Oyster card

fromtheshires

Hi guys
I'm going to London so need to purchase some oyster cards. Can I purchase them from the TfL / Oyster website to get my 123 cash back or do I have to make the purchase at the tube stations?

Ive been having a goggle but I cant find anything.
Thanks in advance!

Anthorn

fromtheshires wrote: »

Hi guys
I'm going to London so need to purchase some oyster cards. Can I purchase them from the TfL / Oyster website to get my 123 cash back or do I have to make the purchase at the tube stations?

Ive been having a goggle but I cant find anything.
Thanks in advance!

If not resident you can get a vistor oyster card online or in person where they are sold.
http://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/london-visitor-oyster-card/


I have a Visitor Oyster Card because my contactless debit card is very sporadic in whether it will work or not no matter which card I use. But wise to note that you can use contactless cards at least in theory.

InsideInsurance

Why do you need oystercards?

You can use contactless cards directly without the need for an oystercard these days

If you want them as a souvenir or dont have contactless cards then you can buy them online

plunt

considering OP mentioned they have a 123 card, it should be contactless so you could just use that. The oyster cards themselves cost about £4 which is refundable when if you return it to a counter. But £4 is not very much in terms of earning cash back on. However you can deposit money onto any oyster card using the self service machines so probably worth doing that as you may make a little back doing that.

fromtheshires

I don't need (oyster cards) them per se but I don't like using the contactless on my cards (I know its safe but im a bit weird) so its the middle ground of having an oyster card. I'm not too fussed if the 123 card doesn't allow cash back on new purchases of oyster cards online, but if they don't, I will just pop it on my debit card or wait until im actually in London as im only using it for the cash back purchases. The internet just talks about top-ups. Does buying a card online count as a top up?

plunt

the cashback works using retailer codes, so i assume whether you are buying top ups / oyster cards /etc from the same retailer (TFL) it will all get counted.

Forgot to mention, depending how long you are going for and the times of day you will be using the card will mean you have different benefits. as contactless cards have a weekly cap, where as oyster cards have a daily cap.

Anthorn

fromtheshires wrote: »

I don't need (oyster cards) them per se but I don't like using the contactless on my cards (I know its safe but im a bit weird) so its the middle ground of having an oyster card. I'm not too fussed if the 123 card doesn't allow cash back on new purchases of oyster cards online, but if they don't, I will just pop it on my debit card or wait until im actually in London as im only using it for the cash back purchases. The internet just talks about top-ups. Does buying a card online count as a top up?

Don't understand why you are concerned about whether an Oyster Card is counted as a top-up. Please clarify. Last time I looked the 123 credit card gives cashback of 3% on Rail and TFL purchases.

mp3duck

if you're travelling all day on the underground, just buy a paper one day travel card, using your 123 card..

InsideInsurance

mp3duck wrote: »

if you're travelling all day on the underground, just buy a paper one day travel card, using your 123 card..

Or just use a contactless card that will be capped automatically

An anytime paper travelcard for Zone 1 only is £12
A contactless card's cap for Zone 1 only is £6.40

Doesnt sound money saving to pay almost double

Sharon87

An Oyster card also caps out at the same daily rate as a contactless card. But Oysters don't cap out for a weekly travel card.

If you don't like using contactless get an oyster and top it up with how much you think you'll need - the TFL site has prices. Even if you get an oyster card you will still need to top it up, so you will earn cashback on that if that's the perk of your bank account.

dzug1

If you get an Oyster get a normal one (£5 refundable) not a visitor (£3 non refundable)