Does Leicester Sq TKTS Booth take Credit Cards?
 

Hi,

When I was in London this July, they didn't take credit cards and I had to scramble to the nearby ATM machines to withdraw cash. My parents will be there this October and they're wondering if they are taking credit cards now?

Tiger Lily

Something is weird here. They have been taking credit cards there for a couple of years now. I have no idea why they wouldn't accept yours this July. I used one there in May about 10 times!

Oh, but by the way, they will NOT take Traveler's Cheques there.

And here's something really funny. There is now a second TKTS booth out at Canary Wharf. At that one they WILL NOT ACCEPT CASH -- only credit cards. How's that for a switch?

Every so often I've gone there and found a sign that they are not accepting cc's due to technical difficulties.

Incidentally they take mc and visa but not amex.

I've never seen a sign like that but I'm sure it is always a possibility. In May it actually shut down completely for two days due to a major computer problem. They posted a sign listing theatres where you could go and get half price tickets directly by saying the TKTS booth sent you.

Incidentally, they are so nice at that booth. Before they took credit cards I got to the head of the line, got my tickets, then realized I was out of cash. The guy told me there was an ATM almost immediately behind me. He said to get the money and come back to the head of the line which I did, while he held the tickets for me.

Thanks Patrick and xyz,

So they do indeed accept credit cards. But just in case, I'll get my parents prepared for technical difficulties.

Cheers

Yeah, they accepted them July the summer before (2003), so it must have been a technical snafu.

As the others say - they do accept credit cards -- BUT do not count on it. Since they started taking cards 2+ years ago, I have used them probably 10 or more times -- and had to use cash 3 or 4 times due to the dreaded "system down" or "machine out of order" signs.

But not to worry - there is a handy ATM less than 50 feet away. When you are looking over the day's offerings, just be sure to see if the "Cash only" sign is displayed over the ticket windows -- if so just step over to the Nat West (I think that's the nearest one) cash machine before you get in the queue.