Do I still need my Oyster?

[DeeGee]

Hoping someone can advise me please.

I don't live in London and hold a number of contactless cards, as does my wife.

The only Railcard product I hold is a Family and Friends one.

I do travel occasionally from Aylesford to London with my son who is 7, when we do this we buy a Travelcard + Highspeed from Aylesford with F&F.

I have a First Generation Oyster Card with about £3 of credit on it. I have just logged in to the Oyster Website and it's offering me a refund, or to exchange my card by post.

I'm happy to do either, but what I'm wondering is, whether there's any benefit to holding Oyster if I only PAYG? Am I missing out on any discounts?

Can I convert it to a child's Oyster so the boy can run around with me if I take him to London from outside the Network? Or would I be best off getting the refund?

 

[gordonthemoron]

if you want to retain an oyster account on the Tfl website I think you'll need to retain the card

 

[Kite159]

Have you loaded your railcard discount onto the Oyster (assuming that a Friends & Family railcard can be loaded)?

 

[DeeGee]

Have you loaded your railcard discount onto the Oyster (assuming that a Friends & Family railcard can be loaded)?

I don't think you can set that on Oyster. Not sure how it would work, to be fair, as usually I'm travelling without an accompanying child.

 

[plymothian]

if you want to retain an oyster account on the Tfl website I think you'll need to retain the card

You set up a contactless account instead.

The only reason TfL want you to get rid of your Oyster is that 1st gens are incompatible with their app. If you don't want to use the app, keep the card, it will still work.

To be honest, you need to look at your over all London travel habits. If you only go on a F&F Travelcard, these are only available in paper form. If you and the wife want to travel alone sometime on the odd occasion, then you had just as well use contactless.

 

[DeeGee]

You set up a contactless account instead.

The only reason TfL want you to get rid of your Oyster is that 1st gens are incompatible with their app. If you don't want to use the app, keep the card, it will still work.

To be honest, you need to look at your over all London travel habits. If you only go on a F&F Travelcard, these are only available in paper form. If you and the wife want to travel alone sometime on the odd occasion, then you had just as well use contactless.

If I'm with the wife, I'll also be with the kids, therefore it'll be outboundary with paper. Otherwise its just me, on my own, tapping as need be.

To be honest, it's the occasional trip from Kings Cross to Walthamstow; Stratford to Excel or Tower Bridge; or Euston to Watford.

I'm happy just going contactless and getting my balance and deposit refunded, if there are no other major benefits of Oyster.

 

[MikeWh]

I'm happy just going contactless and getting my balance and deposit refunded, if there are no other major benefits of Oyster.

I'd go with that then. If you do become eligible for a discount in the future you can always get another Oyster.

 

[AY1975]

I suppose the only possible benefit of keeping your Oyster card, is as a back-up in case your contactless card is declined. After a certain number of contactless transactions, I believe that the card can be declined until you do a chip & pin transaction (see the thread on contactless cards being declined at www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=152562).

Obviously, though, that means you have to make sure you have enough credit on your Oyster card just on the off-chance that your contactless card might be declined.

I suppose the other option to safeguard against that happening, is to opt for chip & pin instead of contactless payment every so often, say every ten times you use your card in a shop, even if contactless payment is available.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Contactless caps in a different way to Oyster, so depending on the nature of your bimbling Contactless can sometimes work out cheaper than Oyster. I got rid of my Oyster when I left London as Contactless was more convenient, as I've never wanted to set up auto top-up on Oyster.

 

[a_c_skinner]

An idiot asks:

Do I need to register a contactless card or can I just turn up and use it (assuming I've typed my pin recently, have credit, UK Visa, etc.)

Of course I'll find the Oyster Card soon, it is in a safe place and I was only using it in April.

Andrew

 

[takno]

An idiot asks:

Do I need to register a contactless card or can I just turn up and use it (assuming I've typed my pin recently, have credit, UK Visa, etc.)

Of course I'll find the Oyster Card soon, it is in a safe place and I was only using it in April.

Andrew

Yes, you should be able to just turn up and use it. Only downside of which is being able to accidentally use different cards through the day if you have a couple that you alternate between

 

[Tetchytyke]

You can turn up and use it. I'd recommend registering it, though; you can monitor usage throughout the day and if anything goes wrong it's easier to get a refund.

 

[a_c_skinner]

Thanks. I've just thought of another jacket to search for the missing Oyster...

 

[Joe Paxton]

I suppose the only possible benefit of keeping your Oyster card, is as a back-up in case your contactless card is declined. After a certain number of contactless transactions, I believe that the card can be declined until you do a chip & pin transaction (see the thread on contactless cards being declined at www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=152562).

Obviously, though, that means you have to make sure you have enough credit on your Oyster card just on the off-chance that your contactless card might be declined.

I suppose the other option to safeguard against that happening, is to opt for chip & pin instead of contactless payment every so often, say every ten times you use your card in a shop, even if contactless payment is available.

