OYSTER versus PAPER travel card - bottom line??
 

Trying to really figure all of this out.

I read about another family like mine, so someone PLEASE let me know if this sounds good. Looking for some kind people to respond and hopefully clear this up. THANKS!!!

Traveling for a week in london - Two adults and 18 and 14 year old. 1. Decided to get PAPER travel cards for the 3 adults to take advantage of the 2for1 offers. Never heard of the 1 pound cap per day to travel for a minor? is this true?

2. Ordered an 11-14 Oyster card for my 14 year old on line to take advantage of the free bus and lower tube fares and to use some Oyser discounts for west end shows.

Ok - Here are the questions:
1. where do I buy a PAPER travel card? Heathrow?
2. Are the PAPER travel cards good for the tube AND the bus?
3. If only traveling in zones 1-2, what can I buy? I am thinking some days I want to be on the tube/bus before 9:30am to get places like Tower of London early.
4. What is the best way and lowest cost to get extension into zone 6 the day I come in and leave (HEathrow)?
5. Is there a daily cap on the paper travel card? So I can travel a LOT of different places and pay only one price per day and not pay each time?

thanks - answers should help others too!

Hi smschloss,

There is extensive material on this board about both the Oyster card and paper travel cards. Our family-two adults, a 17 year old and a 14 year old just returned from 10 days in London and a week in Portugal. We got paper travel cards for the three adults and our 14 year old travelled for 1 pound a day as an accompanying minor. Travel was unlimited in the zones specified on the card. We got three zone cards because we had commitments beyond zones 1 and 2 (Central London) We took advantage of numerous 2 for 1 offers including the Tower of London. the Cabinet War Rooms, Kensington Palace and Chelsea Stadium. There are many more that we could have used but we simply ran out of time. The paper cards are purchased at train stations. We got ours at Victoria. There was a serious problem with the Oyster card earlier this week-some 65,000 cards were "corrupted" and had to be replaced. This created a number of problems for commuters!
You can always purchase a top up ticket at any tube station if you need to travel beyond the zone specified in your paper card. I hope this helps-we found the 2 for 1 offers a real benefit for our family and they are not available with an Oyster card.

thanks - this sounds perfect! What did you purchase to travel from heathrow to victoria?

Since the OP's initial question has been answered, I'll ask my own rather than starting another thread (I have tried and tried to figure this out myself from the Oyster Card website, but....)

5 adults. 2 are arriving Gatwick on a Friday afternoon, and will take the FCC to St. Pancras, then probably a cab to hotel. The other 3 are arriving Heathrow Friday night and will take the tube to hotel.

We are staying in Zone 1, near the Holborn tube station. We will be in London (mostly Zones 1 and 2) all of Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Tuesday morning, all 5 will return to Gatwick via tube.

What would be the best for us -- I'm thinking we should have a Oyster card each, which would allow for unlimited travel Sat. (capped at 5.30) , Sun (also capped at 5.30)., Monday (capped at 6.80), plus the trips to Heathrow (one at 2 pounds and the other at 3.50 pounds)? By my estimation, that would add up to just about 23 pounds each. Can you get an Oyster card in odd amounts like this?

That was the downside- we bought a single ticket to get to Victoria as it was too far to walk! This adds to the cost but the ultimate savings from the 2 for 1 offers more than made up for it. You may be luckier and be within walking distance of Victoria or another station.

dmlove: &quot;<i>Tuesday morning, all 5 will return to Gatwick via tube.</i>&quot;

the tube <u>does not</u> got to Gatwick. Since you are staying near Holborn/Russell Sq - go to St Pancras and take the train from there to LGW.

As for the Oysters - just buy your PAYG Oysters at the first tube station you use. For the ones arriving at LHR - that would be at the airport tube station. For those arriving by train/taxi from LGW - you likely won't even use the tube your first day so buy your Oysters the first time you do enter a tube station.

The ticket agent will advise you how much to put on the PAYG (the LHR folks will need a bit more &pound; on their Oysters since they are coming in from the airport by tube)

For smschloss:

The only differences between paper and Oyster Travelcards are the range of attractions on the 2for1 offers, and the cost of add-ons for travel outside the zones you've paid for on the Travelcard.

