sandykins

Hello, Please help. I have searched this site, the TFL site, and Google and cannot find the answer to this question: If I am visiting London from 12/22/06 through 1/1/06, can I do the following?

(1) get a new Oyster card without paying the £3 deposit if I load it with a 7-day Travelcard for zones 1-2 for which the start date is 12/26/06 (not the date of purchase), and

(2) ride on a pay-as-you-go basis the first three days of my visit?

I guess what I want to know is whether a Travelcard loaded onto an Oyster card can have a start date other than the date of purchase such that I can be debited on a PAYG basis initially and AND have the usual £3 deposit waived.

Thank you in advance to anyone who can help. I am grateful!

nona1

For more detailed information about Oyster, visit Oyster help or alternatively call the Oyster helpline on 0845 330 9876. Customer Service advisors are happy to help you between 0800 - 2000, seven days a week.

Yes you can combine travel card with pay-as-you-go on a single oyster card. I don't know if you can waive the £3 deposit if the travelcard is not the immediate use, check directly with oyster on their helpline above.

Are you sure you want a travelcard anyway? If you are only in zones 1 and 2 you'll save money just doing it on pay as you go oyster. It is guaranteed cheaper daily travel than a travelcard.

The only time it is worth paying for a travelcard is if you are using national rail to get into London as well as the tube. Is it just to save a £3 deposit? Not worth it as you'll spend more than £3 extra on your travelcard and you can get the deposit refunded when you have finished with the card.

alanRow

I googled "oystercard 7 day travelcard", pressed "I'm feeling lucky" and got -

From 25 September, 7 Day Travelcards will only be available on Transport for London's Oyster smartcard, meaning customers currently using paper tickets can benefit from faster and easier journeys.

This change is part of a phased introduction, which has already seen the successful implementation of Pre Pay, monthly and longer period season tickets on Oyster.

TfL is waiving the usual £3 refundable deposit for a limited period to make it easier for customers to switch to Oyster

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/press-cent...t.asp?prID=479

PatrickLondon

Oyster PAYG is not guaranteed cheaper than a travelcard. It's guaranteed to cap your expenditure on any one day at the level of a one-day travelcard. For zones 1 and 2, a one-day card starting before 0930 is £6.20; a three-day card is £15.40, and 7-day card £22.20. No contest in ordinary circumstances. In this case, the fact that there will be no public transport on Christmas Day means that travelcards are of no great value for the first few days she's here. After Christmas, it's a different matter - a 7-day travelcard would cover what under PAYG would cover 4 days of maximum usage (but there's only a couple of pounds in it).

sandykins

The reason I figure a 7-day Travelcard on an Oyster is most economical for my family of four (two adults and 2 under-11s who ride free non-peak) is that whenever we are in London we ride the tube maybe three of four times a day in zones 1 and 2. This December I expect we'll need extensions twice, to Walthamstow Central tube station (zone 3) and to Heathrow tube station (zone 6). We easily would reach the daily cap of £4.40 on Oyster single fares; in contrast, the 7-day Travelcard at £22.20 works out to just £3.17 per day.

I just wanted to know whether the £3 deposit for an Oyster card would be waived if my Travelcard start date was later than my purchase date and my initial use of the Oyster was PAYG.

Why do I care about £6 total in deposits? Because that's almost US$12 and that's not nothing, and because I don't want £6 cash returned to me at the end of my stay when I don't want any foreign currency left in my pockets.

xyz123

sandy...

Please don't take this the wrong way...but there's nothing you can do about it.....if they charge the 3 quid deposit it shouldn't change what you're going to do in terms of convenience and whatever...or if they don't waive the 3 quid deposit when you first get the PAYG for the first days in London, then on the first day you're going to use the 7 day card simply request the deposit back and then buy the 7 day card on a new card...I understand it will mean one extra trip to a booking office but so what...

flanneruk

Aren't deposits refunded in the same form they're paid?

So if you pay by credit or debit card, aren't they paid back onto your card?

sandykins

Xyz123, you're right: I need to go with a 7-day Travelcard on an Oyster, £3 deposit or no. But I really like your idea of returning my initial Oyster card and getting the deposit back before purchasing a Travelcard on a new Oyster. Thanks for a super idea.

nona1

Something tells me you might find London prices a bit of a shock if £6 sounds like a lot of money to you.

Anyway, their lowest price guarantee compares to a single-day Travelcard, not a weekly one, so you are all right.It is worth getting the travelcard, sorry.

P.S. are you sure a few quid won't come in handy at the airport for a couple of coffees, magazines for the flight, or something?

sandykins

Nona, I just like to pinch pennies (or pence) so that I can splurge on the things that matter to me. As a Fru-Gal I never drop money at the airport on drinks, mags, etc. My big splurge for this trip will be a Liberty silk scarf, exchange rate be damned.

I've e-mailed the TFL with my questions, and if they tell me the answers, I'll post them here. I really would like to know whether my deposit can be returned to my credit card account if that's the method of payment.

sandykins

I've just received a kind reply from the TFL info desk. I had asked by e-mail whether I could do the following:

(1) get a new Oyster card without paying the £3 deposit if I load it with a 7-day Travelcard for zones 1-2 for which the start date is later than the date of purchase;

(2) ride on a pay-as-you-go basis the first three days of my visit; and

(3) have a return of any Oyster card deposit or balance in the form of a crdit to my credit card if that was the original form of payment?

TFL say that,

(1) the Travelcard can indeed have a start date later than the date of purchase;

(2) the £3 deposit for the Oyster card is waived whenever one buys a Travelcard at the same time as one gets an Oyster card, regardless of the start date of the Travelcard; and

(3) any Oyster card deposit or balance will be returned in cash if one returns the card to a ticket desk, but by check if one mails the card to a refund department.

Don't you just love the TFL?!




I guess what I want to know is whether a Travelcard loaded onto an Oyster card can have a start date other than the date of purchase such that I can be debited on a PAYG basis initially and AND have the usual £3 deposit waived.

PatrickLondon

Either you're buying a Travelcard at the time you get the Oyster card or you're not. If you are, the deposit is waived, and TfL say it doesn't matter when the Travelcard starts.

If you choose to put PAYG money on it as well to cover the period before it starts, it follows that that makes no difference.

If, however, you don't buy the Travelcard when you get the Oystercard, you don't get the deposit waived.

Seems pretty clear to me.

sandykins

Sorry, Patrick, that last paragraph of my post yesterday was cut and pasted afrom my original post, and I forgot to delete it. The answer really IS clear to me from TFL response! I'm not quite so dense as all that (most of the time)!

PatrickLondon

I should have thought of that. It can all get a bit much sometimes, can't it?

sandykins

Yes, but I always appreciate and learn from your elucidating posts about London, my favorite destination. So, thanks, Patrick!