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I already have an annual Z1-5 travelcard. I assume if I tap in at Paddington, get the Liz line and tap out at Heathrow, it'll only charge me the difference? So the last station in Z5 is Hayes & harlington, and a discounted off-peak single is £4.80. Is that what I'll be charged?
It should be, but TfL doesn't publish the zonal extension fares so you can't be 100% sure until after you've made the journey.
It may be worth buying a paper Anytime Return if you'll hit the evening peak in one or both the directions, as you get the Annual Gold Card discount on that - but not on the extension fare. Whether it's peak or off-peak is determined by the time you touch in at the start of your journey, so you'd be charged a peak fare even if the 'uncovered' section of the journey is after 19:00 for example.
Of course the other option for @GodAtum, being from the Croydon area AIUI, is the direct SL7 bus to Heathrow. Outside of rush hour it can be quite competitive with the train in terms of journey time.
If you really don't want to pay extra, after arriving at a Heathrow terminal station you could travel to and tap out at Hatton Cross (zones 5/6) on the Piccadilly line, and with a different contactless card double back on yourself by performing a free interchange between Hatton Cross and your desired Heathrow Terminal on the next Piccadilly line train. This would add roughly 30 minutes to your journey.
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
Never mind, if you use the Elizabeth line to arrive at a Heathrow terminal it appears you will have to tap out and you will be charged the journey to Heathrow no matter if continue to Hatton Cross.
To use this method take the Circle or Hammersmith & City line and change at Hammersmith, taking the Picaddily line to Hatton Cross avoiding zone 6, then tap out and back in with a different card as explained above.
TfL doesn't publish the extension fares for contactless outside the zones, but I thought that inside zones 1-9 it was simply the regular fare for the remaining zones, so with a Z1-5 travelcard you'd be charged a Z6 single. Maybe this has changed.
The fare for a Z6 single is £2 / £2.10 peak and the Elizabeth line Heathrow premium for non-Z1 is £5.20, so potentially you might be charged £7.20 / £7.30 peak.
If you really don't want to pay extra, after arriving at a Heathrow terminal station you could travel to and tap out at Hatton Cross (zones 5/6) on the Piccadilly line, and with a different contactless card double back on yourself by performing a free interchange between Hatton Cross and your desired Heathrow Terminal on the next Piccadilly line train. This would add roughly 30 minutes to your journey.
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
Never mind, if you use the Elizabeth line to arrive at a Heathrow terminal it appears you will have to tap out and you will be charged the journey to Heathrow no matter if continue to Hatton Cross.
To use this method take the Circle or Hammersmith & City line and change at Hammersmith, taking the Picaddily line to Hatton Cross avoiding zone 6, then tap out and back in with a different card as explained above.
The fare for a Z6 single is £2 / £2.10 peak and the Elizabeth line Heathrow premium for non-Z1 is £5.20, so potentially you might be charged £7.20 / £7.30 peak.
Knowing how the Oyster extension fares work, this does not surprise me. Perhaps @GodAtum could confirm what they were (or will be) charged once they've made the journey.
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