london travel card or contactless

Which is better: Oyster, contactless or travelcard?

Which card should you choose?

One of the first decisions that a tourist has to make when travelling around London is whether to use an Oyster card , contactless card or travelcard .

The first thing to be aware of is that using cash to buy individual tickets is definitely the worst idea, as single tickets on the train are more than double the cost of Oyster and contactless, and you can’t even buy single tickets on the bus anyway. So which of the three cards do we recommend?

Oyster cards

An Oyster card is a credit card-sized piece of plastic. You load it up with money before you travel and then tap it down on the Oyster card readers on the buses and trains. The computer will then automatically deduct the correct fare from your credit. When you start running low on credit you can just top it up again at a ticket machine.

They come in two different types: normal blue Oyster cards are aimed primarily at the locals, whereas Visitor Oyster cards are aimed primarily at the tourists (although they are basically both the same, so it doesn’t really matter which one you get).

What are the benefits of using an Oyster card?

• The biggest benefit of using an Oyster card is its joint cheapest fares for single journeys (along with contactless)
• The Oyster daily cap is always cheaper than buying a 1-day travelcard
• Oyster pay-as-you-go credit can be used in zones 1-9, whereas travelcards are only valid in the zones you buy them for
• If you register your card online then you can turn on the ‘auto top-up’ feature which takes money out of your bank account whenever your credit gets low, so you don’t have to worry about running out
• Pay-as-you-go credit never expires, so you can carry on using any leftover credit on your next visit
• Visitor Oyster cards also come bundled with a book of discounts vouchers which can save you money at shops, restaurants and entertainment venues. These discounts are constantly changing all the time, but in the past they’ve included things like 10% off a boat ride, 10% off souvenirs in a particular gift shop, or 20% off a meal in a particular restaurant. The instructions for each venue will come with the vouchers, but most of the time all you have to do is show your Visitor Oyster card when you pay the bill, and the staff will apply the discount

What are the downsides of using an Oyster card?

• One of the downsides of using an Oyster card is that you can’t pay two fares with one card, so each traveller in your group will need their own
• The weekly cap only works from Monday to Sunday, whereas weekly travelcards can start on any day of the week you like
• You have to pay a £7 deposit whenever you buy a new Oyster card, or a £5 activation fee when you buy a Visitor Oyster card, which can’t be put towards fares
• You can’t buy a Visitor Oyster card in central London, only the normal blue Oyster cards. If you want a Visitor Oyster card then you have to buy it online in advance and have it posted to you

Contactless cards

A contactless payment card is just your normal everyday debit or credit card. It works in exactly the same way as a London Oyster card . You just tap it down on the Oyster card readers on the buses and trains and the computer will automatically deduct the correct fare from your bank account.

What are the benefits of using a contactless card?

• One of the main benefits of using a contactless card is that it’s just your normal everyday bank card or credit card, so you probably already have one
• Contactless also has the joint cheapest fares for single journeys (along with Oyster)
• The contactless daily cap is always cheaper than buying a 1-day travelcard
• Contactless can be used in zones 1-9, whereas travelcards are only valid in the zones you buy them for
• Unlike Oyster cards, you don’t have to pay a £7 deposit to set it up
• Unlike Oyster cards, there’s no need to keep topping it up with credit because the money comes straight from your bank account
• Contactless cards can be used in conjunction with Mobile Pay on your phone

What are the downsides of using a contactless card?

• One of the downsides of using a contactless card is that you can’t pay two fares with just one card, so each traveller in your group will need their own
• Unlike with Oyster, you can’t load a travelcard onto a contactless card
• Not all foreign-issued cards are accepted, and foreign cards might have a transaction fee added on by your bank every time you buy a ticket, bumping up the price of your journey

Travelcards

Travelcards are credit card-sized pieces of paper. They can also be loaded onto an Oyster card . You choose the duration you want it to cover (either 1-day, one week, one month or one year), whether you want it to cover just the bus/tram, or the train/bus/tram together, plus the zones you want to travel through, and then you’ll be entitled to unlimited travel in those zones until it expires.

What are the benefits of using a travelcard?

• The biggest benefit of using a travelcard is that you can make an unlimited number of journeys over one day, one week, one month or one year
• Depending on how many journeys you make in total, a weekly travelcard might work out cheaper than the Oyster and contactless weekly cap
• Unlike Oyster cards, you don’t have to pay a £7 deposit the first time you buy it
• You can take advantage of National Rail’s 2-for-1 offer to get cheap entry into 150+ tourist attractions. All you have to do is print out the relevant voucher from daysoutguide.co.uk/2for1-london and then hand it over at the attraction, alongside a valid National Rail travelcard for the same day of travel. But here’s the catch: the travelcard has to be printed on orange paper. That means that you have to buy it from a National Rail station (the big overground hubs like Euston , King’s Cross , Liverpool Street , Paddington , Victoria and Waterloo ). Travelcards bought at London Underground stations are no good, because they will be printed on TFL’s pink paper. And travelcards loaded onto an Oyster card are no good either

What are the downsides of using a travelcard?

• One of the downsides of using a travelcard is that you can’t share one between two people, so each person in your group will need their own
• One day travelcards are always more expensive than the daily cap on Oyster and contactless
• Unlike the pay-as-you-go-credit on Oyster and contactless cards, travelcards can only be used in the zones you bought it for. If you later decide that you want to travel outside of those zones then you’ll have to buy a completely separate ticket
• Travelcards are only valid for 1-day, one week, one month or one year – you can’t buy a travelcard that covers any other stretch of days

How do Oyster, contactless and travelcard fares compare?

Bear in mind that travelcards only allow you to travel between a set period (either one day, one week, one month or one year), whereas the Oyster daily cap and contactless daily cap apply all the time.

You can think of the daily cap as a price ceiling – it doesn’t matter how many buses or trains you ride each day, the maximum amount that the computer will take from your Oyster or contactless card will never rise above the cap.

Peak and off-peak fares – For Oyster and contactless peak fares apply to all journeys that start between 6:30 AM and 9.30 AM (Monday to Friday), or 4.30 PM and 7 PM (Monday to Friday). It doesn’t matter what time the journeys finish. Any other journey is classed as off-peak. Note: Between the 8th March and 31st May 2024 TFL are running a trial called ‘Off-Peak Friday Fares’, where Fridays will be classed as off-peak all day.

For travelcards, off-peak applies to any journey that starts after 9.30 AM (Monday to Friday).

Which is the cheapest: Oyster, contactless or travelcard?

The Oyster and contactless cap is always cheaper than buying a one day travelcard … but bear in mind that you also have to pay an £7 deposit on top the first time you buy an Oyster card , so a 1-day travelcard can still work out as better value.

The Oyster and contactless weekly cap is identical to buying a weekly travelcard, but you need to make enough journeys to make a weekly travelcard worthwhile. If you make at least three or more journeys on six days, or two or more journeys on seven days, then a 7 day travelcard will be worth it, otherwise you should go for an Oyster card or contactless instead.

Where can you use Oyster, contactless and travelcards?

Buses – Oyster cards, contactless cards and travelcards can be used on TFL buses all over London. And because buses don’t have zones you can use a train/​bus/​tram travelcard in whichever zone you like, regardless of which zones you actually bought it for.

London Underground, London Overground, DLR, TFL Rail, National Rail – The pay-as-you-go credit on Oyster cards and contactless can be used in all of the Oyster zones (1-9), but travelcards can only be used in the zones you bought it for.

You can also use Oyster and contactless on the Heathrow and Gatwick Express, but bear in mind that it won’t count towards the daily cap – it will just be deducted from your credit.

Taxis – Contactless cards can also be used to pay for black cabs (assuming that the fare is less than the current limit of £100). But Oyster cards and travelcards cannot.

IFS Cloud Cable Car & Thames Clipper – You can use Oyster cards and contactless to pay for a ticket on the cable car and Uber’s Thames Clipper service, but bear in mind that the cost will not count towards the daily cap – it will just deduct the relevant fare from your credit. Travelcards cannot be used to pay the fare.

How long do Oyster, contactless and travelcards last?

The pay-as-you-go credit on an Oyster card lasts forever. If you don’t use all the money up during your first holiday then you can simply carry on using it during your next visit.

Contactless cards don’t expire either, because they take the money straight out of your bank account.

A travelcard is the only one with an actual expiry date, because you have to choose a start date and duration when you buy it – either one day, one week, one month or one year. Once the duration has passed then the travelcard will stop working.

Which is best: Oyster, contactless or travelcard?

So which is better? If you’re a foreign visitor coming to London for just one day then we recommend choosing a one day travelcard . The Oyster and contactless daily cap might seem cheaper, but when you factor in the Oyster card’s £7 deposit, and the fact that your bank might add on a transaction fee every time you use a foreign bank card overseas, then a travelcard will likely work out cheaper.

If you’re a foreign visitor coming to London for more than one day then we recommend buying an Oyster card or Visitor Oyster card instead… unless you’re planning on making two or more journeys on seven consecutive days, or three or more journeys on six of those days, in which case a weekly travelcard will work out cheaper.

If you’re a UK visitor then we always recommend using your contactless card , regardless of how many days you’re staying, because the fares are the same as Oyster and you don’t have to pay a deposit to get one.

Your comments and questions

Jane Is a two traveling together card, work out cheaper than a pay as go Oyster card

Staff Hi Jane. No, if you're talking about the railcard then it doesn't apply to Oyster pay-as-you-go fares. It's only really any good if you're travelling on trains outside of London - twotogether-railcard.co.uk/​using-your-railcard/​travel-times-tickets/

JohnP My sister and I are coming to London for a week of museums and galleries. We've been there three times before, but each time I get confused between travelcards, Oyster cards, etc. We arrive and depart through Heathrow, and we're staying near Holland Park/Kensington, so I THINK the 7 Day travelcard is what we should use, but I'm not sure. Any suggestions or help in explaining it more clearly would be greatly appreciated

Staff Hi JohnP. Weekly travelcards always have a start date on them (which you choose when you buy it) and they're valid for for seven consecutive days. You also have to choose which zones you want it to cover. You'll probably want zones 1-2, but it depends where you're going. Oyster cards 'might' be better because they don't have a date on them, they can be used in all the zones, and they cap the maximum price you can spend each day (regardless of how many journeys you take). You can look up the daily caps on our Oyster card page - city-guide.london/​transport/​oyster-cards.php . This might work out cheaper, but if you're making at least three or more journeys on six days, or two or more journeys on seven days, then a weekly travelcard will be better

Tony Hi. I'm London travelling across zone 1 and 2 for 3 days. Is it right that if I use a contactless card the cap will allow me to travel off-peak for less than a one day travelcard

Staff Hi Tony, that's right. The daily cap for zones 1-2 is only about half the cost of a 1-day travelcard

Bobbie I'll be in England for a month with several train trips. I just purchased a Senior Railcard. Can I get discounted fares on the tube? And how do I use it in conjunction with contactless credit card payment?

Staff Hi Bobbie. Most of the savings come from buying National Rail tickets, The only discounts you get on the tube are 33% off the daily cap for Oyster fares (off-peak only), 33% off single Oyster fares (off-peak only), and 33% off a zone 1-9 one day travelcard (when bought as part of a journey to London from outside London). You have to buy an Oyster card and get the Senior railcard loaded on to it. It doesnt work with contactless because its not possible to load the railcard onto your bank card - senior-railcard.co.uk/​using-your-railcard/​travel-times-tickets/

Susan Tchudi We're coming to London for ten days. We're staying in Kensington. We've always used travelcards in the past, but we'll probably want to go beyond zones 1 and 2, for example to Kew Gardens. So would it be better to get the Oyster card?

Staff Hi Susan. If youre staying for ten days then it will be cheaper with an oyster card, because you can only buy 1-day and 7-day travelcards. the maximum you'll pay with Oyster is the weekly cap x 1 (which is the same price as a weekly travelcard) plus a daily cap x 3 (which are cheaper than a 1-day travelcard) for whichever zones you travel through. all the caps are here: city-guide.london/​transport/​oyster-cards.php

JennyJ Hi, I am JennyJ. I go betwenn zone 1&3, there and back 3 times a week and also twice a week to zone 5 (hayes& harlington). I use an Oyster card and top up 20.00 as and when its low. What is the cap for this journey each weekplease. Is it £9 or £11 or neither. I dont know how to work out but dont think I am better off buying a card to cover zones 1-5 as only go max twice a week.

Staff Hi Jenny. The daily cap for the days when you're doing zones 1-3 is £9, and when you're doing zones 1-5 it’s £13,10. a weekly travelcard for zones 1-5 is currently £65,70, so its not worth it - city-guide.london/​transport/​adult-train-fares.php

Wangui Going through this information has been super helpful, thanks so much! My family of 4 foreigners are coming to London for 11 days from Heathrow Airport and staying at a location in Zone 6, are likely to be visiting attractions in Zone 1 everyday but also traveling to Surrey on 2 days. What is the cheapest means of travel payment to use? -VOC or travel card considering the £7 deposit and postage fee to a UK address for VOC? -If VOC then how much credit should be loaded on the cards? -Also is the weekly/daily cap applied to VOC automatic or how does it work; do the particular days eg Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday need to be specified?

