missmissy

Originally I was going to get an Oyster card with a 7 day travelcard loaded on it just to take advantage of the 2 for 1 deals. BUT, apparantly the rules have changed and a 7 day travelcard/Oyster does NOT qualify you to use the 2 for 1 deals.

So, I'm trying to figure out what type of Oyster I should get. Here's our plans:

Tube from Heathrow to London on arrival.
In London sightseeing for 3 days.....then, train (not purchase yet) for 1 day in Canterbury...then, 1 day in London.......then train for 2 days/1 night in York (purchased train, will get ticket at station. Can I do this from ANY train station or just Kings Cross where we depart?)......then London for 4 days (4th day being only the tube from London back to Heathrow).

We plan on traveling outside areas 1 and 2 when we go to Kew and Hampstead Heath (I think that's outside zones 1 and 2?). We'll also train to Hatfield House on our last day.

Any ideas what our best bet is? Just Pay As We Go? Does that automatically adjust if you go to other zones?

Thanks so much. I've always just used the old travelcards, so I've never cracked this Oyster yet.

Missy

icithecat

I found the oyster easier to crack than I thought.
Guestimate what your usage will be based on the the fares posted on tfl and your travel plans. Round up a bit, but not too much.
It takes only a few minutes to buy and load the cards with your determined amount. This is the PAYG mentioned elsewhere. When you get back home, you can register your card and determine what your residual is.
We each have a 5GBP credit with tfl after our 10 day split trip over 16 days. A reason to return.............

ron

The conventional wisdom is that, for 4 days or more, the 7 day travel card is a better option than PAYG. In your first 7days, you will have 4 full days in London, and three days where I am guessing you will be making at least one journey to get to or from train stations for your excursions. So I'd go with the Travelcard. Since you will need PAYG cash on the Oyster anyway for the journey from Heathrow on your arrival day, I'd just go with PAYG for your final four days.

alanRow

You could try and get a 7 day PAPER travelcard from one of the main train stations in London which would be eligible for 2-for-1 - but that would mean paying cash for a trip into London.

Where's your hotel?

MissPrism

Wouldn't a paper ticket be a bit of a pain?
The beauty of Oyster is that you can touch the screen on the tube and buses.

alanRow

<<< Wouldn't a paper ticket be a bit of a pain? >>>

The beauty of a paper ticket is you can use the 2-for-1 offers which you can't with an Oystercard.

So do you want convenience or do you want to save money?

Judyrem

alanrow, where would the main stations be. We are doing the 7 day paper travelcard for 2/1 deals.

janisj

The mainline train stations circle the center -- Paddington, Victoria, Waterloo, Charing Cross, Liverpool Street, Kings Cross, etc, etc . . .

So it mainly depends on where you are staying.

missmissy

alanRow, we'll be at the Jolly St Ermin's near Victoria Station. I could careless about the convenience of swiping the oyster card versus the old way. The old way always worked for me. So, I'm more about saving money. Only my understanding is that the 2 for 1 deals are only good with train ticket purchases. We will be picking up train tickets we've purchased for York, but not until the day we travel. Then, we're planning on purchasing a one day return train ticket to Canterbury.

I'm still confused! ha Missy

xyz123

Alan...

Whosays the 2 for 1 are not good with a 7 day travelcard on Oyster??? The hang up seems to be, when they are offered, with the use of PAYG in lieu of the one day travelcards...of course there's nothing to keep you from using PAYG oyster and on the particular day you are doing a 2 for 1 buying a one day pass...the unused portion on an oyster card, if using PAYG, is always refundable and of course the savings can be dramatic...for example on two days of the trip you just want to make one round trip on the tube....with PAYG oyster that's going to only set you back £3 whereas the one day travelcard is £5.30...the PAYG oyster card gives you complete flexibility with the knowledge that it will cap at 50p below the cost of the corresponding travelcards.

Also, leaving the 2 for 1 out of the equation for just a second, I used to also use 4 days as the barometer of whether to do daily travelcards vs. a weekly travelcard but as I've grown older and wiser and more knowledgeable about the oyster card system, it's probably 5 days as there is sure to be a day or two where you do an excursion out of town or just do a lot of walking where you use next to nothing on the oyster card....but then again, as noted, with a 7 day oyster card (and the receipt you get for it), when the 2 for 1's are offered, you might come out ahead!

janisj

xyz123: I think the point is that Oysters are no longer valid for the 2 for 1's. Until the first of the year - yes, an oyster 7-day travel card WAS accepted for the 2 for 1's. But from several 1st hand reports on here - it now must be a paper ticket.