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Heading to that there London next week. We (family of 4, kids 11 and 14) will be using the tube twice a day for 2 days from near Wembley. From everything I've read it seems we would be better off with an oyster card even though we're not making many journeys - does that sound right? What about pay as you go where you tap a debit card - is that a thing? If it is why would you use an oyster card? Presume I can buy an Oyster card at any ticket machine and load it with money at the same time? Seems they cost a fiver - is that just to pay for the card or does it go towards your top up balance? I is confused a little, and the visit London website doesn't answer all my questions - if anyone could help that would be appreciated.
You can just use a debit card and tap in and out. Not sure how it would work for 4 of you if you only have debit cards for the adults?
Adults - you can just go through with your debit cards or phone.
Kids - I think they need their own Oyster cards.
Just make sure you use the same card for all transactions/journeys or it will cost you more money.
There's some info here, but you probably don't have time to apply for them this time round.
https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/11-15-zip-oyster-photocard?intcmp=55575
And here's information about where you can get Oyster cards
For a full price adult I think Contactless and Oyster are functionally the same now? Prices are the same and you get the same caps. But I think kids over 10 make things more complicated
If you are planning to tap the same payment method several times to get kids through the turnstiles, just check you understand the fare payments.
The charging page has changed since I was last there but I got the impression that if you passed the payment method back to admit another family member, it would assume you are trying to tap out immediately after tapping in to avoid paying the fare. It would then charge the maximum fare (or two?) as a penalty.
I might be barking up the wrong tree but that's the impression I got.
Contactless all the way, we just gave the kids a card to tap through, we used our phones. Automatically tops out when you hit the daily limit so you don't overpay.
Even though it might be worth using Oyster for the kids as it's cheaper it's a lot of gaff.
not just debit cards, any contactless. It's clever tech, if you use the same one it keeps tally and works out at the end of the day if you are better paying for journeys, or if you'd have been better on a day cap. Day cap is iirc £9.60. One day adult travelcard is £15.20 I think.
When kids were younger I used a credit card so they could have my debit card, but then they'd pay adult fare*. For a day's travel it's a couple of quid difference so worth it for convenience (one day kids Travelcard is £7.60)
IDK if a phone, and the same card not on the phone is a different account - I *think* so as the phone contactless gives your card a dummy a/c number iirc?
11-14 You can get a kids oystercard that charges kids rates but the hassle of applying, I'm not sure if I could be arsed. Or go to a ticket window and buy a (paper) kids Travelcard as above and save £2.
* I don't think overpaying is an offence but with the British railway system, who knows!!
Thanks all, so for 4 people all I need is 4 contactless enabled credit/debit cards? Sounds like the easiest way to do it.
yep
Yep and I'm fairly sure theotherjonv is right a phone isn't the same card as the card if that makes sense.
I’ve got an Oyster card somewhere, but I haven’t used it for a few years, since TfL allowed the use of ordinary debit cards. It became a lot easier because if you had an Oyster card in your wallet along with a debit or credit card the system would try to charge both at once. Now I use my phone all the time - I just double-click the side button when I get to the barrier and hold my phone on the yellow panel.
As jam-bo says, the 11 year old falls into the 'just hustle them through with you' category on tubes and buses.