Contactless visa card and orchestra card for London transportation

You can buy an oyster card and load money onto it with a credit/debit card OR use a contactless credit/debit card instead of an oyster card. Check if your bank charges foreign transaction fees.

Thanks very much for the quick replies! I was reading a guidebook (not RS!) Which suggested I could load my contactless credit card onto the oyster card, thereby putting the charges directly on my credit card and avoiding having to top off the oyster card. I also understand from the same book that, with the oyster card the amount you pay per day maxes out a certain amount ergo it's best to use the oyster card. However, as I said, I am very confused person. Any further advice?

Whoever is this other guidebook has some corrects and some incorrects. Shame.

As said above, you don't combine Oyster and contactless. The only possible thing that is correct is that it is possible to link a card or (as most Brits would do) a bank account to an Oyster account so that it automatically tops up the Oyster when it falls below a chosen value. Unlikely to apply to most travelers.

The Oyster card will have a daily cap, depending on the highest zone visited. If you use the same contactless credit card all day it benefits from a daily cap at least as good, and all trips for the day are combined before the one amount is charged to the card. So if your credit card has a foreign charge it will only get one a day, not one for each trip.

Nigel: Thanks for the post explaining how contactless cards are billed. Mine carries a substantial charge for each foreign-exchange transaction so it is good to know that I can blithely tap-and-go all day and still pay the exchange fee just once. But I'm pretty fond of my Oyster anyhow and still have the original Ikea plastic cover; I guess the company had an early advertising sponsorship. Never tried to carry a boxed chair on the Tube, though.
(Another PS: "Contactless" sounds odd to Canadian ears. Surely the point is the card does touch the card reader, or comes near enough. We "tap-and-go", is a bit more melodic.)

all trips for the day are combined before the one amount is charged to
the card. So if your credit card has a foreign charge it will only get
one a day, not one for each trip.

So good to know. Thank you!! I made the assumption that each foreign bank would have its own distinct policies regarding whether to have one transaction fee per day using a contactless card or one for each trip.

Thanks again, everyone. My understanding is that a "contactless" credit card is a credit card that does not require a signature and also does not require one to put in a pin number. Is this correct? That said, is one required to have a pin number whether or not one must enter it? My cards have a chip but if I were to enter a pin number the purchase would be charged as a cash advance which is VERY expensive!

"Contactless" in this case refers to a card - can be either a debit card or a credit card, I have a bunch of each and they are all now contactless - which has a special symbol on it which looks like a wavy wi-fi symbol. For example, a contactless card on an Oyster tap pad on the Underground is shown at https://tinyurl.com/yazpa6v3

The card has to have the symbol, and I expect it has to have a chip. All of mine have a pin. Some chip and signature may work but I don't know. Mine are across Visa, Mastercard and American Express and they all work well.

I don't know about your fees, sorry.

You may have the option of using contactless via Android/Apple/Samsung pay if your card itself won't do it, but this seems to operate the gates a bit on the slow side and hence liable to annoy rushing commuters behind you if travelling a peak times.

I think everyone has explained it pretty well -- the way I think of it is that my debit card, tied to my checking account, can be used as a contactless (tap-and-go) card in certain circumstances: i.e. for me here in Paris, it's when purchases are less than 20 euros, or, I suppose, in the example we're talking about, which is London's transit system.

I'm like Emma -- although I'm not a regular commuter in London, when I'm visiting there, I prefer to use my Oyster card because I certainly don't want to be whipping out my debit card every time I'm in and out of the Tube (remember indeed that you have to tap in AND out when traveling on the Tube).

If a person going to London didn't already have an Oyster card, I could see their considering using a "contactless" card since it's an option. But especially since you said you already have an Oyster card, I would honestly just load more money on it and use it.

(As an aside, I don't have foreign fees on my debit card, but if I did, I still would prefer to pay just the fee the one time I loaded up my Oyster card rather than a daily fee -- even though that is definitely better than a fee every single time you take a trip! And yes, I can see that you might top up your Oyster card more than once, etc. etc.)

Re: exchange fees on credit/debit card - have you thought of getting a card that has none at all? There are several good options out there.

Again many, many thanks to all. Sorry for my delayed response. I thought it might be easier to use a contactless credit card (if I had one) since I would not have to be topping off my balance on an oyster card. So, can I use my credit card to purchase and then top off my balance on an oyster card? And then I could get my balance resfunded to my credit card at the airport when I leave? And yes, we do have "clipper cards" that work the same way on public transport around San Francisco we just don't call them contactless cards. but now I understand 'contactless". I'm not sure I've ever seen a credit card with the Wi-Fi type logo so I guess my credit cards will not work in any case. Again thank you all very much.

"My cards have a chip but if I were to enter a pin number the purchase would be charged as a cash advance which is VERY expensive!"

NO, this is wrong. You only get charged a cash advance if you use it in an ATM. I have used my chip card PIN for purchases outside the US and have never been charged a cash advance fee.

I called my credit card company to confirm that I would be able to use my card in London with no fees. They told me that if I did use my PIN in London, then I would be charged as if it's a cash advance. So, I'll only use it if it's an emergency...

Call your credit card company again and find someone that knows what they are talking about. Most people in the US (including bank and CC employees) associate using a Credit Card PIN with using it to make a cash withdrawal at an ATM. They have never heard of using a PIN to make a purchase. You do NOT pay a cash advance fee if you use your card for a purchase and use the PIN. Now, in most circumstances in Europe, you CC will act just like it does in the US and you will be asked for a signature. When there is a stand alone kiosk or gas pump, and no attendant, the machine will as for your PIN. I have done this several times and have never been charged a cash advance fee.