&gt;&gt;1. where do I buy a PAPER travel card? Heathrow?&lt;&lt;
At a National Rail station (displaying the logo like a sort of double arrow), not a tube station. I don't know, but doubt if, say, the Heathrow Express station has them, so otherwise you'd have to go to one of the main termini in central London.

&gt;&gt;2. Are the PAPER travel cards good for the tube AND the bus?&lt;&lt;
Yes - if it's a Travelcard, it's a Travelcard.

&gt;&gt;3. If only traveling in zones 1-2, what can I buy? I am thinking some days I want to be on the tube/bus before 9:30am to get places like Tower of London early.&lt;&lt;
If you have a 7-day Travelcard, it is valid before 0930. It's only the on-day and 3-day cards that have an off-peak option.


&gt;&gt;4. What is the best way and lowest cost to get extension into zone 6 the day I come in and leave (HEathrow)?&lt;&lt;
Cheapest is to have your Travelcard on the Oyster: the add-on is deliberately set cheaper than if you pay cash per trip.

&gt;&gt;5. Is there a daily cap on the paper travel card? So I can travel a LOT of different places and pay only one price per day and not pay each time?&lt;&lt;

By definition a Travelcard covers any amount of travel anywhere within the zones and time periods paid for: doesn't matter if you do a simple commute or hop on and off buses and in and out of the tube every five minutes. The daily cap relates to pay-as-you-go cash on the Oyster only.

For dmlove - You can get an Oystercard at St Pancras, but there will inevitably be queues there. Getting to your hotel could be quicker (and the taxi-ride could be cheaper) if you get off at City Thameslink (High Holborn exit). I don't know if you get Oystercards at that station, but certainly at Holborn tube station. You could try putting &pound;23 on in PAYG money, but they will refund unspent balances. But you'll have to do this before you get on the train to Gatwick, since that's outside the TfL system - and you'll need to allow some queueing time.

It might also be pointed out that bus passes (including Travelcards) are valid for all zones, and without peak restrictions.

We were able to buy the paper 7 day travelcard in the Gatwick airport upon arrival. We also bought our return tix for the train from Gatwick to London Bridge. The queue was pretty short, and they accepted our Amex, making it a very convenient purchase. We bought the 2 zone, 7 day travelcard for 23 pounds each.
Barb

Janis, Yikes, that was a mistake! We are returning to heathrow On Tues., not Gatwick.

PatrickLondon

Thanks for the tips. however, I think to get the 2for1 deals we need a paper card and not the travelcard loaded on the oyster card? Is that correct?

Could you explain what you mean by this? &quot;But you'll have to do this before you get on the train to Gatwick, since that's outside the TfL system - and you'll need to allow some queueing time.&quot;

So you can put as much as you want on the Oyster card? I don't really care about refunds, since we'll be back, or I'll give them to others who will be, just wanted to know if we could &quot;load&quot; it with an odd number.

<b>dmlove: </b>PatrickLondon was explaining about getting a refund of unused Oyster funds. Since now we know you aren't going to Gatwick, ignore that bit.

You can put any amount you want on an Oyster - but since you can top it up whenever you want, there is no need to load more on it than you think you'll use. Even if you return to London or give your oysters to friends - they can be topped up w/ &pound; whenever.


<b>smschloss:</b> There are <u>two different</u> 2-for-1 schemes. One for Oyster holders and one for train riders w/ paper tickets. PatrickLondon was just saying there isn't much difference paper vs oyster except &quot;<i>. . . . the range of attractions on the 2for1 offers . . . .</i>&quot;

janisj

Yes, we are wanting to purchase the PAPER cards, as the offers are better. We pre-ordered an Oystercard for one of out children BEFORE we realized that the papercard deals (daysout.com) are better. Do you know if you can get them at Heathrow? We want to purchase a 7 day card, zones 1 and 2. We are using justairports.com to come in on to take us to our hotel and will buy an extension ticket to take the tube back to Heathrow the day we leave.

smschloss: see my answer on your other thread . . . . .