If you read that whole thread you linked to, it is very far from clear that (otherwise legit) contactless cards do actually get declined when used on public transport in London for the reason alleged, i.e. needing a chip-and-PIN transaction to reset them.

It's certainly my understanding that this is not in fact the case (the card is being used in a special "transit mode" which is different from normal contactless usage).

 

[Puffing Devil]

In the future you may want to load a Child Discount on the Oyster, when your child gets beyond the free travel age.

It's always handy to have as a backup in any case: top it up if your contactless fails.

 

[Feathers44]

In the future you may want to load a Child Discount on the Oyster, when your child gets beyond the free travel age.

It's always handy to have as a backup in any case: top it up if your contactless fails.

I’ve never heard of a child discount on Oyster, it’s all zip photo cards for the kids. To be fair, I don’t know how it works for visitors.

 

[Joe Paxton]

An idiot asks:

Do I need to register a contactless card or can I just turn up and use it (assuming I've typed my pin recently, have credit, UK Visa, etc.)

Not an idiotic question at all.

As others have said, it will just work - well, I'll say 'should', as that takes account of things such as faulty or broken contactless cards!

I think it might vary between issuers, but I think some cards might need to have been used for one chip-and-PIN transaction - this is the normal requirement before using a card for regular contactless transactions, though I am not sure it actually applies to 'transit mode' transactions such as on TfL / public transport in London.

 

[Joe Paxton]

I’ve never heard of a child discount on Oyster, it’s all zip photo cards for the kids. To be fair, I don’t know how it works for visitors.

The "Young Visitor discount" is a fairly new innovation.

From the TfL website...

Young Visitor discount

If you're visiting London and travelling with children aged 11 to 15 who haven't got a Zip Oyster photocard, you can still benefit from reduced rate travel for them. You can get a discount set on an Oyster or Visitor Oyster card that will allow them to pay as you go at half adult-rate for up to 14 days.

This discount is called the Young Visitor discount and can be set by a member of staff at:

* Any Tube station
* TfL Rail station ticket offices
* Visitor Centres (except Gatwick Airport South Terminal)
* Victoria National Rail station ticket office

You and your child must be together when asking for the Young Visitor discount to be set.

You don't need proof of age or identity, but you might be asked to confirm the child's age. One adult can get the Young Visitor discount set for up to four children.

The Young Visitor discount gives the following for up to 14 days:

Half adult-rate pay as you go fares and daily caps on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail and most National Rail services
Half adult-rate on Emirates Air Line and Thames Clipper River Bus services
It doesn't allow free travel and discounted Travelcard and Bus & Tram Pass season tickets can't be added. After 14 days the discount expires and the Oyster card reverts to charging adult-rate fares.

It obviously works on trust.

Regular visitors to London between the ages of 11 and 17 would be better off applying for either an 11-15 or 16+ Zip Oyster photocard.

 

[DeeGee]

The "Young Visitor discount" is a fairly new innovation.

From the TfL website...




It obviously works on trust.

Regular visitors to London between the ages of 11 and 17 would be better off applying for either an 11-15 or 16+ Zip Oyster photocard.

Thanks, that's really useful. Of course, as my children are 7 years and 17 months respectively, it's a while until this will be any use.

Now, I'm frequently in Walthamstow. If I were to take the 7 year old with me, and we were to want to get the tube to "town", how would that work? As a country bumpkin without a Zip photocard, he wouldn't be able to travel free, would he?

Would it be cheaper to buy discounted F&F 1-6 Travelcards and run round with a paper ticket?

That's the only occasion that I can't think of contactless being feasible.

 

[MikeWh]

Thanks, that's really useful. Of course, as my children are 7 years and 17 months respectively, it's a while until this will be any use.

Now, I'm frequently in Walthamstow. If I were to take the 7 year old with me, and we were to want to get the tube to "town", how would that work? As a country bumpkin without a Zip photocard, he wouldn't be able to travel free, would he?

Would it be cheaper to buy discounted F&F 1-6 Travelcards and run round with a paper ticket?

That's the only occasion that I can't think of contactless being feasible.

You don't need a zip card for under 11s on the tube. It's only needed for NR services which don't charge TfL fares (almost all south London and Thameslink/Great Northen in the north).

 

[DeeGee]

You don't need a zip card for under 11s on the tube. It's only needed for NR services which don't charge TfL fares (almost all south London and Thameslink/Great Northen in the north).

Do I not need to tap anything? Do we go through the luggage gate?

 

[Joe Paxton]

Do I not need to tap anything? Do we go through the luggage gate?

As the adult accompanying the children you need to tap your card, yes.

Most Tube station ticket gatelines now have a 'wide aisle gate' which you should be able to get through with at least one child, otherwise ask the gateline assistant to let your children through.

 

[PeterC]

Use the wide gate? Do what every other person who needs it does and repeatedly ram the baby buggy / wheelie lugguage into the standard gate.