Staff Hi Wangui. If it was me I would probably just keep it simple and get Visitor Oyster cards for everyone, and forget about the travelcards. Visitor Oyster cards have a weekly cap which is the same cost as a weekly travelcard anyway, so you wont be losing anything (apart from the £7 deposit - which you'd have to pay anyway because you'll need something to cover the other four days). How much credit you need will depend on where you’re going. The maximum amount you will pay each day is the ‘daily cap’ for the zones you travel through. The daily cap for zones 1-6, for example, is currently £14,10 - but maybe you’ll only be making 2 journeys each day, going there and back, so then you’d just pay two single fares instead - 2x£5,50 . If the running total between Mon-Sun reaches the weekly cap then the cost will be capped at that (currently £70,30). The caps all get applied automatically. Its all explained on our Oyster card page - city-guide.london/​transport/​oyster-cards.php

jan Hi, I am currently travelling to work from slough to zone 3, (i would also sometimes go to the other zones (1-6) - by bus/underground after work. I am using the contactless method. The job is Monday to Friday, I wanted to know if buying a weekly/ monthly travelcard would work out cheaper as I also have a 16-25 railcard. Also how does the weekly cap work? does it add your daily charges and refund you if you go over the cap?

Staff Hi Jan. Travelcards usually work out cheaper if you’re making two or more journeys on seven days a week, or three or more journeys on six days a week. You wont get it cheaper with for your railcard either, because it only gives a discount on 1-day travelcards for zones 1-9. I would recommend getting an oyster card instead because the fares and weekly cap are identical to contactless, but you can have your railcard added to it. You can’t do that with contactless. But check the travel times apply to you first, because they might not - 16-25railcard.co.uk/​using-your-railcard/​travel-times-tickets/ . The weekly cap will kick in when the sum total of all your journeys that week reaches the relevant amount (its the same price as a weekly travelcard). The computer will then automatically stop charging you. Bear in mind that it only counts up the fares between Mon and Sun, and not any other combination of days, like Tue to Mon

frankie Hi, I would like to ask, if you use the same contactless card but one day you use it as the actual physical card and then the next day you use your mobile phone to pay (but with the same debit card) would it count towards the weekly cap?

Staff Hi Frankie. Unfortunately not, no. The computer wouldn't recognise it as the same card because things like Apple Pay don't pass over your card number (it passes over a unique number based on your bank card and device instead). TFL says “Always use the same device or contactless card to touch in and out… For example, don't touch in with an iPhone and touch out with an Apple Watch or contactless card” - tfl.gov.uk/​fares/​how-to-pay-and-where-to-buy-tickets-and-oyster/pay-as-you-go/contactless-and-mobile-pay-as-you-go

Betty Hi I will be in London for a week. I will be staying at a hotel at the Heathrow airport and going back and forth between there and the actual city of London. Is the Travel card best and what zones would I pick? Thank you

Staff Hi Betty. it depends how many journeys you're going to be making. If you make two or more journeys on seven days, or three or more on six days, then a weekly travelcard will probably be cheaper. We’d normally recommend getting an oyster card. All the pros and cons are described above. Heathrow to central London is zones 1-6.

Canan Hi, I'll be visiting London this summer. My daughter is 10 years old (born in 2013). Is she going to be free of charge or discounted?

Staff Hi Canan. Under 11s are free on the buses and tube (as long as she’s accompanied by an adult on the tube) - city-guide.london/​transport/​child-train-fares.php

Cristina Grilo Amaral Hi, we are a family of 4 and will be in London for 6 days. We will be riding transport a lot on those days, in zones 1- 2; meaning we should make about 6 tube trips a day. We will arrive and depart via Heathrow so we have 2 journeys (1 outbound, 1 return). Can you please indicate which card you recommend? Thank you so much.

Staff Hi cristina. Price-wise, the best would be a zone 1-2 weekly travelcard put onto an oyster card, and then adding some pay-as-you-go credit onto the same oyster card to cover the two journeys out to heathrow zone 6. But if you want to keep it easy and dont mind paying a bit more, then just get zone 1-6 weekly travelcards instead

Elaine I am travelling with a 14 year old and I would use contactless for myself but what would be the best option for my 14 year old.

Staff Hi elaine. It depends on how many journeys you're making. If you're just talking about one day, there and back, then i would buy her single tickets at the self-service machine (using your card), and then use your card on the gate for yourself. So she will end up paying the adult cash fare, and you’ll get the adult contactless fare.

Mike M We are arriving in London in late May for 3 days and another 4 days in early June after travelling around UK on Britrail Pass. While in London what would be the best card to use on Underground and 1 day to Watford

Staff Hi Mike. I would get an oyster card. there are no dates on those, so you can carry on using your credit when you return in june. You can also use them out to Watford (assuming you’re going to see the Harry Potter studios)

Ali Hi, we are a family of 4 travelling to London over Easter from the UK. We have a friends and family railcard, and I'm just wondering what is the best way for us to travel around, given we will be sightseeing in London for a few days, and also travelling to Paris via Eurostar. We also will be visiting London again in the summer for a few days. It is myself, my partner and 2 kids (ages 7 and 14). Am I right in thinking contactless is best for 3 of us (and doesn't my 7 year old travel free?). Or should I sort getting an oyster cards for us instead? Thank you for your advice in advance. Cheers Ali

Staff Hi Ali. Contactless will be the cheapest for the two adults. Your 14-year-old can't use contactless if they don't have their own bank card (the system doesn't allow you to tap your card down twice to pay two fares), so I would get the 14-year-old an Oyster card and then have the 'Young Visitor Discount' applied to it once you arrive in London - more info about that here - city-guide.london/​transport/​child-train-fares.php . The 7-year-old will travel for free.

Ali Thank you so much for that perfect and swift response. Amazing!

Sue Can we pay contactless for ourselves and our grandchildren?

Staff Hi Sue. No, each person needs their own bank card. The system doesn't allow you to tap down multiple times to pay multiple fares. What you can do is use your card to buy them a paper ticket at the machine (which will be charged as a cash fare) and then tap down on the gate for yourself (for a contactless fare)

Sue We are coming to London for one day with two grandchildren 12 and 25 years old. If we use our debit contact less card for us can the grandchildren use our credit contactless card? Although we know that would be a full fare.

Staff Hi Sue. If you mean you want to use one debit card to pay two contactless fares, and one credit card to pay two contactless fares, then no. The system doesn't let you tap down twice to pay two fares. Each individual needs their own card. But you can use one card to buy more than one paper ticket from the machine. But then you'll be paying the cash fare.

Hiko Hi,I’d like to know about 7day travel card. I’m plannning to go to Birmingham,Brighton,Wembley,and sightseeing inside zone1-2.(My son loves soccer!) My hotel is in zone1.I will stay there about 8days. If I buy 7day travel card with zone1-2,how can I go outside of that zone? Can I ride the national rail with my travel card such far area?? Does the card pay the difference, when I go outside of the zone2,like Wembley zone4?

Staff Hi Hiko. I would buy yourself an Oyster card and have the travelcard loaded on to that (rather than getting a paper travelcard). Then you can load some extra pay-as-you-go credit onto the same Oyster card to cover the extra fares. You can ride National Rail trains with a zone 1-2 travelcard, but only in zones 1-2. If your journey goes further than that then the computer will recognise that the travelcard covers 1-2, and automatically take the extra money from your pay-as-you-go credit. But places like Birmingham and Brighton are too far away for travelcards and Oyster. You will have to buy totally separate tickets for those.

Siegrid I want to go by train from city airport London to St. Pancras and may pay cash. Is there a chance for paying?

Staff Hi Siegrid. Not sure what you mean by ‘chance’, but you can pay cash at some of the self-service machines, Some will accept cards only, and some cards and cash. it will say which at the top

Peter I have a 7 hour layover at Heathrow and wish to go into Covent Garden for the day. Which is the best option for me to travel into London.

Staff Hi Peter. If that's the only place you're going then I would just buy a single ticket at the machine (zone 1-6). You can choose a return journey and it will give you two single tickets. It's not worth getting an Oyster card or travelcard just for there and back.

Julia Dear all, we a family of two adults and one 12 year old want to spent Saturday and Sunday in London. We would only need zone 1 tickets. We arrive at Gatwick and already organized this transfer by bus because of the train stikes this weeekend. Would You recommend the visitors Oyster or just day travelcards for us?

Staff Hi Julia. If it's just one day then I would probably go for a travelcard, which is easier (they sell cheaper ones just for the bus, if that's what you're planning on doing). The fares with a Visitor Oyster Card are cheaper, but they make you pay an extra £5 activation fee on top the first time you buy one, which would wipe out any savings. But if you think you'll come back to London another time then it would be worth getting Visitor Oyster cards, because you can carry on using the same ones then.

Mike Is a monthly travel card valid for a calander month or 28 days

Staff Hi Mike. It lasts until the previous date the next month. So if you choose a starting date of 20th February it will end on 19th March. If you choose 10th December it will end on 9th January. So it could be a different number of days.

Marcella Am coming to London for two nights with husband, sister and brother in law who has dementia. Will be making trip from Stansted airport to Deptford and home again via Gatwick and staying mostly around Greenwich area. We can use contactless cards but my brother in law can’t really do any cards himself and we can’t use ours to put him through the barrier? Do we just get him a ticket? Are their staff available to help if need be Thanks

Staff Hi Marcella. Its not possible to pay two fares with one contactless card (it doesnt deduct two fares if you tap it down twice). Maybe the best thing to do is get him an oyster card with some credit on it, but tap it down on the gate yourself and send him through the barrier, then just follow straight behind him after youve tapped your contactless card down. It would only take a few seconds to get you both through. Or you could ask a member of staff to help. You can usually find them standing behind the extra wide barrier they always have for wheelchairs and buggies.

Cheryl Stefanik We live in the state of Washington (zip code 98198). What is the charge/fee to order an Oyster card vs. the charge/fee to get a Visitor's Oyster card? Is the only difference in function that we cannot add money to the Visitor's Oyster card online?

Staff Hi Cheryl. there's no way to order an Oyster card online and have it posted overseas. You can only do that with Visitor Oyster cards. If you want a normal Oyster card you'll have to buy it when you arrive in London. There are a few more minor differences. You can't load travelcards onto visitor oyster cards (but you probably wouldn't want to do that anyway). And visitor oysters come with their credit already added, whereas normal oysters will have it loaded on when you buy it. Visitor oysters also have a non-refundable £5 deposit, whereas normal oysters have a non-refundable deposit of £7. The full list of differences can be found here - city-guide.london/​transport/​visitor-oyster-cards.php

Gordon Jamieson If your journey requires 2 tubes how does contactless work?

Staff Hi Gordon. You tap down at the start of your journey, and again at the end. You don't have to tap down for the station in the middle because you shouldn't have to pass through any barriers when changing platforms. (If you did happen to pass through a barrier then that would be the end of the journey)

Alex A Family of 5 travelling to London in early October. 2 adults, 2 children between 11-15 years, and 1 child who is 9 yo. Which ticket/card should we opt for as the youngest child travels free (I think) and the other 2 children get discounted fares. Can we arrange for a discounted fare oyster card when we arrive in London or do I need to arrange this from Australia before I leave? Or is there a travel card that can be bought for ‘students’? We will spend most of the time in Zone 1/2 but need to go to Watford for the Harry Potter Studios one day. PS we are arriving in London on the Eurostar as I heard you could buy oyster or visitor oyster cards on the train. Thanks, Alex

Staff Hi Alex. You can get Visitor Oyster cards posted to you overseas, buy them on Eurostar, or buy a normal Oyster card when you arrive in London. i would get either of those for everyone (apart from the 9 year old), and then have the ‘Young Visitor Discount’ applied to the kids cards when you’re in London. Its not possible to do that beforehand. it’s explained on this page - city-guide.london/​transport/​visitor-oyster-cards.php

Carol Two of us are headed to London for 14 days, most of that staying in Fulham. We are def there to sightsee in all directions. I want the card that's best for use on all forms of transportation including the Thames Clipper. Help!

Staff Hi carol. If you have a UK bank card then I would just use that, and pay contactless fares. Otherwise you should get an Oyster card - city-guide.london/​transport/​contactless-cards.php

HFPOM Hi, me and my wife are staying for 3 months in London, and we will be going from city center to Stanmore. What would be the best option? Thank you

Staff Hi Hfpom. There are pros and cons to all of them, which we’ve described on this page. But you’ll probably find that you’re better off with an Oyster card. If you have a UK bank card then might want to use contactless instead.

