Oyster Card
Pros:
- As it’s pre-loaded, it can be easier to track your spending
- An Oyster Card is specially designed for London Transport
- Fare capping means you pay a maximum sum per day
- Visitor Oyster Card holders can benefit from special discounts
- More than one person can use an Oyster card (at different times)
- You get a cool souvenir for your scrapbook – especially with the multi-coloured visitor Oyster Card!
Cons:
- A £5 cost applies when you get a standard or visitor card
- You’ll need to top it up in advance of travel
- You can’t use an Oyster card at any station between Reading and Iver
- Some funds are likely to remain unused
- Taxis don’t accept Oyster Cards
Like contactless, an Oyster card is a payment card. It’s available as a standard or visitor Oyster Card, and either way you can top it up in advance before paying for your trips on London Transport.
The obvious question that comes to mind here is why you might want to carry around an extra card. Are there any benefits to paying by Oyster Card versus contactless?
There are some extra costs associated with having an Oyster Card. Whether you go for the standard or visitor version, a non-refundable £5 fee applies before you can use it.
On the plus side, an Oyster Card you’ve bought can be used by a friend or family member during a future visit.
It’s also unlikely that you’ll use every penny stored on the Oyster Card. This means London Transport is quids in if you don’t return the card to redeem this. Many people never do. If you’re likely to be one of them, then you could also lose out.
This is because you can only top up an Oyster card in £5 increments, adding between £10 and £50 each time. Note that you can’t use Oyster Cards to pay for London taxis, though they do accept contactless payments.
Visitor Oyster Card holders can benefit from some special discounts. These are aimed at tourists visiting London, and give money off admission prices to popular attractions.
Now you have some idea of the differences, let’s move onto which forms of London Transport let you pay as you go. In other words, which allow you to use either contactless or an Oyster Card!
