Advance Purchase Heathrow Express With Kids

Perhaps this link to their website will help you with your questions.
https://www.heathrowexpress.com/tickets-and-offers/kids-travel-free#/

Thanks, Carol. I found this already, but it didn’t really answer my question.

A child must still be issued a ticket to travel. A child ticket cannot be purchased on its own online, but it can be purchased alongside an adult ticket.

So if you buy a child and adult ticket together, wouldn't you receive a PDF for two tickets?

Markcw, I thought that might be the case, but then was concerned because I know when you tap in and out, say on the underground, you can’t tap twice for you and a kid. So, I wondered if you had the kid’s pdf on your phone, how you tap more than one pdf and get everyone through the barrier.

The answer is probably that the barrier gates are staffed. So show the child ticket to a staff member who will use their staff pass to open the gates on their side for you. I had to do something similar the week before last when I had a travelcard, which those gates are programmed not to accept, even though valid.

Heathrow Express and Elizabeth Line use the same platform at Heathrow, so check you are boarding the right train.

Tapping is if you're using either your credit/debit card or NFC enabled phone to pay - you can't tap a PDF. With a PDF ticket, you scan the QR code to the QR reader, just below the 'tap' reader on the gate. You can scan multiple tickets using the same phone- just scan, let you child enter, flip to the next ticket scan again and enter yourself, or go to the wide gate and show the staff member your tickets and they will let you through. Or print the tickets if you prefer.

This site shows someone scanning their Heathrow Express ticket, so you can see the barrier:
https://www.thisispaddington.com/article/heathrow-express-and-purusing-independent-paths-visit-2023

The Heathrow Express and Elizabeth Line are not part of the tube, so the ticket barriers are different.

And good point from isn31c to make sure you get on the right train, as Heathrow Express tickets are not valid on the Elizabeth Line trains.

Thanks isn31c and Simon. That clears it up beautifully and we’ll make sure we don’t hop on the Elizabeth line!

I'll ask the question - do you specifically want to go to Paddington or are you going there because the HEX stops there and your destination is elsewhere?

If the latter it might make more sense to use a different route even if you can get discounted HEX fares, which these days require you to be booking months in advance. For example the Elizabeth line continues from Paddington across central London and may go much nearer your destination.

That’s a great point Johnnew52! I’ve gone back and forth with this and if it were just my husband and I traveling, I think we would definitely do the Elizabeth line. We’ll have two very tired and likely very moody teens with us (LOL), so we’re going to go for the fastest journey and get back into the fresh air. So, it will be the HEX for us.