London transport - Contactless V Oyster??

imperfec

A colleague recently mentioned that using a Contactless card for PAYG journeys is cheaper than using Oyster for PAYG. I can't find anything to confirm or refute this.  Does anyone know, and can point me in the right direction for information?  

I currently use Oyster as I don't like the idea of having my debit card out at last 4x a day, If I lose it, it is a real hassle, but if I lose an Oyster card then it isn't so much to sort out.  (I've only lost 1 in 12 years but anyway....!) 


Thanks

UnsureTenant

Normal fares are identical on Oyster and Contactless. However the charging works in a slightly different way due to how contactless fares all get charged at the end of the day. Sometimes the system finds a cheaper way to charge for the journeys made with contactless, than if they were charged with Oyster, especially for multiple long journeys spanning many zones. But there is normally no difference.

There are some outer stations which don’t support Oyster but do support contactless, so if you’re going to any of them you’ll get charged a maximum fare if you try to use Oyster. 

Oyster is cheaper if you have a railcard linked. 

400ixl

You can also use your phone through Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay etc (depending on device) if you don't want to be getting a card out. That way will give you contactless.

jon81uk

At one point weekly capping worked on contactless but not Oyster but the systems are now upgraded and it works on both. There is no price difference between contactless and Oyster unless you have a railcard loaded to Oyster. But contactless is valid a little more widely.

DullGreyGuy

jon81uk said:

At one point weekly capping worked on contactless but not Oyster but the systems are now upgraded and it works on both. There is no price difference between contactless and Oyster unless you have a railcard loaded to Oyster. But contactless is valid a little more widely.

The weekly cap used to be on both but contactless was Mon-Sun whereas the Oyster was better being for a week after the first time of use, so if you first use it on a Thursday it'd be Thurs-Wed. They have since aligned it to take away the advantage of Oyster.

I am positive the Oyster cap was introduced before the contactless was even an option.

400ixl said:

You can also use your phone through Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay etc (depending on device) if you don't want to be getting a card out. That way will give you contactless.

Can't say for the other options but with ApplePay you can set a card as "for transport" with means:

1) You can use it for TFL without having to unlock, it wont work for any other merchant 
2) Even if your battery has died and your phone wont turn on the contactless continues to work for a reasonable period after but again only for TFL

saajan_12

Unfortunately there's no clear option that's always better, so it depends on your circumstances. 

• Oyster supports railcards, Contactless doesn't
• Contactless can sometimes optimise if you hit a lower cap where Oyster can't (eg if you travel z5-z1 and then make several short hops within z1 -> Then Contactless would give you the z1 only cap + a single if that's cheaper, while Oyster would keep charging for each single up until the z5 cap). 
• Contactless using a phone might mean you run out of battery during the day and have to switch payment method, thus losing the benefit of progressing to a cap. 

DullGreyGuy

saajan_12 said:

• Contactless using a phone might mean you run out of battery during the day and have to switch payment method, thus losing the benefit of progressing to a cap. 

Unless using a correctly setup iPhone which will continue to do transportation charges even after turning off for low battery.

MilesT6060842

imperfec said:

A colleague recently mentioned that using a Contactless card for PAYG journeys is cheaper than using Oyster for PAYG. I can't find anything to confirm or refute this.  Does anyone know, and can point me in the right direction for information?  

Thanks

Oysterfares.com has a good analysis article on the cases where contactless payment card PAYG is better and why, and the edge cases where contactless is not cheaper (especially owners of certain national railcards, who can get the discount linked onto an Oyster, also ad hoc child travel where it isn't worth getting a Zip card issued, can get an oyster flagged as child rate for the day)

There are a few journeys on the map which can only use contactless payment card PAYG and not Oyster (the technical limits of the Oyster system prevent any new zones being added).  But often, for those stations, it is cheaper to buy a rail ticket online a good way in advance (with collection at ticket machine in station, or buy at a staffed ticket office) than use PAYG, although PAYG is convenient if you are in a rush and couldn't plan in advance.

Another possibility (not common) is contactless enabled jewellery (e.g. McClear ring), but these are expensive and I believe only work for 3 years (limit on how payment card numbers work).  You link these to a funding source, and then it operates like a normal payment card for contactless (no chip for Chip & PIn though).

If you travel enough for a multi-week season ticket, then you need an Oyster

You could use a pre-loadable debit card, cheapest ones cost around £10 to get, lasting 3 years (a new Oyster is £7 non-refundable, card and credit lasts forever), and you are mitigating losing the main debit card.

jon81uk

DullGreyGuy said:

jon81uk said:

At one point weekly capping worked on contactless but not Oyster but the systems are now upgraded and it works on both. There is no price difference between contactless and Oyster unless you have a railcard loaded to Oyster. But contactless is valid a little more widely.

The weekly cap used to be on both but contactless was Mon-Sun whereas the Oyster was better being for a week after the first time of use, so if you first use it on a Thursday it'd be Thurs-Wed. They have since aligned it to take away the advantage of Oyster.

I am positive the Oyster cap was introduced before the contactless was even an option.

Nope, weekly capping on Oyster only came in after contactless as it needed new back-end processing instead of doing it at the time of tapping in/out. But you have always been able to buy weekly travelcards and load them to Oyster starting on whatever day you like.
Weekly cap on Oyster was new in 2021 Oyster card weekly cap will be introduced next week in travel boost | Evening Standard

DigSunPap

I would suggest to use contactless on your phone. I am like you I don't like the idea of getting my wallet out multiple ties a day to tap a card - much more likely to lose something. You can tap in and out of stations with Apple pay, I don't use Oyster myself but surely you can add your card to your Apple wallet? Someone correct me if I am wrong.

MSE_James

No, an Oyster card can't be linked to a phone or other device.