and seven days. They are issued on paper stock imprinted with an orange band and the national railway symbol. They are available at national rail offices. The 7 day requires a passport photo. You need ticket stock issued by the national railways for the infamous 2 4 1 discounts.
Bit it's not between travelcards and oyster cards. It's between media issued by tfl and media issued by the various national railway companies, the remnants from British Rail.
An oyster card looks like a credit card and it is the same size as a credit card and you can put different things on it. One thing you can put on it is a 7 day travelcard for whatever specific zones you wish. For most people, they take very few trips out of zones 1 & 2 that even if arriving at Heathrow and intending to be in London for around a week, they purchase a 7 day trvelcard for zones 1 & 2 and this is embedded on the oyster card. To cover travel outside the indicated zone, every oyster card allows a payasyou go extra account so in this case you would also purchase something like £4.50 in payg to cover your trvel from Heathrow (zone 6) to the edge of zone 2...the price is indicated as an oyster zone 6-3 single and there are time of day differences. Clearly indicated on the tfl web site.
You can also go pure payg on oyster card if you're going to be in London for 4 days or less (actually for me 5 days works but I don't want to get into a nit picking argument with anybody). With payg, fares are deducted from your payg account as you enter and leave the system but are capped at the cost of a one day ticket (I think they re-instituted a small discount but I'm not sure). Again prices are listed on the tfl web site.
Now if you're going to be in London for less than 5 days or so, you can buy individual one day travelcards for the needed zone. Again there are slightly different prices depending on whether your trip starts before 0930 on a weekday (called peak) and the rest of the day (called non peak).
Now the national railroads issue their own travelcards for London. One day and seven days. They are issued on paper stock imprinted with an orange band and the national railway symbol. They are available at national rail offices. The 7 day requires a passport photo. You need ticket stock issued by the national railways for the infamous 2 4 1 discounts.
Bit it's not between travelcards and oyster cards. It's between media issued by tfl and media issued by the various national railway companies, the remnants from British Rail.
Jun 4, 2013, 1:18 pm
#20
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: From ORK, live LCY
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But to do this you need to carefully monitor your balance. Only if the amount to refund is £10 or less (so £5 plus the deposit) per card can a refund be given straight away at the station. Any more and the refund will be by cheque posted to your address, which might not be very useful to visitors.
Jun 18, 2013, 10:16 am
#21
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Australia
Programs: QF, LM, AA,VA Silver, Qatar, Accor Gold, CC Gold, HH Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott B Plat
Posts: 535
Travelling to Bath for 1 day
You know, there is such misuse of the terminology that it gets tiresome to try to correct it.
An oyster card looks like a credit card and it is the same size as a credit card and you can put different things on it. One thing you can put on it is a 7 day travelcard for whatever specific zones you wish. For most people, they take very few trips out of zones 1 & 2 that even if arriving at Heathrow and intending to be in London for around a week, they purchase a 7 day trvelcard for zones 1 & 2 and this is embedded on the oyster card. To cover travel outside the indicated zone, every oyster card allows a payasyou go extra account so in this case you would also purchase something like £4.50 in payg to cover your trvel from Heathrow (zone 6) to the edge of zone 2...the price is indicated as an oyster zone 6-3 single and there are time of day differences. Clearly indicated on the tfl web site.
You can also go pure payg on oyster card if you're going to be in London for 4 days or less (actually for me 5 days works but I don't want to get into a nit picking argument with anybody). With payg, fares are deducted from your payg account as you enter and leave the system but are capped at the cost of a one day ticket (I think they re-instituted a small discount but I'm not sure). Again prices are listed on the tfl web site.
Now if you're going to be in London for less than 5 days or so, you can buy individual one day travelcards for the needed zone. Again there are slightly different prices depending on whether your trip starts before 0930 on a weekday (called peak) and the rest of the day (called non peak).
Now the national railroads issue their own travelcards for London. One day and seven days. They are issued on paper stock imprinted with an orange band and the national railway symbol. They are available at national rail offices. The 7 day requires a passport photo. You need ticket stock issued by the national railways for the infamous 2 4 1 discounts.
Bit it's not between travelcards and oyster cards. It's between media issued by tfl and media issued by the various national railway companies, the remnants from British Rail.