Chris Borland Hi, my and and I are coming to London for a long weekend, (Fri-Mon) what do you recommend we use for getting about seeing the sights?

Staff Hi Chris. It depends whether you're from the UK or abroad. Like we say above, if you have a UK bank card then the cheapest fares are with your contactless card. If you have a foreign bank card then you should go with Oyster in case your bank adds on a transaction fee every time you use it overseas

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Oyster Card vs Visitor Oyster Card vs Travelcard

This post compares the different Oyster Cards, as well as the Travelcard.

You'll also find information on using your contactless debit/credit cards or Apple or Google Pay while you use the London Transport Network.

• What is an Oystercard?
• Using Contactless Debit or Credit Cards
• Using Apple Pay or Google Pay
• Benefits of an Oyster Card
• Visitor vs. Regular Oyster Card
• Group Travelcard
• Which One, If Any, Should You Buy?
• Tips On Using the Underground
• Things to Do in London

WHAT IS AN OYSTER CARD

An Oyster Card is a plastic smart card, which you can use to store money for rides on the London Underground and throughout the London public transport system.

This also includes buses, trams, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth Line, TFL Rail, most National Rail services in London, Emirates Air Line cable car, and the Uber Boat River Bus Services .

Essentially, they replace paper tickets and allow you to avoid buying a ticket each time you ride.

Rather than inserting a paper ticket, you tap your Oyster Card on a yellow reader on top of the ticket barrier at the start of your journey and then again at the end of your journey.

There are 2 different types of Oyster Cards: a Visitor Oyster Card and a Regular or Standard Oyster Card . They function in essentially the same way but with a few key differences.

For example, both cards operate on a pay-as-you-go basis, but only the Regular Oyster Card can also load travelcards, which are 1 day, 7 day or 1 month passes.

We explain more of these differences in the following sections .

NOTE: The T urboPass , one of the tourist discount passes, includes a Visitor Oyster Card for free.

Children under the age of 5 can travel on all London transport networks for free (including the Underground, TfL Rail, and buses), provided they are with an adult who has a valid Oyster Card, Travelcard, or single-ride ticket.

Children aged 5 - 10 can travel for free with the Zip Oyster Photocard .

Children from 11 - 15 qualify for a ZipCard (free travel) or a Young Visitor Oyster Discount, which is a discount added to a regular Oyster card and is valid for 14 days.

Single fares and daily cap for the underground and buses are 50% cheaper than adults with this discount.

To get it, you must pay a non-refundable £7.00 fee. Or, if you are only in town for one day, you can pay for a 1-Day children's Travelcard.

Only one person can use one card. If you have 2 or more travelers, you will need 2 or more Oyster Cards.

Using Contactless Debit and Credit Cards

Contactless payment cards are now accepted across all London transport networks and ask in the same manner as an Oyster Card. See if yours is valid here .

The majority of Londoners now simply use their contactless debit/credit cards rather than an Oyster card - and you can, too!

(Please make yourself aware of your bank's policies and card issuer policies before you travel. Most contactless cards will work including visa, Mastercard and American Express, but you may be subject to foreign transaction fees.)

This means there is no preparation needed when planning to take the Underground, you simply tap in and out with your payment card.

You also don't need to worry about 'topping up' before you make any journeys.

Contactless cards are also subject to the same price capping as an Oyster Card, so you never pay more than you would have spent had you purchased a daily travel card.

You are also able to take advantage of the 'bus hopper' fare. However, you won't get the same discounts available with the Visitor Oyster Card .

To learn how to use the cards and other tips on using the underground, read our post on navigating the London Underground .

Using Google Pay or Apple Pay

If you have Google Pay or Apple Pay on your smartphone or smartwatch, then you don't need to buy an Oyster card, or a travel card, at all!

These two payment methods will get you the exact same rates, and price capping (listed below) that you would be subject to when using an Oyster Card.

This means there is no need to go through the extra steps of buying one and topping up.

As with contactless credit and debit cards, you are also able to take advantage of the 'bus hopper' fare.

However, you won't get the same discounts available with the Visitor Oyster Card .

Benefits of Using an Oyster Card

Below we list the general benefits of an Oyster Card, whether it's a Visitor or Regular Oyster Card.

But remember, as of 2023, all of these benefits and rates apply to visitors using their contactless cards, Google Pay, and Apple Pay!

Cheaper Than Single Paper Tickets

Actually, they are much cheaper. As you can see below, most visitors traveling in Zones 1 and 2 can save between £2.50 and £3.50 per ride. 

Most visitors to London stay within Zones 1-2, central London, though some have hotels or guesthouses outside of the city centre.

If you are flying in and/or out of Heathrow Airport, then your fare would be from Zone 1-6 to wherever your final destination is. 

The Elizabeth Line to Heathrow Airport is priced differently - any journey to Heathrow that begins, or passes through Zone 1, is priced at £12.20 - £13:30, depending how Far East you travel.

Children under 11 travel for free and there is a 50% discount on Oyster Card fares for children 11-15 years of age with the Young Visitor Oyster Discount.

To receive this discount, you need to speak to a Tube staff member at any Underground station, including Heathrow, or you can purchase it on the automatic machines in any station.

Daily Limit

In addition to cheaper individual rides, when traveling with an Oyster Card, a 'cap' is automatically applied once you reach a certain amount each day.

For example, the most you will ever spend in one day when traveling within zones 1 & 2 with an Oyster Card is £8.10 . For the Young Visitor Discount (ages 11 - 15), the cap is £4.05 .

There are different caps for each zone as the cost of travel depends on the distance you go and the time of day.

We recommend how much to put on your card per day, but you can see the price and cap table here.

Buses also cap out at £5.25 per day (with each ride costing £1.75). 

Contactless debit and credit cards are also subject to price capping!

Hopper Fare on Buses

The London mayor recently introduced the 'hopper' fare.

This means that you will be able to switch between as many buses as you like within 1 hour without being charged more than the initial £1.75 fare.

London is huge and many journeys require that you take 2 or more buses to get there.

With the hopper fare, you will only need to pay £1.75 total for all of those rides as long as the total time does not exceed 1 hour. Note that the hopper fare is applicable for all journeys made by bus & tram!

Valid to get to and from Central London Heathrow and Gatwick Airports

Heathrow Airport is at the very end of the Piccadilly Line, and on the new Elizabeth Line , and therefore can be reached via the Underground with an Oyster Card or Travel Card. 

Unfortunately, Oyster Cards do not work on the Heathrow Express - yet! 

Gatwick Airport, which is not on an Underground Line, can only be reached by bus or train.

Oyster Cards can be used on the Gatwick Express, which is the fastest train from Central London to that airport. 

Oyster Cards Never Expire

If you plan to visit London again in the future, then you can simply hold onto the card and it, as well as the money on it, will never expire.

Your £5 purchase will be refunded automatically as pay-as-you-go credit after one year when you make a journey with your card.

You must collect your refund within six months or you won't be eligible to receive it.

NOTE: There is a limit of £10 on refunds.

VISITOR OYSTER CARD

The Visitor Oyster Card can be purchased in advance and mailed to you anywhere in the world.

This is great for those of you who feel stressed out about the idea of buying an Oyster Card while in London, and therefore would prefer to just have it sorted prior to arrival. 

Adding money to your card is easy and we explain this process in the next section .

However, there are a few drawbacks to the Visitor Oyster Card. Firstly, it costs £5 plus postage for the card to be sent, and unlike the Regular Oystercard, you won't get the £5 back.

Secondly, you can't register a Visitor Oyster Card, something you can do with a Regular Oyster Card.

So, if you have a tendency to lose things, then this might be a consideration for you.

The larger drawback is that you can't apply any of the Travelcards (these are explained later) to the Visitor Oyster Card.

So, if you were planning on using those, or put it another way, you plan to be in London for 6 or more days, then maybe don't buy a Visitor Oyster Card. 

There are also some discounts that can be applied to certain restaurants and tourist attractions with the Visitor Oyster Card.

None of the deals are that spectacular and you generally get much better discounts with a tourist attraction discount pass but check out their list in case any appeal to you.

Ultimately, if you want to have your card before arriving in the UK, or are not likely to benefit from a travelcard, then buy a Visitor Oyster Card.

Regular Oyster Cards can only be purchased in the UK. 

They are very simple to buy and can be purchased all over the city, including the airports, but if you don't want to bother with that, then opt for a Visitor Oyster Card. 

REGULAR OYSTER CARD

Just about everybody who lives in London used to have an Oyster Card! These days, however, most of us use our contactless cards instead. You'll also see many a Londoner scanning their phone or watches when going in and out of the tube barriers.

However, if you'd still like to use an Oyster card, keep reading to find out more. Note that Oyster fares are the same fares you will pay using your contactless cards, phones, or watches.

You simply add money onto your card at either a Tube station (all stations have kiosks where you can add money via cash or card), or online.

Or, you could top up at any of the roughly 4000 shops in London where you see an Oyster Card sign. These are called Oyster Ticket Stops.

You can also top up your Oystercard at a Transport for London visitor centre, including Heathrow Airport, Kings Cross St. Pancras International Station, Victoria Station, Piccadilly Circus Station, and Liverpool Street Station.

It is very simple to do and we walk you through this process in the next section.

The other options are to load your Oyster Card with a 1-Day-Travel Card, Monthly Travelcard, or even a Yearly Travelcard.

We explain more about Travelcards and when you should choose them later in this post. 

Oyster Cards are reusable so you can load and reload your card as many times as you need to while you’re here.

Visitors can even take their Oyster Cards back home with them and either keep them as souvenirs or hold onto them until their next trip to London! 

How to Buy a Regular Oyster Card

To get yourself an Oyster Card you can simply go to the window at any London Underground Station, including Heathrow Airport, and request one, or use some of the many self-service ticket machines at busier Underground Stations.

You will need to pay a £7.00 deposit, which will be refunded automatically as pay-as-you-go credit after one year when you make a journey with your card.

In addition to collecting your deposit at, you can also retrieve any extra money you put onto the card that you have not yet spent, up to a £10 limit.

However, the money you have loaded onto your Oyster Card does not expire, which means if you don’t spend it all before you leave, it will remain on your card until your next visit.

So if you plan to come back, simply hold onto your card.

For those who like to plan in advance, and don’t mind a non-refundable deposit of £5.00, it is possible to order a pre-loaded Visitor Oyster Card to be sent to you before you even leave the house!

How to 'Top Up' an Oyster Card

When using your contactless cards, or Google or Apple Pay, topping up is a step you get to skip.

However, for those of you still wishing to use an Oystercard, topping up is simple!

You simply go to a kiosk inside any Underground station and tap your Oyster Card on the ta card reader.

Select how much money you want to add to the card. Pay that amount either by credit/debit card or cash.

Then tap the yellow card reader again to close the deal. Watch the video below for a visual guide. 

Alternatively, as mentioned above, you can also add money to your Oyster Card at any of over 4000 shops that have the blue "Oyster Card" sign in their window.

These are called Oyster Ticket Stops. These are literally EVERYWHERE, so don't worry about not being able to find a place to top up. 

The one thing you should be mindful of is that you cannot top up your Oyster Card on a bus or at a bus stop.

If you board the bus and it flashes red for insufficient funds, the driver will tell you to leave.

Luckily, there is usually a business-savvy shop nearby that offers top-ups, but this is something to watch out for if you are planning to travel by bus. 

How Much Money Should You Add?

Because of the daily caps, you can have some certainty as to how much you need to add to your card.

Below is an example that assumes that you will be flying into and out of Heathrow Airport (during peak hours), will otherwise travel exclusively in Zones 1-2, and also assumes that you will reach the cap each day.

These prices could be slightly higher or lower, so do check out the fare table to make your calculations.

• 1-Day - £21.50 (see note below)
• 2 Days -£30.40
• 3 Days - £45.60
• 4 Days - £60.80
• 5 Days - £76.00
• 6 Days - £91.20
• 7 Days - £106.40

A 1-Day Travelcard is cheaper than a Visitor Oyster Card if you are only in town for the day as you won't get the £5 fee back.

Though, this does not take into account any discounts that you might use with the Visitor Oyster Card.

You can also use the single fare finder on the Transport for London website to help you budget: www.tfl.gov.uk

TRAVELCARDS

Travelcards are prepaid cards that give you unlimited access to specific zones within London.

You can choose to either order these in advance (in which case you will be given a paper Travelcard) or you can buy them upon arrival (in which case you will be using a plastic Oyster Card with the Travel Card loaded onto it).

They work in the same way and can both be used on the Underground and buses and also give you a 3rd-off discount on Uber Boat Thames Clipper rides.

The only difference is that you must pay shipping and handling fees to receive the paper card, and in our opinion, these are much easier to lose!

