Oyster Card now costs £7 non refundable--Best prepaid contactless debit card alternative

MilesT6060842

giraffe69 said:

• You can use a credit card £0.00
• You can use a debit card £0.00 provided they are contactless as most are
• You can get one attached to another account which you can open in addition to whatever accounts you have
• You can use a mobile phone as long as it is smart at £0.00
• You can pay £7 for an Oyster Card which is a one off payment

It's hard to understand why anyone would get excited about such a small amount but if you can do better than a one off £7 without any of the above solutions then why don't you?

The original question I was asking was is there any other *free* payment cards that I could get that woudn't be directly linked to any of my main payment card accounts, which I could keep in a different wallet when travelling. Preferably without the necessity of an app to manage a physical card.  I don't like getting my main wallet or phone out in public more than necessary, and I don't have a NFC enabled phone which can work with a payment app to trigger transport gates etc. anyway.

I had found 2 options but I wondered if there were more that could tick a fairly specific list of options. 

==> So far no one has said "look at this other card which should tick all your boxes", quite a number of suggestions which don't tick all the boxes. 

The two I have found so far is the FairFx prepaid debit card or the Curve card (which provides a convenient "front door" to your other accounts, and can be quickly cancelled with no impact if lost, no change to other card numbers, doesn't seem to need app on phone all the time, just use app to apply and do an initial config to link the card to a default account).  

I have had it confirmed that FairFX card does need a Chip & PIN transaction every 5 contactless touches (most cards these days have a higher limit, especially for transport use).  This isn't ideal, which is a pity as it ticked all the boxes.

Starling comes close but it's a full current account so is a bit overkill for such a limited use, and also as a full current account is likely to have some setup hassle of a KYC check and probably a credit check.

So it is a toss up between the Curve or buying a working Oyster card second hand on eBay for less than £7 (most are special designs sold for collectors).

Thanks for engaging, I don't think there is more to be said.

Kiko4564

That's annoying, but one of those things I guess. On the bright side, hopefully the extra money will help keep fares down.

Nonetheless, getting a second bank account seems like a good idea. Of course, if one prefers a prepaid card, I don't see why not just get any. Another option is to look on ebay for oyster cards.

Emmia

If you use a monthly season ticket, these can currently only be loaded onto an Oyster card - and depending on how much you travel on the tube, these can save money.

I think there is currently weekly fare capping on debit cards - but if you're already paying the citymapper fee, then the Oystercard £7 represents less than 2 months of those payments.

Personally I'd just open another separate account with one of my existing bank account providers, and use the card associated with that - topups could then be done easily.

*there is no guarantee the ebay ones will work, they could be lost/stolen and cancelled.

GrumpyDil

BTW. Starling does do KYC or a soft credit check as they call it for Id purposes as they have to but do not cary out any credit check. 

MilesT6060842

Kiko4564 said:

That's annoying, but one of those things I guess. On the bright side, hopefully the extra money will help keep fares down.

Nonetheless, getting a second bank account seems like a good idea. Of course, if one prefers a prepaid card, I don't see why not just get any. Another option is to look on ebay for oyster cards.

Most prepaid debit cards have either a setup fee (often around £10) or charge a monthly or reload fee.  There are a very few which don't, wasn't sure I had found them all.

MilesT6060842

Emmia said:

If you use a monthly season ticket, these can currently only be loaded onto an Oyster card - and depending on how much you travel on the tube, these can save money.

I think there is currently weekly fare capping on debit cards - but if you're already paying the citymapper fee, then the Oystercard £7 represents less than 2 months of those payments.

Personally I'd just open another separate account with one of my existing bank account providers, and use the card associated with that - topups could then be done easily.

*there is no guarantee the ebay ones will work, they could be lost/stolen and cancelled.

If I was using the tube enough to need a season ticket, I would just turn on the citymapper pass (which is offered at a slight discount to the weekly cap), and no £1 weekly fee would be charged.  But I am not, and this is where this thread started. 

Yes, using a contactless card (debit or credit) does result in a weekly fare cap, Mon-Sun.

One of the issues with setting up another full current account with debit card is if the card is stolen and there wasn't much on the account then it could result in an overdraft (with fee) until the card got cancelled and the cancellation got into TfL's systems (would take a little while).  (This happens because of the way contactless works, especially with the TfL gates--the card is checked for cancellation and also for funds if it is a prepaid when touched in, and maybe an authorisation is taken shortly after you touch first time in day, but the actual debit to the account for a day's travel doesn't happen until the night, so that TfL+Thameslink/Gatwick Express/London Cable Car/Riverbus can add up usage and apply any caps, and only have one set of transactions fees--TfL and customer for some foreign cards.) The bank might or might not waive the overdraft fee when the card was cancelled and you requested "chargeback" of the transactions you didn't do. With a prepaid you know where you stand, it can't overdraw.

jon81uk

MilesT6060842 said:

Emmia said:

If you use a monthly season ticket, these can currently only be loaded onto an Oyster card - and depending on how much you travel on the tube, these can save money.

