jimstevens wrote:
I have read some of the old items on Oyster card and believ I
understand it.

On upcoming 10 day visit I assume it is best deal to travel daily in
Tube and Bus sytem in London.

Yes, Oyster is best. Oyster pre-pay is I assume what you're referring
to, although if you're likely to average more than £4 a day (ie 2 zone
1 Tube fares or 4 bus journeys), you might do better to get a 7-day
travelcard (also on Oyster) for 7 of the 10 days.

We will rent car for three days and drive around outside London but
otherwise plan to use Tube most of time including trip from Heathrow
upon arrival.

However, if your car rental would be in the middle of your trip, then
ignore the travelcard advice - you can't split your 7-day travelcard in
the middle (sadly!).

Couple questions. We are staying in Bayswater and will probably only
be traveling in downtown Tourist type areas most of time after we get
from airport.

Is the card really best way to go? Just arrive and get one at
Heathrow? I don't mind losing the card deposit.

Yes, you can get one at Heathrow tube station.

How do we pay after initial purchase? Do we just add to it with
credit card at any station?

Yes. Or you can use cash at the station if you prefer, or you can top
it up in a corner shop/neighborhood shop using cash or card.

Anything else we should consider.

National Rail is the only other concern. Oyster pre-pay is not valid on
all National Rail services (but is valid on some), so if you get a
National Rail train then you should check at the station whether Oyster
pre-pay is valid for your journey or whether you'll need to buy a paper
ticket.

--
John Band
john at johnband dot org
www.johnband.org

John B wrote:
jimstevens wrote:

How do we pay after initial purchase? Do we just add to it with
credit card at any station?

Yes.

If the OP has a US credit card, would the machines accept it?
(Prompted by the fact that most Paris Metro machines don't accept even
UK cards.)

Or you can use cash at the station if you prefer, or you can
top it up in a corner shop/neighborhood shop using cash or card.

By the way, Oyster Pre-pay has been renamed Oyster Pay-as-you-go from
January 2006.
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

If the OP has a US credit card, would the machines accept it? (Prompted by
the fact that most Paris Metro machines don't accept even UK cards.)

Just returned from a week in London. My US MasterCard worked everywhere,
including Tfl. Occasionally a Tesco clerk would insist I provide a pin
number, but when I explained it was a credit transaction, not debit, they
went ahead and successfully completed the transaction.

Rich

Occasionally a Tesco clerk would insist I provide a pin number, but when
I explained it was a credit transaction, not debit, they went ahead and
successfully completed the transaction.

It doesn't make any difference if its credit or debit, its if the card has
been CHIP and PIN enabled that you must use the PIN.

"TKD" wrote in message
...
Occasionally a Tesco clerk would insist I provide a pin number, but when
I explained it was a credit transaction, not debit, they went ahead and
successfully completed the transaction.

It doesn't make any difference if its credit or debit, its if the card has
been CHIP and PIN enabled that you must use the PIN.

Good to know, thank you. I will contact my issuer before my next visit in
May and get educated before I am embarrassed at check-out.

TKD wrote:

Occasionally a Tesco clerk would insist I provide a pin number, but when
I explained it was a credit transaction, not debit, they went ahead and
successfully completed the transaction.

It doesn't make any difference if its credit or debit, its if the card has
been CHIP and PIN enabled that you must use the PIN.

It's not quiet a "MUST". Since 14th Feb most/all UK card issuers are
refusing to allow shops to use the bypass pin option on their
terminals. Foreign banks may still alow pin bypass transactions to go
ahead but any shop performing a pin bypass is liable for fraud.

Have a look at
http://www.streamline.com/Already_a_...Qs/default.htm
for more details

mookie89 wrote:
Good to know, thank you. I will contact my issuer before my next visit in
May and get educated before I am embarrassed at check-out.

I woudn't bother if I were you. There are no plans at the moment to
roll out C&P in the USA, and it's unlikely that the person you end up
speaking with at your issuer will have heard of it.

The "correct" thing to tell the sales assistant is that yours is a US
credit card and therefore doesn't have a chip. What's amusing in your
story is that your "incorrect" explanation seems to have achieved the
same thing. Perhaps next time you could try saying "It's OK because I
like cheese" with sufficient authority and see if that worked ;-)
--
Rob

"Rob Hamadi" wrote in message
oups.com...
mookie89 wrote:
Good to know, thank you. I will contact my issuer before my next visit
in
May and get educated before I am embarrassed at check-out.

I woudn't bother if I were you. There are no plans at the moment to
roll out C&P in the USA, and it's unlikely that the person you end up
speaking with at your issuer will have heard of it.

The "correct" thing to tell the sales assistant is that yours is a US
credit card and therefore doesn't have a chip. What's amusing in your
story is that your "incorrect" explanation seems to have achieved the
same thing. Perhaps next time you could try saying "It's OK because I
like cheese" with sufficient authority and see if that worked ;-)
--
Rob

Reference your last sentence, it would appear you've been behind me at
checkout! Thanks for the info.

Rich