As mentioned above, there are 4 different durations of Travelcards, but the most pertinent to visitors are the 1-Day Travelcard or the 7-Day Travelcard. (There's also a 1 Month and 1-year travelcard)

However, there's little reason you would ever need the 1-Day Travelcard as there is already a cap on Oyster Cards that limits the amount you can be charged per day (£8.10).

In fact, you will likely lose money if you choose the 1-Day Travelcard over a standard Oyster Card.

However, the 1-Day Travelcard makes you eligible for the 2-1 ticket program when travelcards are purchased from National Rail stations.

Many of London's top attractions allow you to get 2 tickets for the price of one when you show a valid travelcard.

A 7-Day Travelcard can be worth your while, as a 7-Day Travelcard for Zones 1-2 is £40.70 which works out less per day than the £8.10 daily cap.

It might also be worth considering if you purchase it through the London Public Transport Card , which includes a free private airport transfer.

For children over the age of 5, a one 1-Day Travelcard is £7.60 off-peak or £10.75 any time.

Don't forget that a contactless debit or credit card will 'cap out' at the price of a daily travel card meaning you never have to decide whether or not it's worth the money for your daily journeys.

GROUP DAY TRAVELCARDS

If you are visiting with 10 or more people, then a Group DayTravelcard may be the way to go.

All ticket holders must travel at the same time for the tickets to be valid, so keep that in mind!

Group travel cards are valid Off-Peak only so they are usable from 9:30 on Mondays to Fridays but any time on weekends and holidays.

Group travel cards cover Zones 1 - 6 and cost £10.00 for adults and £5.00 for children aged 5 - 16.

These can be purchased in advance or from ticket machines at Underground stations.

WHICH ONE, IF ANY, SHOULD YOU BUY?

As we said above, if you have Google Pay or Apple Pay on your smartphone or watch, just use that! If you don't, read below to find out the best option for your travel needs.

This depends on what it is you want to do and where you want to go! Note that the London Underground Map is divided into 9 different zones.

Zones 1 and 2 are in the centre, where most of the popular visitor attractions are.

When traveling across London, it’s worth remembering that the further outside of Zones 1 and 2 you need to go, the more expensive your journey can become. 

As a general rule of thumb, you can determine which ticket will be best for you depending on the length of time you are in town. 

In London for 4 Days or Fewer

Pay-As-You-Go:  The best part of Oyster Card (or contactless debit/credit card) Pay-As-You-Go is that you will never be charged more than it would cost to purchase a 1-Day-Travelcard.

Once you have spent the equivalent amount on your Oyster Card, that you would have spent for a 1-Day-Travelcard, your Oyster Card will stop deducting money from your Pay-As-You-Go balance.

Note: Oyster Card Pay-As-You-Go can also be used on KPMG Thames Clipper River services! 

In London for 5 Days or Fewer:

If you are not going to be in London for a month, which you can purchase a travel card for, then just using pay-as-you-go is your best option by far.

What are the Ticket Rates for 1-Day-Travelcards?

Rates vary depending on the time you wish to travel and how many zones you want to cover.

Zones: Most London attractions are within Zones 1 – 2 but a Zone 1 – 6 covers absolutely all of them, as well as Heathrow airport!

Time: 1-Day Travelcards and single-fare paper tickets come in two different formats: Peak and Off-Peak.

Peak means that you can use your ticket or 1-Day-Travelcard any time to travel on the Underground.

Off-Peak means your ticket is not valid on weekdays between 6:30 - 9:30 am or from 16:00 - 19:00 (4 pm till 7 pm) Mondays through Fridays.

Peak and Off-Peak do not apply on Single Cash fares or bus journeys.

NOTE: Don’t forget that you can get the 1-Day Travelcard with a London Public Transport Pass , which also provides a private transfer from the airport to the city center. 

If you need both services, this could be a good way to lower the overall price you’ll pay for a 1-Day Travelcard.

Anything Else?

We have some more interesting facts on our blog . This guide is only an overview of the most popular, cheapest, and easiest tickets you may need while you are in London.

However, for more information, including tickets for children, travel beyond Zone 6, or bus and tube maps please see the Transport for London Website: www.tfl.gov.uk .

If you found this post helpful, please share this with friends and family.  Also, be sure to check out our pay-what-you-like London walking tours .

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Oyster Card vs Contactless: How to Pay for Public Transport in London

Last updated: March 13, 2024 . Written by Laurence Norah - 64 Comments

I recently wrote a post about the best ways to get around London . That’s all well and good, but it’s missing a key component – the most cost-effective way to actually pay for transport in London.

You’d think this would be a fairly obvious answer, but unfortunately, it’s a little bit more complicated than you might imagine. Fear not though, this post will guide you through the options and help you decide which payment option is best for using London’s public transport system!

First, there are three ways that you can pay for the majority of public transport in London. These are cash, the London Oyster Card, and a contactless enabled credit / debit card. Let’s look quickly at these three options, and then figure out which is right for you.

Payment Options for Travel in London: Cash, Contactless and Oyster

Cash – Cash is by far the worst way to pay for transport in London, and should be avoided in pretty much all cases, with the exception of taxis (although these accept contactless and credit cards too).

Usually, cash fares are much higher than the other payment options, plus some services, like the bus, don’t even accept cash any more. Basically, don’t use cash to pay directly for your ticket in London if you can avoid it!

If you do want to use cash, the best option is to buy an Oyster Card. These can be purchased and topped up with cash at most stations. Just be sure to use a machine that accepts cash, or go to a ticket counter.

Oyster Card – The Oyster card is a London-wide rechargeable card, designed to be re-used, and accepted on pretty much every form of London transport. There are a number of versions of this card, however for the purposes of this post we’re going to focus on the standard blue Oyster card that you can purchase in London from most train and tube stations.

For more on the different kinds of Oyster card, including the benefits of buying a visitor Oyster card in advance, and detailed information on how to actually use an Oyster card for travel in London, read this detailed post on using the London Oyster card .

Contactless – The most recent payment option for travel in London is a bank issued credit or debit card which has been enabled for contactless transactions. This means that the card has a chip in it which can be read wirelessly when held near a contactless enabled reader.

As well as being able to use these cards for normal transactions, you can also use contactless cards to pay for travel in London. These can be used instead of buying tickets with cash or using an Oyster card. If you have an Apple Pay or Google pay enabled smartphone, you can also use this as a contactless payment option.

So those are the three options. In this post we’re going to focus on the Oyster Card and Contactless Cards, to see which one is best for you when paying for travel in London.

Given the high cost of buying tickets with cash, and the fact that cash isn’t even accepted on a few transport options, we’re going to ignore cash as a payment option in this post, and advise you to do so also.

Contactless vs Oyster Cards for London Travel

Contactless – which public transport supports it in london.

Currently contactless can be used to pay for travel on the following public transport options in London: bus, tube, tram, DLR, London Overground, IFS Cloud Cable Car, River Bus, and the majority of National Rail services inside London.

You can also use contactless for some airport services, including Gatwick Express and Heathrow Express. See our guide to getting to London from the airport for more information.

You can also pay for all black taxis using contactless, assuming the fare is less than the contactless threshold of £100. Note that black taxis are separate to other forms of public transport in London and are billed separately – they don’t fall inside travel cards, caps, or other payment schemes.

Basically, anywhere you can already use an Oyster card, you can use a contactless card – just look for the yellow Oyster card reader and don’t forget to touch in (and out, if necessary) to pay for your journey – see more here for details of how to use the different public transport options in London.

Advantages of Contactless

It’s already on a card you own: if you already have a supported contactless credit card or smartphone, using this for your travel is more convenient than getting a separate Oyster card, which you have to pay a deposit on and keep topped up.

Doesn’t need to be charged up: One of the main problems with Oyster is that it’s a preload system, so you need to have credit on the card in order to use it. You can set it up to automatically reload itself, but if you’re a visitor to London this extra hassle might not be worth it.

Instead, you’ll find yourself queuing at reload stations at tube stops, and if you’re at a bus stop with no credit you’re going to be out of luck as most of them don’t have reload points. Contactless cards are linked to your bank account, so as long as you have credit, you’ll always be good to go.

You can use a mobile payment system such as Google Pay or Apple Pay : If your smartphone supports a contactless payment system, then you don’t even need to carry a contactless card – you can just link your contactless card to your smartphone payment system, and pay with that. One less thing to carry!

Can be cheaper in certain situations: sometimes Contactless can be slightly cheaper for daily fares, especially if you are travelling from further out in London, due to a difference in the way daily capping works across zones. This isn’t usually a big difference, but can make contactless a little bit cheaper in some situations for daily journeys too.

Disadvantages of Contactless

Doesn’t support all foreign issued cards: You shouldn’t have a problem using UK issued contactless enabled cards on Visa, Mastercard, Maestro and American Express to pay for your travel on London transport.

Unfortunately, this isn’t true for foreign issued contactless cards, as standards appear to differ. Currently, all American Express contactless cards should work fine. Then, some foreign issued Mastercard, Maestro and Visa cards will work, and some won’t. There’s no definitive list – it’s a case of try it and see!

Foreign transaction fees: If you are using a foreign issued card, even if it is supported by the Oyster contactless system, you need to check to see if it incurs foreign transaction fees.

Contactless payments are in GBP, so if your card issuer charges you transaction fees for foreign currency transactions, then these costs could outweigh the savings of contactless. Check with your card provider before you travel to see if this is the case.

Concessions can’t be added: A big disadvantage of contactless is that the system currently doesn’t support concessions, such as those for seniors, students, and children of a certain age.

If, for example, you’re a visitor to London travelling with children aged 11-15, you will want to use Oyster cards or travelcards in order to get discounted travel, such as with the Young Visitors Discount which offers 50% off travel when loaded to an Oyster card.

Children under 11 qualify for free travel with a fare paying adult, and this does work with contactless. You will just have to use the wider ticket barriers (marked for accessible / luggage) in tube stations so you can pass through together.

See more about how this works when travelling with children here , and more on available concessions here .

Oyster – Which public transport supports it in London?

Oyster works on all the same public transport options in London as contactless, namely, bus, tube, tram, DLR, London Overground, IFS Cloud Cable Car, River Bus, and the majority of National Rail services inside London.

Note that you cannot use your Oyster card to pay for a black taxi in London.

The Oyster Card is also not supported on private services like Hop on Hop off buses, which you would need to purchase separately. You can see some Hop on Hop off options in London here for an idea of pricing.

Hop on Hop off transport options are also included on a card like the London Pass , which might be a good option if you plan on doing a lot of sightseeing when in the city.

Advantages of Oyster

It works and support is available. As noted not all contactless cards work with the system but the Oyster card should always work. If there are problems, you can get support or get your credit refunded if your card is registered on the TfL website .

Easier to keep track of spending: Because you have to load your Oyster card, it’s easier to keep an eye on how much you are spending on London transport and you can set a limit much easier.

That said, I don’t think this makes a great difference to your average person as you will likely have to travel anyway, but it’s something to keep in mind if you like to restrict your spend on public transport.

Supports travelcards: One of the main advantages of the Oyster card is that it supports travelcards. These are fixed payment pre-paid options, where you pay a certain amount for unlimited travel inside specific London zones for a weekly, monthly or annual price.

With weekly fare capping, this has become less of an advantage, because the price of a seven-day travelcard on Oyster is the same as the weekly cap on contactless. However, a seven-day Oyster travel card is valid for seven days from when you activate it, regardless of which day of the week it is, whereas contactless capping is fixed for Monday – Sunday.

If you are in London for seven days starting anytime outside of that Monday – Sunday period, and will be travelling enough to make the travel card worth it, then it will be better value than a contactless card.

Supports cash : If you want to pay for your transport in London using cash, you can buy and top up an Oyster card with cash. This is normally a lot more cost effective than paying for a cash ticket, with the rare exception of a one-off single journey as you have to consider the cost of the Oyster card.

Supports concessions: As discussed above, if you are travelling with children, or are a London resident who qualifies for one of the discounts and concessions available to adults (see here for full list), you will want to use the Oyster card that matches your concession in order to get the best deal on transport in London. As a visitor to London with children aged 11-15, you can also add a Young Visitor discount to an Oyster card for savings.

Visitor Oyster Card Discounts: If you buy a visitor Oyster card prior to your trip to the UK, such as the one included with the London Pass , it qualifies you for some discounts. I’d not say these are worth buying the card for specifically, but they are good to know about.

Disadvantages of Oyster

You have to pay a deposit: When you first get a regular Oyster card, you have to pay £7. This used to be refundable, but as of 2020 this £7 is added to the card as credit a year after your purchase.

This credit happens when you take a journey using the card between one year and eighteen months after first activating it. If you don’t use the card in that six-month window, the credit is lost. If you are only visiting London for a short time, this might not be credit you can use, meaning there’s a tangible £7 cost associated with using it.

Note the Visitor Oyster Card only costs £5 to buy, but this is a fee and does not become a credit. For most visitors though, the £7 of the regular Oyster card is lost anyway.