I think there is currently weekly fare capping on debit cards - but if you're already paying the citymapper fee, then the Oystercard £7 represents less than 2 months of those payments.

Personally I'd just open another separate account with one of my existing bank account providers, and use the card associated with that - topups could then be done easily.

*there is no guarantee the ebay ones will work, they could be lost/stolen and cancelled.

One of the issues with setting up another full current account with debit card is if the card is stolen and there wasn't much on the account then it could result in an overdraft (with fee) until the card got cancelled and the cancellation got into TfL's systems (would take a little while).  (This happens because of the way contactless works, especially with the TfL gates--the card is checked for cancellation and also for funds if it is a prepaid when touched in, and maybe an authorisation is taken shortly after you touch first time in day, but the actual debit to the account for a day's travel doesn't happen until the night, so that TfL+Thameslink/Gatwick Express/London Cable Car/Riverbus can add up usage and apply any caps, and only have one set of transactions fees--TfL and customer for some foreign cards.) The bank might or might not waive the overdraft fee when the card was cancelled and you requested "chargeback" of the transactions you didn't do. With a prepaid you know where you stand, it can't overdraw.

I still think you are overthinking this, if the card is stolen, report it to the bank and they will sort out the unauthorised transactions.

I've been commuting in London for 14 years, I've never felt like my Oyster card or my bank card was at risk when using them to tap in and out.
I've lost my wallet twice in that period, neither time had anything to do with the tube, it fell out my pocket or bag at work. No cards were stolen or used. One of the times the wallet was returned to me, the other it wasn't. Both times I got replacement bank and Oyster cards, the biggest loss was the £20 note and having to replace my driving license on the time the wallet wasn't found.

I still maintain the best card to use is the one you always have with you and regularly check the statement of.

Emmia

MilesT6060842 said:

Emmia said:

If you use a monthly season ticket, these can currently only be loaded onto an Oyster card - and depending on how much you travel on the tube, these can save money.

I think there is currently weekly fare capping on debit cards - but if you're already paying the citymapper fee, then the Oystercard £7 represents less than 2 months of those payments.

Personally I'd just open another separate account with one of my existing bank account providers, and use the card associated with that - topups could then be done easily.

*there is no guarantee the ebay ones will work, they could be lost/stolen and cancelled.

If I was using the tube enough to need a season ticket, I would just turn on the citymapper pass (which is offered at a slight discount to the weekly cap), and no £1 weekly fee would be charged.  But I am not, and this is where this thread started. 

Yes, using a contactless card (debit or credit) does result in a weekly fare cap, Mon-Sun.

One of the issues with setting up another full current account with debit card is if the card is stolen and there wasn't much on the account then it could result in an overdraft (with fee) until the card got cancelled and the cancellation got into TfL's systems (would take a little while).  (This happens because of the way contactless works, especially with the TfL gates--the card is checked for cancellation and also for funds if it is a prepaid when touched in, and maybe an authorisation is taken shortly after you touch first time in day, but the actual debit to the account for a day's travel doesn't happen until the night, so that TfL+Thameslink/Gatwick Express/London Cable Car/Riverbus can add up usage and apply any caps, and only have one set of transactions fees--TfL and customer for some foreign cards.) The bank might or might not waive the overdraft fee when the card was cancelled and you requested "chargeback" of the transactions you didn't do. With a prepaid you know where you stand, it can't overdraw.

Personally I use an oyster on pay as you go, linked to a card for auto top ups.

Your prepaid card would also be valid in other shops etc. so if it were stolen / lost and you don't realise the balance could be drained pretty quickly and on more than just the tube (which does limit the level of financial loss you could incur)

biscan25

The £7 fee will still be a better option for some:  if you live outside London, travel to London frequently by train off peak, and are eligible for certain railcards, then you can have an Oyster card set up to include an offpeak discount. Details on the TfL website (sorry as a newbie here I can't post a direct link).  This isn't possible with any contactless payment card.  (Yes you can buy, in some cases, a railcard discounted travelcard rail ticket including all day travel in London, but that is not available for all or a perfect solution in all cases).  Eligible railcards are Senior/16-25/26-30, HM Forces/Veteran, Disabled, and Network Southeast GOLD card annual season tickets (if the season ticket doesn't already include London travel).

The TFL discount for the disabled railcard includes peak travel. Might be useful to know as it saves my OH £££

notabot

I've looked into Currensea. It seems to be for use abroad. How does it replace the oyster?