Will I be issued paper or smart or oyster? If I buy annual travelcard online

[coursemyhorse]

I need to buy an annual travel card online within the next day or so. This is from Ash Vale to London Waterloo including zones 1-6. If I buy online, will it be a paper ticket? I want to "buy the ticket online or in a gold card area" to get the annual gold card benefit but I would rather they issued me a more durable and easy to swipe (for speed through the gates) smart card or oyster.

Do the smart cards swipe on the underground or does that have to be Oyster?

What is my best bet here? I see no benefit to buying online? If I buy from a ticket office, I take it there is no issue with them taking the full rather large amount in one transaction and giving me the card/tickets there and then?

Anything else I need to do? Sorry I am new to this and this is my first annual travel card.
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SWT helpline suggest that that journey is not valid on anything other than paper ticket because smart card is not compatible with Oyster currently. I said was there no way to combine smart card and Oyster and he said no.

He said "I can apply for smart card" at anytime though whatever that means...

I then asked if I had to be within the gold card area when buying the annual travel card to benefit from the gold card and he said no. I can buy it anywhere. This contradicts what the website says or I am misinterpreting it.

"What is an Annual Gold Card?

Annual Gold Cards are Annual Season tickets with a difference!

When you buy an adult Annual Season ticket or Annual Travelcard online or at a station within the Annual Gold Card area and the origin and/or destination are also in the Annual Gold Card area, you are automatically issued with an Annual Gold Card or a Gold Record Card if your Season ticket is issued on smartcard or an Oyster card."

 

[Dent]

You won't be able to get that ticket on Oyster from any outlet because Ash Vale is outside the Oyster area. This will be a paper ticket, wherever you get it from.

 

[coursemyhorse]

Thanks. And as for the "gold card" thing? Can I just buy this anywhere and still get the gold card. Is a gold card simply the annual ticket itself or is it an actual separate card? Im confused.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum

South West Trains currently don't have a full smartcard solution so you'll be issued with a paper season ticket on Gold Card stock. This will work the barriers at Ash Vale and anywhere in London Zones 1-6. The magnetic strip on the ticket can wear out but they will replace it free if you ask.

I'd buy it from the station. You'll need to take a passport size photo to the station so they can make up a photocard for you (you'd need to do this anyway even if you buy online). No problem with getting the ticket there and then (as long as you've sufficient credit on your payment card!) The clerks are used to handling such transactions as they do many of them at this time of year.

 

[coursemyhorse]

Cheers guys.
So sorry final question....

I'm paying over £4000 per year and I still have to use paper ticket on the underground? There is no way to get an oyster and get my ticket loaded on to it and then the paper ticket changed to just cover the Ash Vale to Waterloo section?

Cheers

Happy new year

 

[swt_passenger]

Thanks. And as for the "gold card" thing? Can I just buy this anywhere and still get the gold card. Is a gold card simply the annual ticket itself or is it an actual separate card? Im confused.

On paper tickets, the annual season ticket is printed on 'gold card' ticket stock, and that's really all a gold card is, just an annual season with some extra benefits.

There is however also a 'gold record card' which acts as a separate entitlement card only for people buying annual seasons or travel cards that are issued on smart cards.

 

[island]

I'm paying over £4000 per year and I still have to use paper ticket on the underground? There is no way to get an oyster and get my ticket loaded on to it and then the paper ticket changed to just cover the Ash Vale to Waterloo section?

That's correct, there is no way to do that.

The ticket will be printed on special gold and white coloured ticket stock which is called a Gold Card, and this entitles you to 34% discounts on journeys not covered by your Gold Card for yourself, up to three accompanying adults and four accompanying children. You can have the Gold Card discount set to your Oyster Card at a London Underground station (amongst other places) in case you ever want to travel somewhere within the Oyster zone but outside zones 1-6, such as Dartford.