We'll be in London in late July for 4 nights and in mid-to-late August
for two more nights. Because of these two times in London, it seems
like the Oyster card is probably the way for the three of us to get
around.

What does it mean to "top up your Oyster Card with a Travelcard"?
Let me see if I have this right -- We buy Oyster Cards when we arrive
at Heathrow and while making this purchase, we can then choose how
many quid we want stored on each Oyster Card and we can choose whether
we want a Travelcard also electronically-embedded on the cards as
well?

This is just how I read page 10 of:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...-of-oyster.pdf

and other such documents on the TfL website.

But it doesn't quite makes sense. How does the "touch" know whether
you want to use the Travelcard or subtract from whatever balance I
stored on the Oyster Card?

To top up a card that I've already purchased, do I take the card to a
Tube station machine (I won't have a laptop and maybe not even a cell
phone), enter whatever ID or authentication is necessary and then use
a credit card to add additional funds?

Thanks a bunch!

On Thu, 8 May 2008 17:09:20 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

What does it mean to "top up your Oyster Card with a Travelcard"?
Let me see if I have this right -- We buy Oyster Cards when we arrive
at Heathrow and while making this purchase, we can then choose how
many quid we want stored on each Oyster Card and we can choose whether
we want a Travelcard also electronically-embedded on the cards as
well?

Pretty much, though only for period Travelcards. Day Travelcards are
not available - if you want one of those it has to be on paper.

But it doesn't quite makes sense. How does the "touch" know whether
you want to use the Travelcard or subtract from whatever balance I
stored on the Oyster Card?

If there is a valid Travelcard it will use that, otherwise it will use
the balance.

To top up a card that I've already purchased, do I take the card to a
Tube station machine (I won't have a laptop and maybe not even a cell
phone), enter whatever ID or authentication is necessary and then use
a credit card to add additional funds?

Pretty much, yes, though no authentication is necessary, just the
card. You can also use cash.

Neil

--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.

On May 9, 1:09*am, wrote:
We'll be in London in late July for 4 nights and in mid-to-late August
for two more nights. *Because of these two times in London, it seems
like the Oyster card is probably the way for the three of us to get
around.

What does it mean to "top up your Oyster Card with a Travelcard"?
Let me see if I have this right -- We buy Oyster Cards when we arrive
at Heathrow and while making this purchase, we can then choose how
many quid we want stored on each Oyster Card and we can choose whether
we want a Travelcard also electronically-embedded on the cards as
well?

This is just how I read page 10 of:

* *http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...most-out-of-oy...

and other such documents on the TfL website.

But it doesn't quite makes sense. *How does the "touch" know whether
you want to use the Travelcard or subtract from whatever balance I
stored on the Oyster Card?

To top up a card that I've already purchased, do I take the card to a
Tube station machine (I won't have a laptop and maybe not even a cell
phone), enter whatever ID or authentication is necessary and then use
a credit card to add additional funds?

Thanks a bunch!

There's a lot of things unknown about your trip, eg what zones you'll
be travelling in, what times of day you'll travel, whether you'll use
National Rail (mostly not allowed with Pay as You Go) etc.

There's a good chance that your best bet would be to get the Oyster
card with a weekly travelcard on it for the first trip. That would
avoid the £3 deposit.

A weekly travelcard (maybe for zones 1 and 2, plus enough pay as you
go to get from Heathrow and back) costs around the same as five times
the off-peak capping limit, plus you can use it before 0930, plus you
can use it on National Rail.

Then you'd have the cards with no deposit to put more Pay as You Go
credit on for the shorter trip.

On Fri, 09 May 2008 04:38:14 GMT, (Neil
Williams) wrote:

But it doesn't quite makes sense. How does the "touch" know whether
you want to use the Travelcard or subtract from whatever balance I
stored on the Oyster Card?

If there is a valid Travelcard it will use that, otherwise it will use
the balance.


It's worth clarifying how this works if the original poster isn't
familiar with it: if you have a travelcard for zones 1 and 2, but take
a tube journey from zone 3 to zone 1, it'll deduct the fare for the
zone 3 portion of your journey only from the pay as you go balance.
The travelcard covers the rest of the journey. If you take a tube
journey within zones 1 and 2, or a bus journey anywhere in London,
it's covered by the travelcard and your pay as you go balance remains
untouched.

To top up a card that I've already purchased, do I take the card to a
Tube station machine (I won't have a laptop and maybe not even a cell
phone), enter whatever ID or authentication is necessary and then use
a credit card to add additional funds?

Pretty much, yes, though no authentication is necessary, just the
card. You can also use cash.

You can also take it to a staffed ticket window at a tube station, or
to a local shop (Oyster ticket stop) that handles Oyster cards

Martin

On May 10, 9:53*pm, David of Broadway
wrote:
On Fri, 09 May 2008 04:38:14 +0000, Neil Williams wrote:
On Thu, 8 May 2008 17:09:20 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

To top up a card that I've already purchased, do I take the card to a
Tube station machine (I won't have a laptop and maybe not even a cell
phone), enter whatever ID or authentication is necessary and then use a
credit card to add additional funds?

Pretty much, yes, though no authentication is necessary, just the card.
*You can also use cash.

Note that credit cards not equipped with chip-and-PIN (which is standard
in the UK, but many visitors don't have UK-based credit cards) will not
work at the machines, unless this has been corrected since my last visit
in August 2006.