It has to be recharged: One of the main downsides of Oyster is that it’s a pay as you go card that needs to have credit on it use it. This is fine if much of your travel is by tube as the majority of tube stations have machines that you can top-up on.

However, if you travel by bus a lot (often the most cost-effective way to get around London), you’ll have to go out of your way to find a charge point, as most bus stops don’t have them. If you register your card online, you can mitigate this issue by setting up auto top up.

Can’t be used on taxis: This isn’t really a big deal, but it’s worth bearing in mind that you can’t use your Oyster card on taxis. To be honest, the higher fares associated with taxi rides mean we’d suggest avoiding using a taxi unless you really want a direct trip from point A to point B, however, we’ve added it for completion!

There will always be leftover funds:  Because Oyster is a pay as you go system, you have to have funds on the card to use it. Because trips vary in fee, it’s almost impossible to get the card to zero. So if you stop using the card, there will be leftover money on it.

You can get this money back by returning the card, but we suspect most people don’t do this. TfL have shared that as of 2019 there’s over £400 million in unused balances and deposits!

Should You Use Oyster or Contactless to Pay for Public Transport in London?

First, if you are visiting London and don’t have a contactless payment card, I wouldn’t worry too much about trying to get one just for the trip to London – the Oyster system will suit you just fine.

If you would like to pick up a visitor Oyster card in advance, you can do so from this link .

Alternatively, if you are coming to London as a visitor, you can buy an Oyster card in a package with the London Pass here and save on attraction entry as well. See our review of the London Pass here .

The situation changes if you already have a contactless card which is compatible with the public transport system in London.

In the majority of cases, if you have a contactless enabled credit or debit card supported by the London transport network, then you should use it to pay for travel in London. It’s the easiest and most convenient way to pay, is supported on every form of transport, and in most cases is either cheaper or the same price as using an Oyster card.

The main times you should NOT use your contactless card are:

• If your card is not UK issued and your card issuer charges you fees for overseas transactions that make it more costly than Oyster
• If you are eligible for a concession , such as when you are travelling with children aged 11-15, or if you are a senior citizen resident in London
• If you are buying a weekly 7-day travelcard for travel exclusively outside Zone 1 (unlikely as a visitor to London)
• If you are buying a weekly 7-day travelcard, and you will travel enough to hit the daily cap on at least five out of those seven days and your trip is for a week-long period that isn’t from a Monday – Sunday.
• If you are buying a monthly travelcard for travel in London – this is not possible on contactless and there is no monthly capping

There are no doubt some more situations where an Oyster card or travelcard might be cheaper than contactless. Usually, figuring this out will require you to do a bit of math and have a detailed understanding of your exact travel plans, which might take more time than is worth the small saving!

As a visitor, we believe that in the majority of cases if you already have a contactless card you are going to find that it is both cheaper and easier to use contactless for your London travel, outside of the five points listed above. If one of those does apply, you can get an Oyster card here before you visit, or simply buy one on arrival.

Our advice therefore, is to use your contactless card for London travel if the five points above don’t apply to you. It’s easy and convenient, you don’t need to worry about recharging it, and you benefit from daily and weekly caps for travel, meaning it will likely be cheaper than the other options in nearly every case faced by most visitors to London.

Does Oyster Support Weekly Capping?

Until the end of September 2021, only contactless supported weekly capping on fares across the whole network. Both Oyster and Contactless have long supported daily capping (meaning you won’t ever pay more for your travel than if you had purchased a one day travel card), however until September 2021 only contactless supported the Monday – Sunday weekly cap.

As of 28th September 2021, both Oyster and contactless support both daily and weekly caps across the TfL network, which is great news for Oyster card users as it can be a significant saving.

For an example, if all your travel is within zones 1 and 2, the current weekly cap is £42.70 (as of March 2024). This weekly cap is calculated for travel from Monday through to Sunday, meaning it works best if your travel starts on a Monday. For comparison, the daily cap in zones 1 and 2 is £8.50. Over seven days, that works out to £59.50.

Tips for using your payment method

Once you have picked your payment method, be that contactless, Oyster or a smartphone payment system – make sure you stick to it, and only swipe that payment method on the reader! If you hold two payment methods near the terminal, it will randomly pick one of them, meaning you could be double charged if you don’t touch out with the same card.

If you are using a Google or Apple smartphone to pay, make sure you use that consistently. If you have a payment card registered on the device and decide to switch to the physical card instead of using the smartphone, or vice versa, this is technically registered as a different payment card.

This is actually a good workaround if there are two of you travelling together and you only have one contactless payment card. You can add the card to your Apple or Google device, and then one person can use the physical card and the other one can use the smartphone version.

We also highly recommend you register your payment method online with TfL . This has multiple benefits, including being able to keep track of your spending, and in the case of an Oyster card, you can reclaim and funds on it if you lose it!

Further Reading

We have plenty of further reading to help you plan your trip to London, both content we’ve created based on our experiences, and third-party content we think you’ll find useful.

• Looking for things to do in London? See this complete list on GetYourGuide of attractions, tickets and tours for some ideas!
• Our detailed guide to public transport in London
• The official TfL website , which will give you information on tickets, routes and any updates to services in the forms of delays or cancellations
• Jess’s detailed guide to the London pass , which will help you decide if this is a good way for you to save money on your London sight-seeing. The London Pass has a package option to include a Oyster Card and currently also includes Hop-on, Hop-off bus passes, which can be a great transport option.
• My guides for London must do’s in one day, as well as a detailed two day London itinerary . If you have longer in London, we also have a detailed six day London itinerary
• Harry Potter fans will want to check out our guide to the key Harry Potter filming locations in London
• Jess’s guide to a 1-day walking tour of the highlights of London .
• The Eyewitness Travel Guide to London , which has all sorts of information within, including more itineraries and ideas for your trip
• Rick Steve’s London guide, the #1 bestseller on Amazon for UK travel guides, and always an excellent source of relevant information

And that sums up our post on the best way to pay for public transport in London! As always, if you’ve got any comments or thoughts, let us know in the comments below!

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Jessica says

9th April 2024 at 8:11 pm

Thank you for your post because this is far too complicated than it should be. I was directed to get a Friends and Family Railcard. This doesn’t work in conjunction with Contactless but I guess there is a way to link it to Oyster. I’m just wondering what makes the most sense.

We will be travelling from Heathrow Terminal to Zone 1 Travelling on Stansted Express from Liverpool Street Station to Stansted Airport Considering the train to Windsor Castle and/or Stonehenge Would likely do a day pass for Zone 1-2 one day,

With friends and family kids 4 and under are free but with Oyster there is a photo card where kids under 11 are free with adult ticket. Our kids are 2 & 6 yrs.

It’s very hard to determine if Family Railcard vs Oyster makes sense. I assume with the railcard I just have to purchase online. Would you get both the Family Railcard and Oyster and try linking them? Do you think the 5-11 photocard is a necessity? Any input or suggestions is appreciated!

Laurence Norah says

14th April 2024 at 11:06 am

It’s my pleasure and I agree it can be a bit complicated. Honestly, if you have contactless that will probably be the simplest option. It applies a cap to your travel on both a daily and weekly basis, so you never pay more than a certain amount. For your children, the photocard is only important if they are traveling alone. Kids under 11 travel for free when accompanied by an adult, so you don’t need a photo card for them. The photo card is more designed for local residents who take public transport to school for example.

The Friends and Family railcard would save you some money on your transport to Windsor Castle and Stonehenge, but as you have to pay to get it you’d want to check if it would actually end up saving you money. Again, it’s designed more for regular travelers as it’s valid for a year. It saves most families quite a bit over a year if used for a few trips, but might not be worth it in your case for just a couple of journeys. You’d likely save more by just booking your train tickets well in advance, which is how to get the best value fares.

Let me know if you have any more questions and have a great time in the UK!

Nilesh Sahni says

7th January 2024 at 4:27 pm

We are couple visiting London for 8 days and planning to go to Edinburgh by LNER rail. We are comfortable with contactless cards to commute in London, but I saw there are some railcard concessions on booking LNER tickets for Edinburgh.

I’m getting inclined to purchase twotogether railcard to make use of this concession. Please suggest is it worth buying this railcard just for LNER rail concession or is there any other better alternate to book this travel.

9th January 2024 at 1:35 pm

A railcard can definitely save you money on train tickets. However, the best way to save is by booking as far in advance as you can. For example, a standard single from London to Edinburgh is around £193 at the moment. If you book in advance as far as you can, prices are as low as £44.10 currently for one person one way. I believe tickets can be booked up to 90 days in advance of travel.

In terms of a railcard, whether or not it will save you will depend on the ticket. With the previous example:

2 advanced singles without railcard would be £88.20 without the railcard, and £58.20 with the railcard. 2 anytime singles without railcard would be £387.8, and £255.90 with.

I believe the Two Together railcard costs £30. In the first case, the saving would be exactly the same, however I assume you are doing a return journey so yes you would end up saving. In the second case, you would definitely save.

Have a great trip!

Amanda Smith says

6th September 2023 at 4:16 pm

We will be traveling to London for the first time soon. We’re planning on staying in the city for a while then traveling to the Cotswolds for a few days before we head back to the airport. We are trying to decide on the best way to do this. We could rent a car in London but we’re a little intimidated about driving through the city (on the side of the road we are unaccustomed to driving on), or I’m thinking we could take a train to a less populated city (like Oxford, for example) and rent a car there to head to our final destination. My question is this: Can you use the contactless system and Oyster cards for the train? If so, is there some cost advantage to using one or the other? Do I need to book the train in advance? And finally, do any of these sound like a decent plan, or do you have a better option?

6th September 2023 at 4:23 pm

This is a great question. So I would highly recommend not renting your car in London. I’m actually doing something similar right now with a trip around Wales, so rather than rent in London I took the train to Cardiff and will be renting to and from Cardiff instead. London is challenging to drive in, plus there are the issues of the congestion charge zone AND the Ultra Low Emissions Zone to contend with. So best to skip all that if you can!

Oxford, Bath or Bristol would all be good options for getting to the Cotswolds. I’d probably err towards either Bath or Oxford as they are smaller so easier to drive from. I’d definitely suggest picking up and dropping the car at the same location as it avoids the one-way fee.

For trains, the Oyster card doesn’t work beyond London. However it’s easy enough to book train travel in the UK. There are direct trains from London Paddington train station to both Oxford (around an hour) and Bath (around 1.5 hours), and you can book trains online using a site like trainline . You can also just buy tickets on the day if you prefer with contactless payment from a ticket machine, but if you book in advance you normally get a better price and, depending on the train, a reserved seat. However you don’t have to book in advance.

Hopefully this answers your questions, but if not do let me know and I will do my best to help out! Have a great time in the UK. I’d also suggest reading my tips for driving in the UK which might give you some pointers 🙂

Jeremy says

15th October 2022 at 5:44 pm

Thank you for the detailed write up. A question: Instead if using one contactless and one physical card, can I use 2 contactless iPhones (Apple Pay) linked to the same card? As I do not intend to bring the physical card along. Thank you.

16th October 2022 at 3:45 pm

Yep, that would work! Every device creates it’s own “virtual card”, which the Oyster system sees as it’s own card.

Keith Pugsley says

19th September 2022 at 7:06 pm

Thanks for the Blog. With a son just starting study in London I have looked into this ‘minefield’ of confusion. If you have the knowledge (and inclination) I’d value your thoughts on the questions I still have. 18+ Oyster card talks of ‘discounted travel’ but all I can see from the Tfl website is that there is a discount for purchasing Travel cards. No mention of discount on fares. The only discount I can see for fares is if it is linked to a Railcard and then there is a 30% discount on off-peak travel on the tube. However you can link a Railcard to a standard Oyster card and also get this discount so what is the point of a student oyster card? Then it seems you have to pay a £20 ‘admin fee’ to get the student oyster card, whereas it seems you only pay £5 for a regular adult card. The Tfl site says for pay as you go using ‘contactless’ you don’t get cheaper fares! But this is not explained. just another ‘hanging statement’. If you are able to throw any light on this I’d be most grateful. Thanks.

20th September 2022 at 9:20 am

I hear you, the TfL website is a bit of a maze when it comes to finding things out. You are correct, the 18+ Oyster card does not offer discounted travel on pay as you go fares, only on Travelcards, for which there is a 30% discount. I think the theory is that this is aimed at someone who will be travelling multiple times a week, for whom a travel card would make sense, and so then there is the added benefit of a 30% discount.

The question really is to think about how often your son is likely to need to travel using public transport. If it is going to be at least 4 days a week, then a travel card with the discount is likely going to save money. If it’s less than that, then there might not be any savings, in which case just using a normal contactless bank card for payment, or an Oyster card, might be just as cost effective.

