Using the Tube in London: Flanner? Alan? Patrick? Janis?
Aug 24th, 2011, 06:09 AM
#21
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Our experience with buying and turning in Oyster cards at LHR was fine; we happened not to find a long line during either transaction but even if there had been a line for purchase, it would have been a good plan to buy it there, saving all the postage/handling/costs of having it mailed.
In 2008 we turned cards back in at LHR and got all the money refunded in cash. Now, regulations may have tightened up since then, or I may have just gotten an extremely helpful agent, but he bent a couple rules--we had credit from both cash and credit card AND one card had quite a bit left on it, like over 15GBP's I think; he told me both of those were issues but he gave us all the money anyway.
In 2010 we just kept the cards which had about 5-6GBP's left on each. This past summer I was with a group of students and teachers on an EFEducational Tour and when we needed to buy Tube tickets to use on one trip during our free time (a travel not covered by EFTour-provided transport arrangements), I and an adult used the Oyster cards, which had enough credit for our needs.
So yes you can use them next year for sure, and afterwards too. And don't know if KayF's experience is the standard policy now--could be.
In 2008 we turned cards back in at LHR and got all the money refunded in cash. Now, regulations may have tightened up since then, or I may have just gotten an extremely helpful agent, but he bent a couple rules--we had credit from both cash and credit card AND one card had quite a bit left on it, like over 15GBP's I think; he told me both of those were issues but he gave us all the money anyway.
In 2010 we just kept the cards which had about 5-6GBP's left on each. This past summer I was with a group of students and teachers on an EFEducational Tour and when we needed to buy Tube tickets to use on one trip during our free time (a travel not covered by EFTour-provided transport arrangements), I and an adult used the Oyster cards, which had enough credit for our needs.
So yes you can use them next year for sure, and afterwards too. And don't know if KayF's experience is the standard policy now--could be.
Aug 24th, 2011, 07:54 AM
#23
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Well lots of stuff here. Some of it incorrect, some of it a bit dated. Here's the deal. You really have several choices. I wouldn't buy in advance; doesn't save money and you never know about the queues anyway so..
1. Your basic choice is to buy a 7 day zone 1 & 2 card on oyster or to use PAYG. Iat depends on how much you're going to be using the various transport options available. I would probably go with the 7 day zone 1 & 2 good for that day and the next 6 in zones 1 & 2. Since you will be doing at least 2 trips out of and back to Heathrow and probably a couple of other trips outside zones a & 2, you will need to put some cash on the card as well; the card will hold the 7 day travelcard and cash for extension fares, in this case the fare from zone 6 to the boundary of zone 3...lthe cash will seamlessly be deducted when you touch out and the fare for your trip calculated by the great tfl computer in the sky. Now our dear friend flanneruk made an error. The deposit for an oyster card has been raised to £5 (it used to be £3; as a matter of fact they used to not charge the deposit if your first transaction was a 7 day or one month travelcard. I have about 7 oyster cards which I got for no deposit as instead of refilling the old one, I always got a new one whenever I got a 7 day card. This is probably the simplest way to do.
2. If there are a couple of days in there where you might not be using public transport or maybe perhaps only 1 day or perhaps only the buses (if you use the buses only on any given day, the charge for that day caps at £4; there is no other way to get a 1 day bus pass), you might consider straight PAYG. You put a set amount on the card and use it and the computer calculates the cheapest rate for the trip with the provisions that the card will cap for the day at the price of a one day travelcard for the zones and times you use it. You don't worry about that, you can check on the machines your usage. This is what Flanner was referring to but for £5 today you get no credit as the deposit is now £5. The deposit, in theory, is refundab le as well as any cash left on the card. I haven't heard there's any problem.
3. The advantrage of going straight PAYG on oyster is the 2 for 1's which is a perenial discussion here. If you are going to use a 2 4 1 on a given day, you need a travelcard issued by one of the national railroad lines at a national railroad ticket office. What some people do is use PAYG on oyster except the day before they're going to do a 2 4 1, they stop by a national rail office (you can walk from cnvent garden to Charing Cross for one) and purchase a 1 day travelcard for the needed zones a day in advance and on that day, use the one day paper travelcard and leave oyster home.
Note as noted, paper travelcards are not available at Heathrow. One of the advantages of going in and out by way of Gatwich is to purchase a return ticket on the Gatwick Express or the regular Gatwick train which will cover you for the 2 4 1's and then use the tfl oyster card for everything else in London.
Given all that, what I probably would do to leave my options open is to buy at Heathrow an oyster card, hand over 20 quid and you will get 15 quid credit, the other 5 being the deposit and go from there. You can monitor it on the machines and when you start running low, top it up. You probably even if you don't do a 2 4 1 not spend all that much more than a 7 day job with extensions but in any case, the difference won't be all that great.
1. Your basic choice is to buy a 7 day zone 1 & 2 card on oyster or to use PAYG. Iat depends on how much you're going to be using the various transport options available. I would probably go with the 7 day zone 1 & 2 good for that day and the next 6 in zones 1 & 2. Since you will be doing at least 2 trips out of and back to Heathrow and probably a couple of other trips outside zones a & 2, you will need to put some cash on the card as well; the card will hold the 7 day travelcard and cash for extension fares, in this case the fare from zone 6 to the boundary of zone 3...lthe cash will seamlessly be deducted when you touch out and the fare for your trip calculated by the great tfl computer in the sky. Now our dear friend flanneruk made an error. The deposit for an oyster card has been raised to £5 (it used to be £3; as a matter of fact they used to not charge the deposit if your first transaction was a 7 day or one month travelcard. I have about 7 oyster cards which I got for no deposit as instead of refilling the old one, I always got a new one whenever I got a 7 day card. This is probably the simplest way to do.
2. If there are a couple of days in there where you might not be using public transport or maybe perhaps only 1 day or perhaps only the buses (if you use the buses only on any given day, the charge for that day caps at £4; there is no other way to get a 1 day bus pass), you might consider straight PAYG. You put a set amount on the card and use it and the computer calculates the cheapest rate for the trip with the provisions that the card will cap for the day at the price of a one day travelcard for the zones and times you use it. You don't worry about that, you can check on the machines your usage. This is what Flanner was referring to but for £5 today you get no credit as the deposit is now £5. The deposit, in theory, is refundab le as well as any cash left on the card. I haven't heard there's any problem.
3. The advantrage of going straight PAYG on oyster is the 2 for 1's which is a perenial discussion here. If you are going to use a 2 4 1 on a given day, you need a travelcard issued by one of the national railroad lines at a national railroad ticket office. What some people do is use PAYG on oyster except the day before they're going to do a 2 4 1, they stop by a national rail office (you can walk from cnvent garden to Charing Cross for one) and purchase a 1 day travelcard for the needed zones a day in advance and on that day, use the one day paper travelcard and leave oyster home.
Note as noted, paper travelcards are not available at Heathrow. One of the advantages of going in and out by way of Gatwich is to purchase a return ticket on the Gatwick Express or the regular Gatwick train which will cover you for the 2 4 1's and then use the tfl oyster card for everything else in London.
Given all that, what I probably would do to leave my options open is to buy at Heathrow an oyster card, hand over 20 quid and you will get 15 quid credit, the other 5 being the deposit and go from there. You can monitor it on the machines and when you start running low, top it up. You probably even if you don't do a 2 4 1 not spend all that much more than a 7 day job with extensions but in any case, the difference won't be all that great.
Aug 25th, 2011, 02:47 AM
#26
Hi there, this was August 2010 when we tried to get our Oyster refunded at Heathrow. I was told there was more than 10 pounds on it and so they would not give us cash. Hence the lengthy form. I wish we had known in advance and planned for it but I'm sure our friend used the money up anyway.
Kay
Kay
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