US Issued Contactless Card Does Not Work on London Underground
Oct 1, 2017, 10:42 am
#76
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Join Date: May 2000
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I contacted AmEx in advance of another trip to London to follow up on my previous request that they look into this and they claim that the issue has been resolved and they have verified this with other cardholders. Any recent experiences?
Oct 1, 2017, 11:45 am
#77
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: san francisco.
Programs: Marriott Ti, OW Ruby
Posts: 1,849
SPG Amex has always worked for me, and worked fine this May
Oct 1, 2017, 4:03 pm
#78
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: LH SEN; BA Gold
Posts: 8,404
Are there other places where contactless is not accepted? Saw a lot of disappointed faces wanting to get onto the old Routemaster running on line 15. Apparently they don't take contactless on these buses which made me wonder if there are other places where contactless is not accepted.
Oct 1, 2017, 7:19 pm
#79
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,746
How did you actually get someone at Amex who was aware of the problem?
Oct 1, 2017, 7:54 pm
#80
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That said, I'm pretty skeptical, but we'll see.
Oct 2, 2017, 12:29 am
#81
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: London
Posts: 1,546
@WorldLux. Old Routemaster services on route 15 are the only tfl services that don't accept any contactless (doesn't matter where issued) or Apple-Android Pay. This is because it is a tiny sub fleet (about ten or so vehicles) and tfl decided it wasn't worth buying new ticket readers for such a small pool of conductors.
Oct 7, 2017, 7:09 pm
#82
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: South West UK
Programs: OW Saphire, Club Carlson Gold
Posts: 236
I attempted to use my contactless Ventra card last year in London and it wouldn't work. Ventra is the fare card for Chicago Transit, but it's also a contactless Mastercard. I talked to Ventra in advance and they said it would work as long as I loaded money into the MasterCard account on it. Did not work. Ended up buying an Oyster card with the Ventra card. 
Oct 7, 2017, 7:15 pm
#83
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Location: San Diego, CA
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Someone mentioned in the contactless thread that their US-issued Visa card (Chase Sapphire Reserve) worked on TfL with Apple Pay after re-adding it. You may need to upgrade to the latest iOS as well as re-adding the card, too. Hopefully I'll be able to confirm that as well.
Oct 8, 2017, 4:56 pm
#84
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,731
Just to add in another report: 3 separate US-issued AMEX platinum cards with contactless logo failed to work either at the Thames clipper ferry boarding gate or the London underground gate, despite being able to use it for conventional purchase. The gate at the tube gives out code 78, Card not accepted.
More interesting, at this page advertising contactless card for London buses,
https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/c...ments/tfl.html
It says "Look for contactless functionality to roll out to the Tube in the coming year."
No idea how long ago this page was setup.
More interesting, at this page advertising contactless card for London buses,
https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/c...ments/tfl.html
It says "Look for contactless functionality to roll out to the Tube in the coming year."
No idea how long ago this page was setup.
Oct 9, 2017, 4:51 am
#85
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: NW London and NW Sydney
Programs: BA Diamond, Hilton Bronze, A3 Diamond, IHG *G
Posts: 6,343
TFL needs the "opening a tab" type transaction to be available on the card to be compatible with the contactless system - since it pre-authorizes the daily cap amount, but then only takes your actual usage at the end of the day. This "opening a tab" type transaction is typically not allowed on pre-paid MasterCards which i'm assuming this card is classed as. If you cannot use it on the gas pump in the US you wont be able to use it on TFL.
I have a prepaid UK mastercard which doesn't work at the pump at UK petrol stations, but it works on TfL.
I also have a prepaid Australian mastercard which doesn't work at the pump in Australian petrol stations, but it works on TfL. (I used it to travel between LHR terminals as an experiment - I wouldn't otherwise use an AUD card to spend in GBP).
Oct 9, 2017, 5:04 am
#86
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I can't speak for the US but this statement is not necessarily true.
I have a prepaid UK mastercard which doesn't work at the pump at UK petrol stations, but it works on TfL.
I also have a prepaid Australian mastercard which doesn't work at the pump in Australian petrol stations, but it works on TfL. (I used it to travel between LHR terminals as an experiment - I wouldn't otherwise use an AUD card to spend in GBP).
I have a prepaid UK mastercard which doesn't work at the pump at UK petrol stations, but it works on TfL.
I also have a prepaid Australian mastercard which doesn't work at the pump in Australian petrol stations, but it works on TfL. (I used it to travel between LHR terminals as an experiment - I wouldn't otherwise use an AUD card to spend in GBP).
May 22, 2018, 8:48 pm
#87
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Join Date: May 2000
Location: أمريكا
Posts: 26,761
Well despite AmEx's assurances that the problem was fixed, as of October my card still didn't work. I'll try again next month. Really annoying that they broke this.
May 23, 2018, 5:36 am
#88
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: Kettle Class
Posts: 796
I'll be the counter-datapoint. US-issued contactless Amex Hilton worked fine for me last week on TfL buses and Tube.
May 23, 2018, 10:14 am
#89
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