Dad to GO

My family will be going to London for a few days (Friday-Tuesday) and I am trying to figure out whether or not we need an Oyster card. If both my wife and I have Iphones with Apple pay is that the best/easiest and most cost effective method to use for travel? Our 2 kids are under 4 so they'll be free. We're staying near Buckingham Palace and plan to just do some local site seeing etc.

Thanks!

rcspeirs

Apple pay is accepted, and it should work for you. You'll be charged the same fare as an oyster user - so you do get the cheapest fare
It's not much used here, I've only ever seen two people use it since it was introduced. I suspect because contactless bank cards almost universal here and are widely accepted. So there really isn't much of a gap in the market for apple pay.

Dad to GO

Are there any contactless cards in the US? I know the chip and pin technology is here but I've always thought you had to use something like Apple pay. But, if Apple pay works we'll just do that.

jerry a. laska

Yes, there are.

Also see:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-i...-pay-tube.html

goldencondor

Using your US contactless card to pay for tube fares may incur overseas transaction fees so I'd check the T+Cs if you were thinking of using it over here.

:D!

This is the main thing for overseas visitors to consider when using Apple Pay etc over Oyster.

With contactless you will be charged a single amount for each day's travel early the next day.

If you do have forex fees then you would be charged these 10 times.

You can buy up to 10 (?) Oysters in a single transaction at a ticket machine including topping up to a max of £90 each. Oysters are refundable at larger ticket machines 48 hours after they are purchased if the balance is £10 or less.

UKtravelbear

Apple pay just holds the details of your card it is not a card itself.

TFL only charges the card at the end of the day (well the following morning) and so there would only be one foreign exchange charge no matter how many trips you did. Until that point it holds the data in its system until it can collate all data from the ticket gates and buses (which only download when it returns to the garage and then determine if you have reached the daily cap (or not).

Why would there be 10 for ex charges and why would you buy 10 oyster cards for themselves?

dddc

Any non-cash fare is the most cost effective way of travelling on the Transport for London system (Tubes, buses, rail and DLR). Cash fares for paper tickets are punitive in comparison.

Personally, if you have a debit or credit card that is "contactless", that would be my first preference over any phone based payment method because I've noticed those using phones take longer to get through the gates and the often worrying question, what if my phone runs out of power midway through a journey/day. While the transport network is safe, I wouldn't want to advertise to people I have a phone out or at least what type of phone I have at the barriers. Just my personal safety mantra, others are more blase and of course nothing has happened to them.

If you go down the route of buying Oyster travel cards, at least you can get them refunded - unlike some other countries where you have to buy the card and it expires after a few years.

rcspeirs

If your bank levies foreign transaction fees, then surely the charge will be identical, whether you used the card directly (in contactless mode) or via Apple Pay. I can't see how using Apple Pay would remove that charge.
As for buying 10 Oyster cards for ten days travel? What? That completely misses the point of oyster.
As mentioned above. Avoid cash fare - punitive pricing (and not accepted at all on buses)

goldencondor

Also avoid the £12 one day travelcard if you can. When you use your contactless card, your daily cost will be capped, and it should be less than £12!

LondonElite

Apple Pay, while a great concept, is not as seamless as it should be. I have had many transactions broken off (when it seems to be confirmed on my iPhone, but not with the merchant). Then there is the fingerprint sensor lag or false-negative. All of these are fine if you're buying a pair of pants in M&S at 11am on a Tuesday when everyone has all the time in the world, but try faffing with your iPhone at the gates at Oxford Street or Victoria tube stations at 825am on a Wednesday and see you many friends you make.

Swanhunter

Indeed. I manoeuvre to avoid anyone trying to use it. Many people find the simple act of tapping an Oyster card tricky so add a fingerprint and a device in the mix gives a high fail rate...and annoyed commuters whose metronome like step is broken.

manda99

A lot of the American Express cards are offered with contactless. If you have a Platinum, you can call and request contactless and it has no foreign transaction fees. Not sure about other options.

I have a Ventra card (Chicago's contactless transit card) that is supposed to also work as a contactless mastercard. I tried it on the Tube last summer and it didn't work. I never investigated to figure out why, but considering it's ran by the same people who did Oyster, it doesn't really make sense.

There's a big thread about US contactless cards here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...artphones.html