Wow -- that's good to know. Thanks a bunch for your help. Does this
mean that credit cards will be useless all over London or just for
topping up our Oyster cards? What alternative exists for topping up
the cards besides carrying extra 10- or 20-pound notes?

On that note, I know this is not an easy question to answer but does
anyone know a decent amount of cash to carry along each day? (for
myself and my daughter -- my wife will carry her own cash)

Also, if I have unused cash stored on my Oyster Card when I finally
depart back to California, do I lose it?

On 13 May, 20:51, wrote:
On May 10, 9:53 pm, David of Broadway
wrote:

On Fri, 09 May 2008 04:38:14 +0000, Neil Williams wrote:
On Thu, 8 May 2008 17:09:20 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

To top up a card that I've already purchased, do I take the card to a
Tube station machine (I won't have a laptop and maybe not even a cell
phone), enter whatever ID or authentication is necessary and then use a
credit card to add additional funds?

Pretty much, yes, though no authentication is necessary, just the card.
You can also use cash.

Note that credit cards not equipped with chip-and-PIN (which is standard
in the UK, but many visitors don't have UK-based credit cards) will not
work at the machines, unless this has been corrected since my last visit
in August 2006.

Wow -- that's good to know. Thanks a bunch for your help. Does this
mean that credit cards will be useless all over London or just for
topping up our Oyster cards?

No. This sounds like a problem with this specific type of machine. In
general foreign credit cards are accepted wherever UK credit cards are
accepted. However you'll usually be asked to sign a slip of paper
rather than enter a PIN.

Note that many places in the UK don't accept American Express. Visa
and MasterCard are fine.

And you can use Visa and MasterCard to obtain cash from any ATM (check
with your card issuer about charges for doing this). You'll need your
PIN for this.

What alternative exists for topping up
the cards besides carrying extra 10- or 20-pound notes?

You could try topping up your Oyster with a credit card at the ticket
office at any tube station (i.e. by handing your card over to a human
rather than sticking it into an unattended machine). If you top up
with cash you'll also need to hand it to a human at the ticket office.


On that note, I know this is not an easy question to answer but does
anyone know a decent amount of cash to carry along each day? (for
myself and my daughter -- my wife will carry her own cash)

All I can say is that I tend to keep between 20 to 50 pounds in my
wallet, plus a credit and a debit card, and visit an ATM a couple of
times a week.


Also, if I have unused cash stored on my Oyster Card when I finally
depart back to California, do I lose it?

No, you can get a refund at any tube ticket office. Or you can keep
the card until your next visit (it never expires) or give it to
someone else. Or you can donate it to charity: some major tube
stations have a collection box for exactly this purpose.

PaulO

On Tue, 13 May 2008 13:42:40 -0700 (PDT), Paul Oter wrote:

What alternative exists for topping up
the cards besides carrying extra 10- or 20-pound notes?

You could try topping up your Oyster with a credit card at the ticket
office at any tube station (i.e. by handing your card over to a human
rather than sticking it into an unattended machine). If you top up
with cash you'll also need to hand it to a human at the ticket office.

You can top up with cash at any ticket machine (with coins as well as
notes).

Also, if I have unused cash stored on my Oyster Card when I finally
depart back to California, do I lose it?

No, you can get a refund at any tube ticket office.

This used to be limited to £5 - is that still the case?

In message
, at
13:42:40 on Tue, 13 May 2008, Paul Oter
remarked:
If you top up
with cash you'll also need to hand it to a human at the ticket office.

Not true. If you use one of the "big" ticket machines you can top up
with banknotes.
--
Roland Perry

"Paul Oter" wrote in message

On 13 May, 20:51, wrote:
On May 10, 9:53 pm, David of Broadway
wrote:

On Fri, 09 May 2008 04:38:14 +0000, Neil Williams wrote:
On Thu, 8 May 2008 17:09:20 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

To top up a card that I've already purchased, do I take the card
to a Tube station machine (I won't have a laptop and maybe not
even a cell phone), enter whatever ID or authentication is
necessary and then use a credit card to add additional funds?

Pretty much, yes, though no authentication is necessary, just the
card. You can also use cash.

Note that credit cards not equipped with chip-and-PIN (which is
standard in the UK, but many visitors don't have UK-based credit
cards) will not work at the machines, unless this has been
corrected since my last visit in August 2006.

Wow -- that's good to know. Thanks a bunch for your help. Does this
mean that credit cards will be useless all over London or just for
topping up our Oyster cards?

No. This sounds like a problem with this specific type of machine. In
general foreign credit cards are accepted wherever UK credit cards are
accepted. However you'll usually be asked to sign a slip of paper
rather than enter a PIN.

Note that many places in the UK don't accept American Express. Visa
and MasterCard are fine.

True, and I don't think the machines take Amex, but, surprisingly,
on-line Oystercard top-up does allow you to use Amex.

On May 13, 11:34 pm, Roland Perry wrote:
In message
, at
13:42:40 on Tue, 13 May 2008, Paul Oter
remarked:

If you top up
with cash you'll also need to hand it to a human at the ticket office.

Not true. If you use one of the "big" ticket machines you can top up
with banknotes.

On reflection, I'm sure you're right, thanks. It's so long since I
used cash at those machines, I forgot that it was possible.

PaulO