Originally Posted by
Sintaku
If you are living there and commuting a lot you probably will want to get an Oyster with a travel card on it, as it can get quite expensive using your contactless card at peak times. Most unmanned machines won't work with signature cards. I've had good luck on sub 20 GBP purchases at unmanned machines with my amex plat, however no luck with any of my other MC/Visa cards.
It depends on your needs but contactless is cheaper than Oyster pay as you go. The daily cap is the same, but contactless adds a Monday to Sunday cap equivalent to the price of a seven day Travelcard. But since it is a cap, you don't need to decide in advance if you need it.
Monthly and Annual Travelcards are cheaper, yes... But it's somewhat false economy. You don't commute on holidays, so that's 40ish work days a year for most of us we don't necessarily commute. In the summer, you may walk or cycle. Etc...
I'm not convinced Travelcards save the average person that much, tbh.