Good idea to use a seperate Credit Card as my Osyter Card for TFL Tube Travel

Robgmun

I have always been a lifelong Travel Card purchaser. Recently I've realised that because I rarely travel on the underground when not going to and from work (Zone 1-4). That I would be saving myself roughly £30 a month just using Pay As You Go by either topping up my Oyster Card or using my bank card.

The problem is because I have a bit of OCD over my finances I like everything to be well organized. Using my main Bank Card would cause me to have a messy monthly bank statement with a ton of transactions from TFL on a daily basis. I don't like this because it'll make it harder to spot any strange transactions or something odd going on in my main account. And also having my main bank card in my pocket where i usually keep my Oyster Card causes worry because it can be easier to get pick-pocketed or dropped. 

Topping up my Oyster Card instead would be easier but there's a limit of £50. I like buying monthly travel cards because it's a good "fire and forget" solution but here I would be keeping an eye on the dwindling amount on my card. I can do auto-top up but they only limit that to £25 or so and only when it reaches under £10. Again making a mess of my main bank account and makes it a lot harder to keep track of what I'm spending on traveling. 

The only solution I can think of is to apply for a completely separate credit card solely for the purpose of traveling and paying off whatever amount I spend on a monthly basis. Is this a good idea? Would this be good/bad for my credit score?

Any good cards for this purpose that anyone recommends? 

TadleyBaggie

Robgmun said:

Is this a good idea? Would this be good/bad for my credit score?

It's always a good idea to have multiple cards / accounts, just in case. You don't have a credit score.

jbrassy

I think it's a bit extreme getting a new credit card solely to use on TFL. My advice would be:
1 - add your existing debit or credit card to Google Pay or Apple Pay. This is more secure than a contactless card.
2 - download a budgeting app such as Emma. This way you can easily track how much you're spending on TFL services.

Just to say, if you use PAYG with Oyster, they automatically cap your weekly spend at the amount it costs for a weekly travel card.

Chino

Robgmun said:

Topping up my Oyster Card instead would be easier but there's a limit of £50.

So why not use Auto top-up?
Set up Auto top-up on your Oyster card

Maple08

I've been using auto top-up with the Oyster card and it's been fine. Haven't had to top anything up manually and can get the 33% discount on off-peak fares due to a railcard (for underground).

Robgmun

Chino said:

Robgmun said:

Topping up my Oyster Card instead would be easier but there's a limit of £50.

So why not use Auto top-up?
Set up Auto top-up on your Oyster card

Keep reading 

daveyjp

Open a Monzo or Starling current account and transfer your expected monthly spend to it.

sausage_time

daveyjp said:

Open a Monzo or Starling current account and transfer your expected monthly spend to it.

Or Chase, and get 1% cashback for a year.  Good if you travel outside UKP zone too.