Student Oyster Card plus 16-25 Railcard

joan1234

Hello
Daughter current using National Railcard 16-25 on adult oyster card. As she is eligible for Student 18+ Oyster is it worth the time and tenner swapping Oysters?
Thank you

dzug1

As far as I can make out, the discounts on travel are identical in either event except that the 18+ card also allows a discount on peak travelcards that the adult oyster plus railcard doesn't


You still need to register the 16-25 card on the 18+ Oyster for off peak concessions

djpailo

If you have a 16-25 Railcard, you can add the discount to your 18+ Student Oyster photocard to get a 34% discount on off-peak pay as you go fares and off-peak daily caps on Tube, DLR, London Overground and most National Rail services in London.

So on one card (Student Oyster) you can have discounts on PAYG (National Rail card) and Weekly or longer travelcards (Student Oyster).

You'll have to do the math yourself but here is the fares list:

https://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/tube-dlr-lo-18-plus-student-fares.pdf

It would only be worth it if you look up the weekly/ monthly travelcard cost and find it is cheaper than what you currently pay. Applying that national rail card discount of 34% on an off-peak travelcard would be £5.88. Assuming your daughter travels 5 days a week, that is £29.40 for zones 1-6 + all buses. At 7 days that would be £41.66. A weekly travelcard from Student Oyster 18+ for zones 1-6 is £40.00. Bare in mind, off-peak daily travelcard journeys are only valid from 10am each day and you'd need to top up daily which would probably be a nuisance.

https://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/adult-discounts-and-concessions/national-railcards-and-gold-cards

Conclusion:

To cut a long story short, it would only be worth considering if you consider buying weekly or monthly travelcards. Otherwise, your saving more money with the nationalrail card providing she is travelling after 10am.

Extra Advice:
-Try and avoid Zone 1 and take a bus from zone 2 to complete your journey if you already buy a travelcard daily. You'll save a lot more money.
-A monthly travelcard might save you a few pennies, but think carefully whether you want to be tied down for four weeks.