An oyster card looks like a credit card and it is the same size as a credit card and you can put different things on it. One thing you can put on it is a 7 day travelcard for whatever specific zones you wish. For most people, they take very few trips out of zones 1 & 2 that even if arriving at Heathrow and intending to be in London for around a week, they purchase a 7 day trvelcard for zones 1 & 2 and this is embedded on the oyster card. To cover travel outside the indicated zone, every oyster card allows a payasyou go extra account so in this case you would also purchase something like £4.50 in payg to cover your trvel from Heathrow (zone 6) to the edge of zone 2...the price is indicated as an oyster zone 6-3 single and there are time of day differences. Clearly indicated on the tfl web site.
You can also go pure payg on oyster card if you're going to be in London for 4 days or less (actually for me 5 days works but I don't want to get into a nit picking argument with anybody). With payg, fares are deducted from your payg account as you enter and leave the system but are capped at the cost of a one day ticket (I think they re-instituted a small discount but I'm not sure). Again prices are listed on the tfl web site.
Now if you're going to be in London for less than 5 days or so, you can buy individual one day travelcards for the needed zone. Again there are slightly different prices depending on whether your trip starts before 0930 on a weekday (called peak) and the rest of the day (called non peak).
Now the national railroads issue their own travelcards for London. One day and seven days. They are issued on paper stock imprinted with an orange band and the national railway symbol. They are available at national rail offices. The 7 day requires a passport photo. You need ticket stock issued by the national railways for the infamous 2 4 1 discounts.
Bit it's not between travelcards and oyster cards. It's between media issued by tfl and media issued by the various national railway companies, the remnants from British Rail.
Which website sells the best pre-paid tickets
Jun 18, 2013, 11:08 am
#22
Moderator: UK and Ireland & Europe
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Biggleswade
Programs: SK*G, Lots of Blue Elsewhere
Posts: 13,613
The Oyster card is for travel in (and on routes immediately around) London only. This excludes Bath.
If you can commit to specific trains, then it is work pre-booking tickets to Bath. The best site to buy from is normally the train operator, in this case http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/ - you can then obtain the (paper) tickets from a ticket machine, using the same credit card, on arrival.
If you don't buy pre-pay tickets, the walk-up fare is £53.30, if you leave after 10:30am weekdays or any time at weekends (£67 after 08:30, £175 before that).
If you can commit to specific trains, then it is work pre-booking tickets to Bath. The best site to buy from is normally the train operator, in this case http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/ - you can then obtain the (paper) tickets from a ticket machine, using the same credit card, on arrival.
If you don't buy pre-pay tickets, the walk-up fare is £53.30, if you leave after 10:30am weekdays or any time at weekends (£67 after 08:30, £175 before that).
Jun 18, 2013, 1:23 pm
#23
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: From ORK, live LCY
Programs: BA Silver, EI Silver, HH Gold, BW Gold, ABP, Seigneur des Horaires des Mucci
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Note that non-chip & PIN cards can't be used to collect tickets from the machines, so you would need to get them at the booking office, which can be time-consuming.
The cheapest single tickets from London to Bath Spa and vice-versa are £9.50 single, but these would normally need to be booked around 12 weeks ahead and aren't available on popular trains.
Not sure what an Opal card is.
The cheapest single tickets from London to Bath Spa and vice-versa are £9.50 single, but these would normally need to be booked around 12 weeks ahead and aren't available on popular trains.
Not sure what an Opal card is.
Jun 20, 2013, 10:10 pm
#28
Join Date: May 2006
Location: PMD
Programs: UA*G, NW, AA-G. WR-P, HH-G, IHG-S, ALL. TT-GE.
Posts: 2,912
I can confirm as of Monday, May 6, the machine at Heathrow T1/2/3 Station accepted two different US credit cards (one VI, one MC) without chips, buying each a £25 card (£20 value).
Dec 19, 2013, 10:51 am
#29
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Dallas, TX
Programs: AA GLD, Marriott PLT, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,900
Can I register an Oyster card without a UK address? I tried it a few days ago and it didn't like me using a US address. I am back in the USA with my Oyster Card. It only has a a few quid on it, but I understand it never expires. Hopefully, I'll return to London within a year or so.
Dec 19, 2013, 12:11 pm
#30
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: DAY/CMH
Programs: UA MileagePlus
Posts: 2,474
Can I register an Oyster card without a UK address? I tried it a few days ago and it didn't like me using a US address. I am back in the USA with my Oyster Card. It only has a a few quid on it, but I understand it never expires. Hopefully, I'll return to London within a year or so.