europeannovice

DH and DS and I are looking forward to traveling to London again this summer.

I see on the TFL website that you can order the 7 day paper travel card. It says on the website that if you wait until you go to London to get the travel card it will be loaded on an oyster but if you want the paper travel card to order from home.

However, I remember reading that in order to qualify for two for one discounts you need the paper travel card from a national rail station. Are they still selling those to visitors? If I order from home would it have the railroad logo on it to qualify for two for one discounts?

Last time child went free--under 10. This time it says either get a regular travel card for DS or send in a picture with 10 pounds for processing for the child oyster card to get the child rates. Which makes more sense? The 10 pound processing fee sort of takes away from the child rate savings for a 7 day pass for zone 1-2.

Thanks.

jamikins

Can't help with the child, but you don't order a paper travel card from the rail station in advance for the 2for1 deals. I gave never heard of a paper travel care from tfl...

Just wait top I'll you get here and get the travel card from the national rail station nearest you...you will need passport photos.

alanRow

DON'T order in advance. No point in getting the Zipcard either unless your OVER 10 child is staying for several months.

Just go to a train station and sort everything out there - you will be able to get suitable Travelcards for adult and child. Just take some passport sized photographs with you as they need to create a FREE card to go with the Travelcard

jamikins

According to the tfl website http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14554.aspx you only need a card for your child 5-10 years old if he or she is unaccompanied. I assume you will be with him so he should ride free with you without any pass or travel card

europeannovice

Per TFL website If your child is:
Over 10 years and 11 months
And under 16 on 31 August before the start of the academic year

They can get:
Free travel at any time on buses and trams
Child fares on Tube, DLR, London Overground and some National Rail services

Your child needs a valid Oyster photocard to get free travel on buses and trams, to get Travelcard season tickets and pay as you go at child rate.

A £10 administration fee is payable at the time of application.

You can get adult and child-rate Travelcards - photo ID is not required. They are issued as paper tickets from the Visitor Shop.

They no longer require photo ID for the travel cards--it says.

Children under 10 travel free but for ages 11-16 they do require a card--either an oyster that has to have a picture and be processed 4 months in advance of travel or a travel card (not an oyster).

Sounds like we should wait to go to a national rail station and get the travel cards there.

jamikins

So it sounds like your son is over 10 years?

LyndaM12

Europeannovice, I'm probably going against the stream here, but I would order the travel cards. For our trip to London in September 2012 we pre-ordered the 7-day travel card. The cards arrived at our home about 2 weeks after ordering and had the National Rail Logo at the top. We didn't use the 2 for 1 offers, but I think the cards could have been used for that purpose. I know most on this forum will recommend the oyster card, but I would preorder again. On the day of arrival, we had the cards in hand, walked into the tube station and headed directly down to the platforms without having to take the time to obtain an oyster card. I think there was some cost to preordering, but with an Oyster card there is a deposit and a photo is required as well. In short, preordering was convenient and worked for us. You can click on my name for my trip report for London.

europeannovice

Yes son is over 10. Didn't mean to confuse--he was under 10 on our first trip over a few years back and is now over 10 so we do need a card for him--just debating travel card vs. child oyster card.

Thanks Lynda--that is our other dilemma pre-order --would those cards be acceptable for two for one's or wait until we get to a rail station?

PatrickLondon

I have my doubts as to whether the TfL advance travelcard would be eligible for the 2for1s:
http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/ticket-types.aspx

It's always possible that the people at the various attractions won't check tickets too closely if at all, but the TfL version is clearly not the same as issued by the national rail companies, who run the 2for1 promotions (to get people to use their lines offpeak).

elainesj

Having the same questions as my children are 11 and 12. We are in London for 6 days so plan to get the 7 day travelcard. From what I can tell, its best to pick it up onsite at a rail station.

I agree with a previous poster - it would have been easier to order online. On top of that, my brother lives in London so I could have gotten it mailed to him. But don't want to take the chance of the 2 for 1 not working. We are using it for at least 2 attractions.

flanneruk

Can I emphasise what Patrick says.

<b> Cards with "the National Rail Logo at the top" are NOT necessarily valid for the 2 for 1 deal, and it's hard to see what the point of buying them is if you don't want that deal </b>

LyndaM is wrong about the eligibilty of the tickets she bought for the 2 for 1 deal

It's not sufficient to have the National Rail logo on: they MUST have been bought at a National Rail ticket office. The ONLY way such tickets can be bought from afar is by getting a relative or friend to go to an office, buy them then send them to you.

BigRuss

<i>We didn't use the 2 for 1 offers, but I think the cards could have been used for that purpose. </i>

If you don't know, don't ring in. You just gave bad advice.

As Patrick and Flanner indicated, the TFL Travelcards are not usable for the 2for1 offers. This is clearly stated on the days out guide website and includes a picture of the travelcard style (#2) that Linda purchased, which contains the national rail logo.

http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/media/...5/sorry_no.gif

europeannovice

Thanks everyone for your valuable input as always.

We will wait until we arrive and purchase at a national rail station and not pre-order.


Thanks again.

europeannovice

Oh--one more question.

Is West Brompton Station considered a national rail station to which to purchase the 7 day paper travel tickets?

I am reading there are over ground stations which are not considered national rail (is that correct?) and only certain stations in London are national rail. Please advise further on this.

PatrickLondon

No, West Brompton isn't a national rail station. If you're staying that side of London, your best bet is Victoria.

jamikins

If you look at a tube map the national rail stations are marked with a red symbol if two horizontal lines with ow diagonally through them. Overground stations are the stations along the line called the overground - it is the double orange line and these are not national rail stations

flanneruk

"If you look at a tube map the national rail stations are marked with a red symbol"

As West Brompton is (National Rail trains stop there as well as those on TfL's Overground line).

But the ticket office isn't operated by National Rail. The crowsfoot on the tube map doesn't indicate ticket office operation: it indicates an interchange between the tube/DLR and the national railway system. In fact, most National Rail stations inside Greater London don't appear on the standard tube map at all.

There is a list of National Rail ticket offices somewhere. Unfortunately the idiots at the railway companies who dreamt up this cockamamie promotion don't put it on their website.

And TfL, who've got a real job to do, isn't going to waste time and energy subsidising foreign tourists who can afford to pay for their holiday.

jamikins

Ah thanks flanner, I stand corrected. If only this was easier to understand!!!!

jamikins

Ok if you go to http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/statio...s/default.aspx and enter the station name and hit search on the left hand side if the page it tells you who operates the station - if it says Network Rail you can buy tickets valid for 2for1. If it says London Underground you cannot!

I tested it West Brompton says London Underground as Flanner said above - cannot buy tickets valid for 2for1. I then out in London bridge and it says Network Rail = yes you can get the correct tickets for 2for1 deals!

I hope this helps!!!

PatrickLondon

>> If only this was easier to understand!!!!<<

It's easy to understand for those it's intended for - people who normally get into London on national rail services.