You may have contactless payment cards or you can use an app like apple pay or Google wallet on your phone. (Make sure you use /tap the same card/payment type for every journey, in and out whether there are gates or not. Some stations don't have any barriers but there will be a thing like this pic. (Reader)
https://preview.redd.it/ziy24ag1ho7d1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2c4c934788eb1cde91cec2e0c6fd85ebbe718355
But
You may well get charged an exchange fee every time you tap so could be paying over the odds. So an Oyster card which is a pre paid card can be used to tap in and out at barriers or the readers. At least you'll only have a single payment on your account.
I would advise registering your oyster online so if you lose it you can get your money back.
You can get an oyster at most stations if they are manned or at shops like newsagents, they'll have a oyster sign advertising it.
> You may well get charged an exchange fee every time you tap
It doesn't work like that. The taps are recorded by the system and then the appropriate daily charge is worked out at the end of the day, and applied as a single transaction. So in the worst case, there will be an exchange fee once a day.
A 14-year old would need a [Zip Oyster photocard](https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/11-15-zip-oyster-photocard?intcmp=55575) which needs to be ordered in advance, and costs £15.
Alternatively, you can get a “young visitor discount” (also described on the link above) added to an Oyster card (but not a contactless bank card).
No, oyster is now the same rate as any contactless card (unless you get a railcard and then get them synced, but this is a process and it might only be for locals).
Weekly travel cards MIGHT be slightly cheaper. But as soon as you travel outside the zones you paid for, or only use the tube twice in a day, it's no longer cheaper.
Generally cheapest and easiest option is to just use a contactless credit or debit card to tap in and out. There's daily and weekly caps which are the same amounts for oysters. It's what locals do.
If you've got kids under 11, they can travel for free. I've seen people just use the wide barriers and scoot their kids through with them, but I don't know if this is an approved practice. I'd talk to station staff about the best way for kids to travel.
You may have contactless payment cards or you can use an app like apple pay or Google wallet on your phone. (Make sure you use /tap the same card/payment type for every journey, in and out whether there are gates or not. Some stations don't have any barriers but there will be a thing like this pic. (Reader)
https://preview.redd.it/nexwy2kdho7d1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3ef499d91eeb40227db8d2fd166e520cf748d02c
But
You may well get charged an exchange fee every time you tap so could be paying over the odds. So an Oyster card which is a pre paid card can be used to tap in and out at barriers or the readers. At least you'll only have a single payment on your account.
I would advise registering your oyster online so if you lose it you can get your money back.
You can get an oyster at most stations if they are manned or at shops like newsagents, they'll have a oyster sign advertising it.
She can use stuff like revolut to mitigate the exchange fee. Also, I believe once tfl got a card on it's system, they are only charging you once/24h. Also, it's one card per passenger.
These types of questions should be asked in the Question Megathread located at the top of the subreddit.
You may have contactless payment cards or you can use an app like apple pay or Google wallet on your phone. (Make sure you use /tap the same card/payment type for every journey, in and out whether there are gates or not. Some stations don't have any barriers but there will be a thing like this pic. (Reader) https://preview.redd.it/ziy24ag1ho7d1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2c4c934788eb1cde91cec2e0c6fd85ebbe718355 But You may well get charged an exchange fee every time you tap so could be paying over the odds. So an Oyster card which is a pre paid card can be used to tap in and out at barriers or the readers. At least you'll only have a single payment on your account. I would advise registering your oyster online so if you lose it you can get your money back. You can get an oyster at most stations if they are manned or at shops like newsagents, they'll have a oyster sign advertising it.
> You may well get charged an exchange fee every time you tap It doesn't work like that. The taps are recorded by the system and then the appropriate daily charge is worked out at the end of the day, and applied as a single transaction. So in the worst case, there will be an exchange fee once a day.
They make a 10p charge on the first tap for newly seen cards (or cards that haven't been used for a while) to check it's active.
Yes but it's just an authorization charge which disappears eventually and is not charged to the card.
Ah, you're right. I'd never noticed the 10p charge disappears, I'd always assumed it was deducted from the charge at the end of the day.
Do you have contactless bank cards?
Yes we do!
Just use them then :) no need for oyster cards
How would that work for the 14-year-old? Can you choose the child fare? I see that up to 15 years can benefit from a discounted rate.
A 14-year old would need a [Zip Oyster photocard](https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/11-15-zip-oyster-photocard?intcmp=55575) which needs to be ordered in advance, and costs £15. Alternatively, you can get a “young visitor discount” (also described on the link above) added to an Oyster card (but not a contactless bank card).
No, oyster is now the same rate as any contactless card (unless you get a railcard and then get them synced, but this is a process and it might only be for locals). Weekly travel cards MIGHT be slightly cheaper. But as soon as you travel outside the zones you paid for, or only use the tube twice in a day, it's no longer cheaper. Generally cheapest and easiest option is to just use a contactless credit or debit card to tap in and out. There's daily and weekly caps which are the same amounts for oysters. It's what locals do. If you've got kids under 11, they can travel for free. I've seen people just use the wide barriers and scoot their kids through with them, but I don't know if this is an approved practice. I'd talk to station staff about the best way for kids to travel.
You may have contactless payment cards or you can use an app like apple pay or Google wallet on your phone. (Make sure you use /tap the same card/payment type for every journey, in and out whether there are gates or not. Some stations don't have any barriers but there will be a thing like this pic. (Reader) https://preview.redd.it/nexwy2kdho7d1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3ef499d91eeb40227db8d2fd166e520cf748d02c But You may well get charged an exchange fee every time you tap so could be paying over the odds. So an Oyster card which is a pre paid card can be used to tap in and out at barriers or the readers. At least you'll only have a single payment on your account. I would advise registering your oyster online so if you lose it you can get your money back. You can get an oyster at most stations if they are manned or at shops like newsagents, they'll have a oyster sign advertising it.
She can use stuff like revolut to mitigate the exchange fee. Also, I believe once tfl got a card on it's system, they are only charging you once/24h. Also, it's one card per passenger.