You are also correct that there is a railcard option, which might make sense if your son already has a railcard. I think the option exists to link it to a student Oyster card because you can still use a student oyster card as a normal Oyster card without adding the discounted travel card to it, so this would save someone having to carry two cards.

I hope this helps a bit. My main suggestion is to look at where your son will be living and his travel requirements, and then doing a bit of math to see which option is going to work out the most cost effective. I also wish him the best with this stage of his life 🙂

tawny own says

12th September 2022 at 3:58 pm

Thank you! Info which I think was not covered in the article – can you use cash to buy and top up an Oyster card – and which is difficult or impossible to find on the TfL site. Have spent about an hour trying to find out.

12th September 2022 at 3:59 pm

Thanks! I’ve updated the post to make this clearer, that you can definitely use cash to top up an Oyster card, as well as to buy one. The larger machines at tube stations accept cash, as do the ticket counters at stations with ticket counters.

5th September 2022 at 8:25 pm

My wife and I will be traveling from US to London soon. (4 days) We have a good no foreign fees contactless card, but the card is a joint account. Can we use the same card for two riders for underground/bus fare? I’m would like to use contactless for the reasons that you mentioned -(Initial charge for the Oyster card – how much to put on it – and we are sure to have unused money on it)

on another note – Quick question-transportation from Heathrow to city center can be cheaper and faster than a cab- but we will have luggage and need a transfer from station to the hotel (Westminster area). thoughts? Thanks Ken and I will also check out your other trips on visiting London

6th September 2022 at 10:43 am

So you can’t use the same physical card, but what you can do is use a virtual version of the card. So if you have a smartphone that supports contactless payments (Google Wallet or Apple Pay for example), or a smartwatch, then you can add the card to that device and use that as a second card. Because the smartphone assigns it a virtual card number, it works as a separate card for the purposes of the TfL system. This is fully supported and my wife and I do this, so I know it definitely works.

If you don’t have an app or supported phone, then you can also purchase an Oyster Card easily and load it up.

For transport to central London, for sure, the Underground, Elizabeth Line or Heathrow Express will be the lower cost option, although Heathrow Express won’t be much difference. The Underground would be around £10 for the two of you, and Elizabeth Line (to Paddington) will be around £24 for the two of you.

I actually have a whole guide to getting from London airports to central London .

So you have two options really, one is to book a transfer in advance from Heathrow using a service like minicabit . Prices will be in the region of £70 – £80 I expect.

Alternatively, you could take the Elizabeth Line to Paddington and then take a taxi or Uber from there. Honestly, the cost saving probably won’t be that great as you have to get across London. The cheapest option is definitely going to be the Underground but you will have to change lines and it will be less convenient of course.

Have a great trip to London and let me know if you have any more questions!

5th July 2022 at 7:22 am

I am slightly confused about the travelling with children situation. I am visiting in August with my 8 year old and can’t decide if I actually need a visitor oyster card or can just use contactless. A friend of mine travelled with her daughter last year and just used contactless but your article says that’s not possible? Any chance you could clarify this please? Thanks ☺️

5th July 2022 at 10:41 am

Your friend is correct, and I recently was able to get clarification from TfL on this point as well. Children under 11 can travel for free with a fare paying adult on contactless pay as you go, as long as they are with the adult. This works on contactless. I’ve updated the relevant section of this guide to be clearer on this point! When using the tube, just be sure to head to the wider barriers which are marked as accessible / for luggage, so you can pass through together.

Let me know if you have any more questions 🙂

5th July 2022 at 2:04 pm

Thank you so much, that’s really helpful information!

Olivia says

14th June 2022 at 2:40 pm

Thank you so much for the article Laurence, truly helpful!

I have a question… You mentioned about the possibility of sharing one bank card between 2 people by one using device and the other the physical card (contactless). How does that work? How does it show in the bank statement?

You recommended registering our payment method online and I saw on their website that you can actually know your trip history online if you use Apple Pay by adding your credit card number to your online account. But if me and my friend register the same credit card on our accounts (one of us using Apple Pay and the other the physical card), would that affect anything?

Many thanks!!

14th June 2022 at 4:18 pm

Hey Olivia!

My pleasure. Ok, this is a great question. So you can definitely use one card between two people by having one person use a physical card and one using a contactless payment method. This works (as I understand it), because Apple Pay / Google Pay create a virtual card number for transactions, so the TfL system sees it as a different card.

You can still register them “both” on the TfL system. I believe the way you do this is create an account normally, and then add the physical card details to your account. When you travel, it should show the different devices you are using (the card, Apple Pay, Google Pay etc). TfL even says that using different devices, like an Apple Watch or separate smartphones, also count as different payment methods, even on the same card.

However, I *think* you need to manage them from one account which would be registered to the person whose name the card is in.

Hopefully this makes sense, let me know if you have any more questions!

Jennifer Budd says

27th March 2023 at 6:53 pm

Hi Laurence- Quick piggy back question. What if there are three family members traveling together with the same card? We are traveling with our 16 year old son. Thanks! Jen

30th March 2023 at 2:10 pm

Hi Jennifer!

So you can’t use the same physical card for multiple people, but if you have multiple devices (an Apple Watch and an iPhone for example) then you can load the card onto a virtual payment method like Apple Pay or Google Wallet, and each person can then use the card. You just need a different device for each person, so that would be two devices and the physical card in your case.

I hope this makes sense, have a great time in London!

varados sucuri says

19th April 2022 at 9:14 pm

The system strikes me as relentlessly complicated and not at all user friendly. Cash appears to be considered poisonous. Is there any way to obtain an Oyster card with cash? I saw no mention of privacy. Are all these transactions automatically collected by the British government and used to track the movement of its citizens?

20th April 2022 at 11:04 am

Hi Varados,

You can indeed purchase an Oyster card with cash at various locations including at many newsagents and at tube stations across London. You can see a full list of where you can buy your Oyster card here: https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/how-to-pay-and-where-to-buy-tickets-and-oyster/buying-tickets-and-oyster?intcmp=54759

It can also be topped up with cash at ticket machines, just make sure you don’t use the “card only” ticket machines and you will be fine.

6th March 2022 at 11:10 pm

thank you.. it is really helpful

7th March 2022 at 11:56 am

My pleasure 🙂

28th August 2021 at 10:40 pm

Absolutely love that article. Thank you

29th August 2021 at 8:36 am

Thanks very much!

John Pressagh says

11th February 2020 at 7:57 pm

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11th February 2020 at 11:20 pm

I can confirm you are subscribed 🙂

Philip says

11th December 2019 at 1:00 pm

Thanks Laurence, most helpful. For occasional visitors to London, like me, contactless beats Oyster. I had an old style Oyster & applied for the newer type and received that by post. I went online and arranged to transfer my small balance over to the new card. As expected they cancelled the old card and said I would get the transfer on tapping in with my new card between dates in the very near future when I shall not be in London. I tried to arrange ithe transfer by phone but needless to say I have had to write. I set up auto top up on my new Oyster but the minimum transfer and retained credit is £20. Again a date I can’t make but that £20 will be transferred back to me automatically. Your warnings about unused balances now refers to a minimum of £20 if auto top up is set up. Frankly a single registered contactless credit card is much easier provided I use the card itself, Apple Pay on phone or on watch and never mix the card or devices on any given journey.

11th December 2019 at 3:32 pm

Hi Philip – we agree! There are only a few cases where an Oyster card makes more sense, we think that most visitors and travellers in London will benefit from contactless these days.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience, much appreciated 🙂

24th October 2019 at 10:13 pm

Thank you so much for all the infos. Very comprehensive and useful … However it looks like the London public transports system is not only Byzantine but also quite expensive if not a scam. In comparison with Paris, the Navigo Card cost 22.80 € weekly (Monday to Sunday) or 75.20 € monthly, for all zones (plus 5 € for the card). With it you can use any Metro, RER (suburban express) train, buses, Transilien suburban trains, and trams … as much as you want. In a nutshell : It is unlimited for the period the card is valid (weekly or monthly) and can be top up for every new period. This has to be put in light that pollution in a real concern in Paris and the local authorities want to phase out dramatically the use of cars in the French capital to render it inconvenient and expensive : narrowing the streets to make wider pavements and or lanes for bus/taxi/bicycle as well as expensive car parks. On the other hand since the last 2/3 decades or so a lot of money has been invested to expand and modernize the infrastructures by offering an alternative/incentive to motorists/commuters while keeping affordable prices.

25th October 2019 at 4:41 pm

It certainly sounds like the Paris card is more cost effective, although I can’t comment as to why that is! Thanks for your input 🙂

1st August 2019 at 7:54 pm

Thank you very much for the information on the blog! I wanted to specifically ask you something.

I travel from Croydon/zone 5 to London bridge/zone 1 M-F also take busses. I was told to buy the weekly plan on the oyster card for £60. Because the contactless payment will most likely charge me a daily rate of £12. Is it just the same with a contactless payment and the oyster then? I understand from your blog, that no matter what, anyway there is a weekly limit?

2nd August 2019 at 9:10 am

Our pleasure. I will try to help 🙂

So the Oyster card has a daily cap for all journeys, and a weekly cap for bus and tram journeys only. Contactless has both a daily cap and a weekly cap for all journeys including the tube.

However, the weekly cap on contactless always runs from Monday to Sunday. So if someone is visiting London from say a Wednesday to a Tuesday, even though they may travel for a week, they end up falling into two weekly cap periods, so the overall cost might end up higher.

In this case, the 7 day travelcard would make more sense because it starts on the first day you use it and then runs for a week. However, if you are commuting regularly every week, then contactless would be best. After that, the Oyster travelcard would be better than just Oyster, as Oyster by itself has no weekly cap for tube journeys.

Let me know if this doesn’t make sense!

6th August 2019 at 1:44 pm

Hi Lawrence. One more question… if traveling with the oyster will set me up in a plan of a total of £60 per week. How much would be the max weekly cap m/f on the contactless payment. Using busses and trains from zone 5 to zone 1. I’m trying to understand what payment method will actually be cheaper… Many thanks! Juan!

7th August 2019 at 2:32 pm

The weekly cap prices are usually the same. Looking at the TFL site, the weekly contactless cap price for zones 1-5 is £60, with a daily cap of £12.

I hope this helps 😉 You can calculate it yourself here: https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/find-fares/tube-and-rail-fares/caps-and-travelcard-prices?intcmp=54720

Maggie says

27th July 2019 at 11:28 pm

Hello, great information, I was in London last year and used contactless card , it was so easy. I am now planning on returning to London next week, however I will be with my 2 children aged 7 and 9. I can’t seem to find anything clear on what to do with them. We will be taking national rail transport from surbiton into central London on a daily basis and I understand this is free for children their age, as all tube and bus transport in central London, if with an adult with travel card or oyster card. do i just use my contactless and have a guard always let them through the barriers? I presume this would be the case even if I did get a visitors oyster card. or I have read about a child zip oyster card? is this something they would have to get? I’d be grateful for any help you may be able to give, thanks

29th July 2019 at 7:47 pm

I’ve contacted TfL about this issue in the past as it’s quite a common question, and the response I am given every time basically mirrors what you say – the guard will let you through the barrier with your kids. As long as you have a valid card, they can travel with you. You don’t need the zip oyster card, I believe that’s just for kids travelling alone.

I hope this helps – let me know if you have any more questions!

Beckie says

12th June 2019 at 2:17 pm

Thanks for this useful article. I have lost the auto top up on my pay as you go Oyster recently due to not updating my card details in time. I don’t seem to be able to re-add it. I feel forced into using contactless, which I am OK about (and you advise for me, I travel 3 days a week Croydon to London and have no concessions) but I am going to miss being able to view my journey history. Occasionally I have picked up payment faults (like tap out not having worked properly) by looking at it. Am I right in thinking only the actual payment will show on my bank account, not where I tapped in/out of? I think this is a major downside and feel a bit vulnerable to over paying. Beckie

12th June 2019 at 2:29 pm

My pleasure. So certainly, TfL are moving towards contactless and away from Oyster in the mid term – it’s obviously easier for them if they don’t have to manage a whole card system.

The good news is that you can track your contactless journey history – just sign up at https://contactless.tfl.gov.uk/ and you can enter your card details and it will show you your journey history for that card, including all the payments, where the journey was to and from, when you hit a daily cap etc. It’s also accessible in the TfL app 🙂

I hope this helps – I’ll update the post to include this information 🙂

7th May 2019 at 5:23 pm

Hi, I will visit London for 10 days. I still don’t quite understand what a `contactless’ card is? Is it a regular credit card issued from a bank. I checked all my credit card and didn’t see any symbol or icon indicating the card is contactless. If I ask the local bank (in US), do they understand what contactless mean? Also, I have a travel card used for traveling and will not charge for transaction fee ( worked that way when I was in Asia). Do you know if that will work for this travel card at all the station machines and will not post transaction fee? (that may be a stupid question, the machines may only charge for what need to be charged, bank is the one will figure out the transaction fee, right?)

Thank you Joy

7th May 2019 at 5:40 pm

So a contactless card is a relatively new payment technology where the credit card has a wireless chip built into it, so instead of inserting it into a card machine, you just hold it near the card machine, and it takes the payment. As this is the same technology that the Oyster cards have used for a long time, when contactless cards became popular in the UK, the Oyster card readers were updated to support them. The contactless logo is on the card, and looks like four little single parentheses, all getting bigger.

I’m not sure how widespread contactless is in the USA however, it’s down to the individual banks to implement. Your bank should be able to tell you, it is certainly a well known technology by now.

For the bank card and transaction fees, your card should work the same as it did in Asia, so if you don’t get charged fees it should just work as a payment card. It’s important to always choose to pay in GBP rather than USD if given the choice, as your bank will usually give you a better rate than if you let the merchant do the conversion, as they usually give bad rates.

I hope this all helps, and it’s not a stupid question at all! If you still need clarification, I am happy to help!

7th May 2019 at 8:38 pm

Thank you so much for the information.

I checked my bank credit cards again, there is one with the logo you mentioned, I will check with the bank.

Wonder if you can give me suggestion about where should stay. Since I am a member of a brand hotel, and they are much cheaper than the ones in the London center. There is one not far away from Heathrow airport, (and the Hayes district ) I plan to stay there during my London visit and take Heathrow express daily to and back from London city. (I looked up the info, it takes may be 15min)

Should I purchase the oyster card for visitor and can the card be used for the Heathrow express, and while I am in the city?

Or purchase the one for the express for my daily travel, then another oyster card for the use in the city?

Thank you so so much for all your information. It is really reassuring, I am sure for all travelers who never been in a new city, to have a blog like yours. I hope you don’t mind later I have few more questions. ( I will try look up myself first …. that’s how to adventure travel)

Have a great day

8th May 2019 at 9:29 am

So you can use the Oyster Card for Heathrow Express, but I’d advise against it because it will charge you the full fare, which is up to £25 each way. This would quickly negate the cost saving of staying outside the city center! However, if you book online in advance you can get tickets for as low as £5.50. So if that is the option you choose, I would suggest doing that. A couple of posts worth reading are our guide to getting from London’s airports to the city centre:

https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/get-to-london-from-airport/

And one of our itinerary posts, which has a bunch of hotel recommendations 🙂

https://independenttravelcats.com/london-itinerary-6-days-in-london/#Where-to-Stay-for-6-Days-in-London

If you did decide to use the Oyster card, you would only need one, it covers the whole London area,

Happy to help with any more questions 🙂

francis croker says

22nd April 2019 at 9:55 am

am going down to Wembley in may for cup final,been told aneed a contactless card,please help me out,havnt a clue where to start.,

22nd April 2019 at 10:29 am

Hi Francis,

If you have a contactless debit or credit card from your bank (it will have a little symbol on it to indicate this), you can just use this to navigate – just touch the card on the yellow reader at the gates and the system will calculate the correct fare. If you don’t have a contactless card you can contact your bank and they should be able to send you one – most banks issue contactless cards by default these days.

If you don’t have a contactless card, you can just buy an Oyster card instead, most underground stations have Oyster card sales points. These are pay as you go cards, so you need to preload them in advance, which you can do at the station.

I hope this helps – enjoy the game!

Joseph Leiba says

31st March 2019 at 7:18 pm

Isn’t there a disadvantage of relying on a mobile payment option like Android Pay, because it requires cell service? I’m concerned that I would lose cell connection in an underground station and be out of luck.

For the auto top-up option with Oyster, is there still a danger of not having enough credit on the card for some trips with higher fares?

Thank you very much!

31st March 2019 at 7:48 pm

Android Pay doesn’t need cell service, it works offline 🙂 The card details are stored in your phone and passed directly to the reader. So it’s like using a normal credit card, which also works without cell service as you know 🙂

I just spoke with TfL about your second query as no-one has asked that before. They said that you are correct – if you try to take a journey that costs more than the balance on your card, it will likely reject the card. Heathrow Express for example is over £20, and the auto-topup only kicks in at £10. So if you have a balance of between £10 and £20, it won’t autotopup, but you also won’t be able to use it for that journey.

I would probably use contactless or Android Pay generally to avoid this situation,

Let me know if you have any more questions!

31st March 2019 at 9:06 pm

That is very helpful! Thank you so much!

Gavin Spencer says

12th March 2019 at 10:30 pm

Hi Laurence,

Two questions: An Oyster card doesnt merely extract payment. Before it does so, it needs to calculate how far you have travelled, and does this by recording where your journey begins (when you tap in) and later, where it ends (when you tap out). Contactless cards have this “journey calculation” capability? Wow, that’s an awful lot of extra “thinking” for a simple credit/debit card, isnt it? In any other transaction a contactless card merely has to make a predetermined payment. (I realise you didnt design the system, just wondering what you might know.)

Also, regarding the foreign transaction fees using overseas contactless cards: If you use an overseas credit/debit card to charge up an Oyster card, that will also incur foreign transaction fees, so isnt it kind of a wash? Or do you think that the fees will be more if you use the card to travel rather than just to charge up your Oyster card?

Thanks in advance. A very informative article.

13th March 2019 at 9:51 am

So as I understand it the processing doesn’t happen with the card, it happens with the Oyster system. When you tap in with your Oyster or contactless card, that information is registered with the Oyster system, which then tracks your journey. It’s also more clever than just tracking a single journey – it tracks your journeys on all the various Oyster enabled transport options, so if you fall under the daily or weekly caps, you won’t pay more than you have to.

For the foreign transaction fees – yes, you are correct, it would be the same if you used the same card for the top up. That said, some banks charge a minimum amount per foreign transaction. So if you top up an Oyster card once, you will only be charge that fee once. However, if you journey several times on the credit card, there’s a risk of being charged that minimum amount every time, which could add up quickly.

I hope this makes sense!

13th March 2019 at 6:00 pm

I see what you’re saying. But still, having the contactless card talk to the Oyster system is an extra layer of “intelligence”, over and above simply making payments.

On the other thing, gotta balance the possible fees with the inconvenience of obtaining an Oyster card and the £5 deposit, which as I recall can be a hassle to get back. Not every station and do it. Sigh….so many decisions 😉

Antony Macer says

5th March 2019 at 6:11 pm

Your web-page is a delight. As an ex-Londoner who now only occasionally visits the city, the need to find advice like this is essential. Many thanks for making access to it so simple.

5th March 2019 at 7:44 pm

Thanks so much Antony, that’s really kind. Let us know if you have any questions, and have a great time in London when you visit 😀

Susan Ireland says

16th October 2018 at 7:21 am

My husband and I are going to London for 10 days. We want to get Oyster cards. When we top up the card, can we use our US-issued mastercard and visa card? Or do we have to top up with cash? Thank you!

17th October 2018 at 7:33 pm

From what I have read, the majority of US issued credit cards will work in the machines. If they don’t, major travel centres like Heathrow, or the large train stations in London, will have ticket windows with a human where you will be able to use the card.

Hope this helps!

17th October 2018 at 9:43 pm

Thank you, Lawrence. That’s reassuring.

30th June 2018 at 6:06 am

contactless can be cheaper than oyster when you are mixing journeys in the centre of london with journeys further out. it’s because the daily price caps work in a slightly different way. There’s a clip of two people doing the same journeys with contactless and oyster here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w95ULafeSY contactless was a few pounds cheaper.

30th June 2018 at 9:24 am

Great video, thanks for sharing. I will update the post accordingly 🙂

Diovane Bonotto says

2nd December 2016 at 5:07 pm

Apple Pay from overseas can be use?

Laurence says

2nd December 2016 at 5:21 pm

Hello Diovanne,

You can use Apple Pay from overseas yes, but it’s up to your card issuer as to whether the card is supported, and you have to be sure you won’t be charged transaction fees. You can see more here: https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless/other-methods-of-contactless-payment/apple-pay?cid=applepay

Paul and Carole says

19th November 2016 at 11:09 am

Thanks for the information regarding the contactless option, we have always used cash previously and will definitely be using this option. We live in the UK and don’t get to London often so are looking forward to our trip next April. #TheWeeklyPostcard

19th November 2016 at 11:15 am

My pleasure! If you’ve got contactless, it’s definitely the way forward, so much easier (and miles cheaper!) than cash 🙂

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Best London transport pass - Oyster, Travelcard or Contactless

Make an informed choice on the right london travel pass for you with question and answer blog if needed.

If you want the best public transport deal for your visit to London there is no doubt that at first sight the various ticketing options are bewildering. There is no universal best option, each option has its own market.

Invest just a little time into understanding the options and by picking the right solution for you. As well as saving significant money you will also save time and have a stress-free experience.

We have a dedicated detailed analysis page explaining in detail the differences between the various ticketing options (see link below). This page is a more simplified step by step approach to identifying the best public transport pass for you in London.

Oyster, Travelcard or Contactless - detailed comparison of your ticketing options

After reading both pages if you are still confused then you can Ask Bob at the foot of this page, where you can discuss your particular situation.

Select the right pass   Contactless cards   Visitor Oyster & Oyster   Frequently asked questions   Still confused? Ask Bob  

Selecting the right transport pass for you

For the tourist or those making short visits to London there are aspects of the Travelcard that make them very appealing and if understood can make Travelcards cheaper than Oyster cards or contactless payment cards, especially if you are visiting the major sights on a first-time visit.

So all in all it can be quite confusing for the visitor planning their visit to London to make an informed choice.

This page discusses the differences between Oyster, Contactless Payment Cards and Travelcards so you can identify the right product for you, our detailed Travelcard , Contactless Payment Cards and Oyster card pages give a full explanation of each.

Contactless Payment Cards - on paper best for many but with major drawbacks

Contactless payment cards have become mainstream for payment of public transport in London. In the long term this type of technology may well become dominant, replacing Oyster as the most popular payment method.

The big attraction of contactless payment is you can use your own credit/debit card or even your mobile phone linked to an Apple Pay account with no need to purchase any dedicated transport ticket.

Contactless payment uses Oyster fares, the lowest fares unless you are staying more than five days.

The main reasons why visitors do not use contactless payment:

• If you are from overseas your fares will converted from pounds sterling to your local currency daily by your provider, often with significant foreign exchange charges.
• Each person needs their own contactless supported credit/debit card or mobile phone account, you cannot share.
• If you are staying and travelling in London for more than 5 days in any 7, a 7 day Travelcard is cheaper than Oyster fares.
• Concessionary fares (including children) are not supported by contactless payment.

Contactless Payment - full details

Visitor Oyster cards & Oyster cards

Oyster fares are the lowest fares and if you are not using contactless payment then you need to buy an Oyster card to gain access to the Oyster fares.

For most overseas visitors an Oyster card or a Visitor Oyster card is the most popular ticketing solution.

A lot of visitors are under the impression that a Visitor Oyster card is in some way a better deal than a standard Oyster card purchased in London, but on balance the reverse is true.

The only reason to purchase a Visitor Oyster card is if you are happy to pay a price premium for a less flexible product just for the convenience of having the Oyster cards in your hands before departure to London.

Oyster cards bought in London have a refundable deposit of £5, Visitor Oyster cards have a non refundable deposit of £5.

Oyster cards bought in London allow you to load Travelcards (but not 1 day Travelcards) onto your Oyster. If you are staying 6 or more days a 7 day Travelcard will probably be cheaper than Oyster alone. Visitor Oyster cards do not have this capability.

Oyster cards - full details

Do you have any children under 18 years?

If yes, read the article linked below about obtaining half price or free child fares before you go any further and factor this into your Oyster v Travelcard decision. (Contactless payment cards are not an option for concessionary fares like children).

I’m afraid child fares are really complex so it is worth taking some time to understand the options available.

Child fares on London Transport - full details

In London 5 or more days? (Combining Travelcards and Oyster)

If you are travelling 3 or more times a day for 5 or more days in any 7 day period then a 7 day Travelcard becomes cheaper than an Oyster card.

If you are staying in London for say 10 days or are staying in the outer zones where your travel patterns may well be more irregular in terms of which travel zones you travel through, it may well suit you to combine Oyster and Travelcard, sometimes using both for the same journey.

For Oyster cards bought in London (but not Visitor Oyster cards) you can load 7 day, monthly or annual Travelcards onto the Oyster card. You cannot load Travelcards onto contactless payment cards.

So, if you have an Oyster Card with money loaded onto it under Pay As You Go and a 7 day Travelcard zone 1/2 loaded onto the same Oyster Card, a classic example of where it becomes beneficial to the visitor is outlined below:

You are flying into Heathrow (Zone 6) and staying in a hotel in Central London (Zone 1) and sightseeing for 9 days before flying out of Heathrow. One day you are visiting Hampton Court in Zone 5.

What you can do is buy an Oyster card at Heathrow Airport Underground Station and load some money onto it immediately and use it as an Oyster card. On the third day you buy a 7 day Travelcard zone 1 and 2 and load that onto the Oyster card.

For the next 7 days all your travelling is in the central zones except the airport trip on the last day and your trip to Hampton Court. On 5 of the days where you are exclusively travelling in zones 1 and 2 the Travelcard covers all of your travel needs.

On the journeys to and from Hampton Court and to Heathrow the system will take from your Oyster an extension fee to cover the part of the journey outside zones 1 and 2 covered by your Travelcard. This is performed automatically with no input on your part.

1-day Travelcard cannot be loaded onto Oyster Cards

If you buy Travelcards only and for a duration of 7 days upwards, unless you buy from a national railways ticket office in London or online from an overseas agent, your Travelcard will come loaded on an Oyster Card. If your Travelcard is purchased from a railways ticket office or online in advance it comes in the format of a card ticket with a magnetic strip, not on an Oyster.

Travelcards - full details

Is sightseeing a major part of your visit to London?

If you are visiting places like the Tower of London, Madame Tussauds etc there is a railways promotion that is available to people with Travelcards purchased from the railways that is not available to Oyster card holders.

Under the promotion one person pays the full adult admission, the other goes in free. For places like the Tower of London that’s a saving of over £20 – savings can easily be more than the cost of the fares that day!

The savings are substantial, and you have to jump through a few hoops, but many end up buying Travelcards purely on the basis of obtaining these savings on your sightseeing, even though an Oyster card would be cheaper for the transport alone.

Railways 2 for 1 sightseeing promotion - full details

Are you travelling in a group of 10 or more?

If you are travelling in a group of 10 or more a 1 Day Group Travelcard may be cheaper than either Travelcard or Oyster card, but only if you travel outside zones 1 to 3.

This is the only group fare available. There are no family fares or passes either for smaller groups.

1 Day Group Travelcard - full details

Travelling to and from London's airports

Heathrow airport.

Heathrow Airport is in Zone 6 of London’s transport system. You cannot use Oyster or Travelcards on the Heathrow Express trains to/from Heathrow, but you can use them on the Underground, TFL Rail Heathrow and London buses at Heathrow.

Do not get a 7 Day Travelcard for zones 1 to 6 just to cover the Underground transfers from Heathrow. Get a 7 Day Travelcard zone 1 to 2 loaded onto an Oyster to cover the airport trips, you will save a lot of money this way. (See example in the “In London 5 or More Days” section above)

City Airport

City Airport is in Zone 3 of London’s transport system and is served by the DLR system that connects with the London Underground.

Gatwick Airport

You can use Oyster pay as you go and contactless cards on train services between London and Gatwick Airport, but you cannot use Travelcards.

Whether it's a good idea to use Oyster rather than buy tickets from the railways is another question and a complex one to answer. You will need to carefully read our dedicated pages on the Gatwick trains and understand how Oyster works to make an informed comparison.

Gatwick - London trains - full details

Luton, Southend & Stansted Airports

Neither Oyster or Travelcard go out to any of these airports, so your airport transfers are a separate purchase to your London transport.

Just making 1 or 2 journeys?

You cannot pay cash and buy a single ticket on the buses. On the trains and underground you can buy a single ticket but it comes at a punitive price for most journeys compared to Oyster.

If you have a credit/debit card that supports contactless payment then use it, this will be your cheapest fare, though if you are from overseas your provider may have foreign exchange charges. Oyster Cards have the same fare structure as contactless payment cards.

If you have neither Oyster or contactless payment card then you have an awkward decision. You can pay single cash fares on the underground and trains, but not buses. For most journeys you will pay a significant price premium over Oyster fares.

You can get an Oyster card. This ensures you have the cheapest fares but you have the hassle of the Oyster deposit on purchase then cancelling your Oyster at the end of your trip to reclaim your deposit and any balance left on the card.

Still confused, got something you want to add? Ask Bob!

If your requirement is complex or not neatly addressed by the above just make a comment or ask a question below. Normally, Bob, our resident expert and author of this page will reply within 24 hours.

London Travelcard

The London Travelcard is a transport pass which entitles you to unlimited travel on London’s public transport. You can use a travelcard to travel on the London Underground, overground, public buses, DLR (docklands light rail), TFL rail and other trains, as long as you travel within London’s travel zones.

It is designed for people who are planning on using London’s public transport a lot when visiting London or for people who commute into London on a daily basis. Still, a London Travelcard may sometimes not be the cheapest option even if does entitle you to unlimited travel.

London Travelcard: What do I need to know before I buy one?

When buying a London Travelcard there are three things that you need to know:

1. The duration of the card:

You can buy a travelcard for one day, 7 days, one month or annual.

2. The travel zones of London that will be using:

When you buy a travelcard you need to choose what travel zones you want use. If you are going to travel between zones 1 and 2, you will need a travelcard that is valid for these two zones, but if you are going to travel between zones 1 and 5 every day, you will need a travelcard that covers zones 1 to 5. This does not apply to travelling by bus, as any travelcard will allow you to travel on buses to and from any zone within London’s travel zones. So for example, if you have a travelcar for zones 1 and 2, you can still use a bus to get to zone 3 or zone 5 with that travelcard at no extra cost.

Most of London’s tourist attractions are located in zone 1, and only a few of the most popular attractions can be found outside zone 1, such as Camden Town Market which is in zone 2. Make sure you know what zone your hotel is in before you buy a travelcard.

3. Off-peak or Anytime

If you are buying a 1 day travelcard  (which we don’t normally recommend as an oyster card has a daily cap that is cheaper than a one day travelcard – see below) you will have to choose if you want it to travel anytime of the day, or just during off-peak times (Monday – Friday from 9.30 am; all day Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays).

This does not affect 1 day travelcards for zones 1 to 4, so if you are visiting London you probably don’t need to worry about this at all as you are unlikely to be travelling to zone 5, 6 or beyond.

Which Travelcard to buy if you are planning a trip to London

1 day travelcard.

The price of the 1 day London travelcard for zones 1, 1-2, 1-3 and 1-4 costs £15.20. We don’t normally recommend using the 1 day travelcard, as it is actually cheaper to use an oyster card, a visitor oyster card, or a contactless card as these payment methods have a daily cap. The daily cap applied to these zones are: £8.10 for travel within zones 1-2; £9.60 for zones 1-3 and £11.70 for zones 1-4. Once you have reached this daily cap you will be able to travel within the same travel zones for free. It is still necessary to tap in and tap out on the yellow reader with your oyster card, visitor oyster card or contactless card when using public transport.

Find out more about choosing between an oyster card, a travelcard or using contactless on London Transport here: Oyster card, Travelcard or Contactless .

7 day Travelcard

The 7 day travelcard for London travel zones 1-2 costs £40.70. When comparing oyster card/visitor oyster card/contactless fares to a 7 day travelcard, I would probably say that it is convenient to get a 7 day travelcard if you are going to be travelling around London for more than 6 days. If you are going to be in London less than 6 days then I would recommend using an oyster card (vistor oyster card or contactless if you are a UK resident).

Where to buy a London travelcard

Buying a London Travelcard at an underground station

It is possible to buy a London travelcard at any underground station in London, by either using a ticket machine at the ticket office or a manned desk in a the ticket office (if available). When you buy a 7 day, monthly or annual London travelcard at an underground station you will normally get an oyster card with the travelcard incorporated in it. So your oyster card will be pre-loaded with the travelcard you have chosen. This way you can also use this oyster card with pay as you go for any trips that are not included in the travelcard.

So, as an example, if you have a 7 day travelcard for zones 1 – 4 in your oyster card, you will be entitles to unlimited journeys within these  travel zones for 7 days, and you can use your oyster as you normally would, by touching in and touching out. But, if one day you need to go to zone 6, you will be able to use the same oyster with pay as you go balance. One example when this might happen, is if you arrive at Heathrow airport (zone 6) but you want to buy a 7 day travelcard for zones 1 – 4. It will be much cheaper to use they oyster card with pay as you go for the journey from Heathrow to central London and the journey from central London to Heathrow Airport on your last day and adding a 7 travelcard for zones 1 – 4, than using a 7 day travelcard for zones 1 – 6.

Buying a London Travelcard at a train station

It is possible to buy a London travelcard at any train station located inside London’s Travel Zones . When you buy a travelcard at a train station, you will normally get a paper travelcard and not an oyster card.

Stansted, Luton or Gatwick airports are all outside London’s Travel Zones so these stations won’t normally sell London travelcards.

Buy a London Travelcard online

One of the easiest ways to buy a London travelcard is by buying it online. The price is exactly the same as what it would cost you to buy it in London but you will pay a little extra for delivery.

Buy a London travelcard at Heathrow airport

London travelcard fares from 5th march 2023, travelcard for children.

Children under the age of 11 travel free within London travel zones. Children over 11 can also benefit from reduced fares; you can learn more about this in our article: Travelling in London with kids .

Find out more

For more information, visit London’s official transport website: Transport For London

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London underground, london travel zones, travelling in london with kids, contactless payment on london transport.

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How to Use a Contactless Card on London Transport

Anyone with a contactless debit or credit card can use it to pay for travel in London. It’s ideal if you don’t have or want an Oyster card. Or if you run out of pay as you go credit on your Oyster card.

Your card is used the same way as an Oyster card – you tap in and out at the tube or train station ticket barriers or tap the yellow card reader when you get on a bus.

The main difference is that you don’t have to top-up your Oyster card with money, the fare is taken from your debit card or credit card the following day.

You need one contactless debit or credit card per person . You can’t pay for two or more people with one card.

Contactless single fares 2024

Underground.

For central London (zone 1) it costs  £2.70 off peak and £2.80 peak per journey with a contactless debit or credit card.

Read more about London’s zones .

What are the contactless peak/off-peak hours?

Off-peak fares apply on Fridays from 8 March until 31 May 2024

Monday–Friday 6.30am–9.30am and from 4pm–7pm.

If you travel into central London (zone 1) from an outer zone, there is no afternoon peak rate . You are charged the off-peak fare.

Off-peak fares are charged at all other times, including Public Holidays.

Contactless Daily Cap 2024

If you want to use your contactless card to pay for travel for the whole day, there’s a ‘daily cap’. This is the maximum you pay for unlimited travel in one day. For central London, it’s  £8.50 .

Contactless daily cap from 3 March 2024

It’s  £1.75 for one bus journey or for unlimited bus journeys within one hour with a contactless card. If you use the buses all day,  £5.25 is the maximum amount deducted from your card.

There are no zones for bus travel in London.

Contactless weekly fares

If you use a contactless card to pay for travel between Monday and Sunday there’s a weekly cap – the maximum amount deducted from your card.

As it runs from Monday to Sunday, the cap does not benefit everyone.

For anyone visiting London for 5-7 days, a weekly Travelcard or bus pass might be cheaper depending on the day you first use public transport.

For central London (zone 1) it’s  £42.70 . Contactless weekly cap prices are the same as weekly Travelcard prices.

• You benefit from the contactless ‘weekly cap’ if you arrive in London on Monday or Tuesday and use it to pay for public transport every day until Sunday
• If you arrive in London on Wednesday to Sunday and use public transport every day for 6-7 days, buy a weekly Travelcard instead

The cost for bus travel between Monday and Sunday is  £24.70.

• You benefit from the contactless weekly bus fare if you arrive in London on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday and use the buses every day until Sunday
• If you arrive in London on Thursday to Sunday and use the buses for the next 5-7 days, buy an ordinary weekly bus pass instead

How do I use a contactless card?

Tap your contactless debit/credit card on the yellow card reader when you get on the bus. You don’t need to tap your card when you get off.

On the underground/overground

Tap your card on the yellow card reader to open the ticket barriers at the start of your journey. Do the same when you arrive at your destination. Even if the barriers are open, tap the reader otherwise you are charged the full fare.

The following working day, your journeys are added up and the money is deducted from your bank account or added to your credit card bill.

Non-UK issued contactless card

Visitors with non-UK issued cards should bear in mind that overseas transaction charges might apply when you use a contactless card. It’s probably best to check the fees with your card provider first.

If you have two or more contactless cards, make sure they’re not near each other when you tap your card on the reader. Decide which one you’re going to use and stick to it.

If you use different cards you will not benefit from the daily or weekly cap and you could be charged the ‘full fare’ (expensive!).

A record of usage is available, but you need register your contactless credit/debit card with TfL.

If you don’t want to do this, get an Oyster card instead. Receipts are available when you buy and/or top-up a card at an underground station ticket machine. You don’t get one automatically, you have to select ‘Receipt’ on the screen. Look out for the prompt – it’s easy to miss.

Related pages

• Guide to London transport tickets
• London transport zones

Last updated: 22 February 2024

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