Adding railcard to Oyster

[91103eastcoast]

Hello,
I have recently got an Oyster card and was wondering if it is still possible to have my 16-25 railcard added to the Oyster card. If this is possible, where can I go to get this done, as London Underground have no longer got any ticket offices?

 

[Hadders]

It most certainly is possible. See a member of staff in the ticket hall and they should be able to do it for you on the ticket machine.

 

[91103eastcoast]

It most certainly is possible. See a member of staff in the ticket hall and they should be able to do it for you on the ticket machine.

Thanks for your time Hadders. In theory could the LU ticket hall staff do this at Kings Cross?

 

[ainsworth74]

Yes that's where I got it done for at least one of my 16-25 Railcards.

 

[Hadders]

I had my Gold Card discount applied to my Oyster card in the tube ticket hall of Kings Cross St Pancras earlier this year. The whole think took less than a minute to sort out!

 

[91103eastcoast]

Yes that's where I got it done for at least one of my 16-25 Railcards.

Thank you both

 

[jimbo99]

East Croydon rail station can cope with this sort of thing, so I suppose there are others that can too.

 

[methethpropbut]

Add on - I've done this at Baker Street as well as Paddington (H&C), in both cases I just approached a person standing at the gates and they just did it at a machine for me.

 

[lightbulb]

LU staff added my three-year disabled persons railcard to my Oyster at Paddington Circle & District line ticket office, but could not cope with the 10th May 2020 expiry date. To get round it, he input the expiry date as 10th May 2019, and advised me to change it on or after that date. I checked at Piccadilly Circus a few days later and was told exactly the same thing.

 

[MikeWh]

LU staff added my three-year disabled persons railcard to my Oyster at Paddington Circle & District line ticket office, but could not cope with the 10th May 2020 expiry date. To get round it, he input the expiry date as 10th May 2019, and advised me to change it on or after that date. I checked at Piccadilly Circus a few days later and was told exactly the same thing.

There's a known issue with online issued 3-year railcards. The system won't let the expiry date be more than 3 years in advance, but you always get a few extra days validity online to allow for post delays. If you try to add it too soon then the expiry date will be over by a few days. You should find that it can be extended now that 10th May has passed.

 

[philjo]

The GTR ticket office at St Pancras (the one nearest the Thameslink entrance) added my Gold card to my oyster card without any problems this year. I think last year it was done at Finsbury Park.

 

[lightbulb]

There's a known issue with online issued 3-year railcards. The system won't let the expiry date be more than 3 years in advance, but you always get a few extra days validity online to allow for post delays. If you try to add it too soon then the expiry date will be over by a few days. You should find that it can be extended now that 10th May has passed.

I previously had a 1-year railcard, so validlity was continuous without any extra days. My second attempt was after 10th May, but the staff member said the change of date to 10th May 2020 couldn't be done until 10th May 2019 which was set on 10th May this year.

 

[MikeWh]

I previously had a 1-year railcard, so validlity was continuous without any extra days. My second attempt was after 10th May, but the staff member said the change of date to 10th May 2020 couldn't be done until 10th May 2019 which was set on 10th May this year.

It's not the continuous validity that's the issue, it's setting the expiry further than 3 years ahead. I think you'd have been ok the next day (11th). I'm prepared to be corrected, but I don't think there's anything to stop the expiry date being updated at any time, as long as it's within 3 years.

 

[island]

That is correct.

 

[unlevel42]

Be very careful that you verify that you Oyster card carries the Railcard.
Have recently been reimbursed £20 because a 16-25 Railcard and ENCTS card failed to be loaded onto one Oyster Card and a Senior Railcard on another by the same member at Kings Cross/St Pancras.

Could not be reimbursed the full amount as the travel data was not "kept".

 

[bluegoblin7]

It's not the continuous validity that's the issue, it's setting the expiry further than 3 years ahead. I think you'd have been ok the next day (11th). I'm prepared to be corrected, but I don't think there's anything to stop the expiry date being updated at any time, as long as it's within 3 years.

Unless things have changed in the last five months (which they could have), even in the example you give the three years still wouldn't have been one to be added. It's a known issue with TfL's systems meaning that three (or more) year validity cannot be added. It kept getting raised, but nothing ever changed.

However, you are correct in stating that the expiry date can be updated at any time. Always best to get it changed ASAP to avoid getting caught out in a couple of years' time.

 

[sheff1]

I had the three year problem. The operator set the expiry date to 3 years less one day from the day they added the railcard to Oyster.

Once the expiry date had become less than 3 years hence I asked for the date to be amended, but was told the correct date was already held. I was not convinced, as the first person who added the card actually showed me the transaction on the machine. Unfortunately there is, unless things have changed, no way of checking via the online Oyster account. So I will need to try and remember in a couple of years time.