stephen owen
Member
Where can i buy Oyster cards in Euston, and can i pay by cash ?
thank youAnd yes you can pay cash
I don't have an Oyster Card so on a trip to Heathrow last week I used my Debit card, checking in and out. From the Cross to Terminal 3 I was charged £3.10. Would it have been less with an Oyster Card? If it isn't what is the point of having an Oyster Card?
If it isn't what is the point of having an Oyster Card?
Oyster requires you to lend TFl money before you travel, debit card + contactless means you pay at the time of use, credit card + contactless means you don't pay until your card statement.If it isn't what is the point of having an Oyster Card?
The only reason to use Oyster these days is for people who have railcards to get their railcard discount on Pay as You Go fares or for those who want a Travelcard season ticket that's for longer than a week (contactless has a weekly cap so you won't pay more than the weekly season ticket for the zones you use). If you're only doing the odd journey or don't have a railcard then there isn't really an advantage to having an Oyster vs using contactless.
Unless you're entitled to a railcard discount, or you buy monthly/annual Travelcards, there isn't one.
I know it's off topic, but I found it interesting that, reported in July 2018,
https://theconversation.com/unused-...-time-may-be-running-out-to-get-it-back-99558
- There are 76 million active Oyster cards
- 73% of these, 53 million, have not been used for a year or more
- The deposit and credit balances on the total 76 million cards amounts to some £321 million
- The advent of contactless cards has significantly increased the number of "dormant" Oyster cards
- The average balance on these "dormant" cards is £2.86 which probably explains why most people don't bother trying to get their money refunded
Oh, and I don't think the figures I quoted can include the £5 deposit per card either, and if not this represents a further £265 million held by TFl on "dormant" cards and £380 million held across all cards!
I don't have an Oyster Card so on a trip to Heathrow last week I used my Debit card, checking in and out. From the Cross to Terminal 3 I was charged £3.10. Would it have been less with an Oyster Card? If it isn't what is the point of having an Oyster Card?
Unless you're entitled to a railcard discount, or you buy monthly/annual Travelcards, there isn't one.
Also I think some organisations prefer reimbursing travel expenses made on Oyster, rather than travel done using people's personal debit/credit cards.
Not quite that much. The deposit used to be £3 per card. And it's a fair bet that dormant cards will mainly be older ones, and so will have a high proportion of £3-deposit ones. I myself have several such cards, which I guess I really should return to get the deposit back at some point.
One advantage of an Oyster - providing you pay in cash and don't register it - is that you don't have your movements tracked.
Same here, I really don't want to be waving my wallet around to get out one of my several contactless cards somewhere like the Camden Town gateline. The Oyster card sits in a holder in an accessible outside pocket, the wallet with may credit and debit cards in a buttoned up inside pocket.SNIP
By the way, talking of reasons to use Oyster: One reason I still mainly use Oyster rather than contactless is that I find it easier to keep the card in its own Oyster holder - much more convenient to touch in and touch out with that than it would be with a wallet full of several cards. Plus I can keep any rail tickets I happen to be using with it. If I went to contactless, I'd have to put one of my debit cards in the Oyster holder instead - and since the Oyster holder is much easier to lose than my (considerably larger) wallet, I don't really want to take that risk with a debit card.
The card can be tracked- the touches in and out are recorded- and if The Authorities wanted to know who was using it they'd just have to look at CCTV. If you want privacy you best move to Taransay.
Also I think some organisations prefer reimbursing travel expenses made on Oyster, rather than travel done using people's personal debit/credit cards.
The process for reimbursement is identical whether you use Oyster or contactless, you simply submit a journey history with your expenses claim. With contactless you don't even need to register to get your journey history.
By the way, talking of reasons to use Oyster: One reason I still mainly use Oyster rather than contactless is that I find it easier to keep the card in its own Oyster holder
The process for reimbursement is identical whether you use Oyster or contactless, you simply submit a journey history with your expenses claim. With contactless you don't even need to register to get your journey history.
You don't, but it's a lot more hassle. Far easier to register on the TfL site and then print the history off yourself.With contactless you don't even need to register to get your journey history.
You don't, but it's a lot more hassle. Far easier to register on the TfL site and then print the history off yourself.
That's not strictly true. The weekly cap applies Monday to Sunday, whereas a 7 day travelcard can start on any day, so Oyster is still necessary for anyone needing a 7 day travelcard starting on a day other than a Monday. There are also other advantages of a travelcard over the cap, such as being able to combine a travelcard with other tickets.