London - Oyster card

[flapbreaker]

I understand that I can buy an Oyster card for travel into London from Heathrow airport. My question is, can you only buy them from the visitor center? We arrive at 6am but the visitor center does not open until 8am. I've been on the official website but there is no mention of a vending machine for the oyster card. If we don't use the oyster card can we just buy a ticket for the tube?

[SusieKIslandGirl]

How soon do you leave? You can buy the cards and have them sent to your home if you have enough time for shipping.

[flapbreaker]

How soon do you leave? You can buy the cards and have them sent to your home if you have enough time for shipping.

 

August. The problem is that we are only staying one night in london so we only need round trip transportation to and from the airport. The trip should cost £6 one way for an adult so roundtrip would be £12. The oyster card only comes in £10 or £15 denominations with a £3 surcharge per card and a £2.25 shipping charge so basically for the three of us we would be paying £15.75 in shipping and surcharges. If I can confirm with someone that there is indeed a way to buy a single ticket from a machine using a credit card then we would save almost £16. I think the card would make sense for a longer stay.

[Host Bonjour]

August. The problem is that we are only staying one night in london so we only need round trip transportation to and from the airport. The trip should cost £6 one way for an adult so roundtrip would be £12. The oyster card only comes in £10 or £15 denominations with a £3 surcharge per card and a £2.25 shipping charge so basically for the three of us we would be paying £15.75 in shipping and surcharges. If I can confirm with someone that there is indeed a way to buy a single ticket from a machine using a credit card then we would save almost £16. I think the card would make sense for a longer stay.

 

Yes, you can purchase any type of ride you want for the tube from the machines. It sounds like you've done great research and know exactly what you need - zone, line, stops - so when you get there it should be pretty easy to use. Hopefully your credit card has the chip in it, most American cards now do or are being to chip cards so it should be no problem at all, there are machines everywhere that accept credit cards or Visa Mastercard ATM cards.

 

Enjoy London :)

[flapbreaker]

Yes, you can purchase any type of ride you want for the tube from the machines. It sounds like you've done great research and know exactly what you need - zone, line, stops - so when you get there it should be pretty easy to use. Hopefully your credit card has the chip in it, most American cards now do or are being to chip cards so it should be no problem at all, there are machines everywhere that accept credit cards or Visa Mastercard ATM cards.

 

Enjoy London :)

 

Thanks!

[Cotswold Eagle]

I applaud your plan of staying in town and not at the airport :)

 

Your understanding of Oyster may be a little flawed (have you been reading London Toolkit by any chance - it's an excellent site but their Oyster information is poor, for some reason). The Oyster fares to Heathrow are cheaper than the paper ticket fare and you can get remaining credit and the deposit refunded at a ticket machine (in cash only, though). You will almost certainly be better off by:

 

- getting an Oyster card at the same ticket machine others have suggested getting a paper ticket from at Heathrow

- putting on £15 credit

- using it for both journeys to/from the airport

- getting the refund when you arrive back at Heathrow

 

You can also then use the card for any additional tube or bus journeys when you are in town - handy to have the option.

 

This video from TfL may be useful -

Edited June 2, 2016 by Cotswold Eagle

[Cotswold Eagle]

Had to look up the fares as I only use HEX to/from LHR these days!

 

As you know, cash fare £6 each way.

 

Using Oyster, peak fare is £5-10 - you'll be charged this before 9-30 am on the way in (assuming no flight delays, hopefully). Off peak is £3-10 - this will be before 4 pm on the way out the following afternoon - after 4 pm back to peak fare. So you'll each save at least £1-80 and possibly £3-80 using the Oyster.

[flapbreaker]

Ok, thanks for that information Cotswold, certainly worth considering the Oyster card given your explanation. Looking forward to the visit, albeit a short one.

[SteveH2508]

Just a heads up - Oyster credit never expires so you could keep it if ever you wish to return to our great city (and I bet you will:D).

[Mabbiesmum]

If you have a contactless debit or credit card you can use that instead of an oyster card and still get the benefit of the fare capping. See

 

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless