Also note that the tourist cards aren't good value unless you plan to make very heavy use of the MTR (and no use of buses, trams etc).

In nearly all cases it makes more sense just to get a normal on-loan Octopus card.

You now also have the option to pay for the MTR and buses (but not the trams) using contactless credit cards (Visa, Master, UnionPay) and mobile phone payment systems (Apple, Google, Samsung). (But note that you will mightily annoy people behind you if you faff about for ages with your phone trying to pay when boarding - Octopus just works.)

Airport Express will go back to 10 minute frequencies on weekdays from 0800-0930 and 1630-1900.

https://hk.on.cc/hk/bkn/cnt/news/202...00822_001.html

Same schedule as pre-pandemic?

What's the cheapest way to buy the fare in a post-COVID world?

I believe 10 was the pre-pandemic frequency, and the cheapest ticket is still with the travel agencies such as Klook. I used to get mine from a local tour agency but they didn't survive COVID.

Is the price still the same or it has increased in price? I think I'll have to check my emails to see what I paid in 2020.

Overcharged on contactless credit card payment?
 

A friend recently travelled roundtrip airport-Hongkong Central-airport. Each way she used contactless credit card payment. While the official 1-way fare is stated as HK$ 110 each way she got charged $ 26.41 and $34.79 = US$ 61.20 = appr HK$ 470! Resulting in almost double the official rate of HK$ 220 roundtrip!!!
Is there a billing error she encountered?

https://www.hongkongairport.com/en/t...t-express.page

This is crazy. I haven't tried contactless in the gates themselves so not sure if this is typical, but purchased tickets from the machines using credit card on my last trip and it was fine and I believe normal price.

That's clearly some sort of error. Most likely of the user- variety. There would have been a huge furore by now if the credit card gates were mis-charging.

She is certain that she run the card upon entering HKG airport station & leaving HKG Central station; vvs on the return.
How should one handle that?
Dispute cc charge?

OK, so there are a number of issues here. The biggest one is that the Airport Express ticket gates don't accept credit cards. So whatever she put her card on wasn't a gate for the Airport Express!

https://www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/m...ntactless.html

I don't understand what has happened because (AFAIK) you can't use contactless transit mode to travel on the Airport Express. From what I have read, this will only be available from 2026.

Also, there are no ticket barriers at the Airport station, so even if contactless transit mode was available, you wouldn't have to tap your card at the airport. That's how it works with Octopus.

I haven't used the Airport Express since before covid, but I have passed near the Airport station many times in the past few weeks and I didn't notice anything to be different from before.

(Note that the Airport Express only goes to Hong Kong station, you cannot access Central station.)

USD 26.41 looks like HKD 205 which is the price of a round trip to Hong Kong station.

USD 34.79 looks like HKD 270.

She could check her transaction history here to see what it thinks she has done https://contactless.mtr.com.hk/side-check

However if she's just purchased some sort of tickets at the counter twice (??) then the portal wouldn't show anything...

I have used contactless transit mode on the MTR recently and haven't had any issues, including receiving the promotional rebates.

Thanks for the update. Using the link above it does not show the airport express charges, however it does show two valid local MTR charges in the same date range.
Really strange! Would a dispute with the cc maybe shed some light on this?
Or is there maybe a customer service email to contact them?

Airport Express tickets are charged as MTR, the parent company.

I would do a dispute unless your bank charges a fee for that. At least that'll make them produce more documentation for the charges. Of course your card may end up blacklisted by MTR, but that's not a big deal (just get a new set of numbers).

I just used it in September, I confirm there are no barriers at the airport station, you just board and pay when you exit (or present the ticket when exiting any of the stations). Credit card contactless does not work (at least not at Hong Kong station). I couldnt even buy a ticket with cash at the airport machines... it kept rejecting all the notes I inserted (you can't pay with credit cards at the machines either...): I went to the lady at the counter, who said she can't sell right now but I just buy my ticket when I exit at Hong Kong station. She also jokingly said "these machines are very old" when I told her about my inability to pay with cash.
Most locals buy their train tickets on Klook actually, there are some small discounts to be have. I did that for my return trip.
For in-town check-in, DO NOT scan your Klook QR code at the check-in desks, go to the information booth next to them and tell them you have a Klook voucher for the train and they will manually open the gate for you to check your bags.