London Oyster PAYG or 7 day travelcard added to Oyster?

If you want to take advantage of the 2for1 deals on admission to various sites, then a paper 7 day travel card bought from a train station is what you want.

If you’re not bothered about the 2for1 just get Oyster cards on arrival (or use a contactless bank card- one each), stick £30 on each for pay-as-you-go, and job done. (Get the Young Visitor discount added to the bairns' Oyster cards).

When you leave London cash in any remaining balance on your Oysters and recover the £5 fee.

A travelcard is designed for the same, regular journeys but the differences are so narrow between a travelcard and pay-as-you-go it’s not worth the time figuring it all out.

Sorted.

You’re overthinking this. The cost of transit is relatively unimportant compared to the cost of an international trip. Since there is a daily fare cap anyway, you’re still protected.

I hope no one comes home from a European trip and runs their numbers through an Excel spreadsheet. In the long run, enjoy yourself and don’t sweat over if you could have save a pound or two by doing something different. It all balances out in the end.

I, too, was in the overthinking-it club on this one. We've decided just to get regular ol' Oyster Cards when we get to Heathrow in a few weeks and not worry about the rest. :)

Hah thanks all-I had a feeling I was overthinking it. Probably will just do a PAYG Oyster. I guess I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something crucial. Trip in 2 1/2 weeks-can't wait!

This sounds reasonable if we will max out most days, which I have no idea if we would.

You didn't mention where you will be staying which could impact the number of tube rides you take. Basically, at 2.40 GBP for a single zone 1 trip, it only takes 3 trips on the tube in zone 1 to hit the daily cap of 7 GBP. When I visit in London, I always take at least three tube rides a day and thus I always hit the daily cap.

If I am in London for more than five days, I load a zone 1-2 travelcard on an Oyster along with about 10 GBP of PAYG money to cover my trips outside of zone 2. The PAYG money kicks in when you travel beyond zone 2. On a one week trip, this saves me about 14 GBP.

The Z1-2 7 day travel card costs roughly 5 times the daily cap, so if you would be capped every day the travel card in effect could give you 2 free days.

Thanks Laura and Marco-
In my post, I did say we had 7 days in London (ok it's more like 6 1/2 but close enough). I suppose we can get the travelcard added to the Oyster, and put some GBP on it for our trips outside of zone 1/2. I know we are going to Watford Junction which is outside...I am not sure we will always hit the cap, but it is surely possible/probable. I guess saving a few GBP is cool if it is an easy thing to do. :)

Thanks all!

I recently returned from London and this was my experience. I was there for 10 days. At Heathrow I purchased my Oyster card (easy) and put 35 pounds on it to start. I then took the TFL train to Paddington using the Oyster card and around 11 pounds. I then used the card for three days. Many of the exit turnstiles tell you how much is left on the card. I then added a 7 day pass. I took one trip out of zones 1 and 2 on a Sunday afternoon and it deducted 1.50 pounds each way from the original amount. At the end of the trip I needed to add a few pounds to take the TFL train back to Heathrow. It was easy and very convenient.

I recently returned from London and this was my experience. I was there for 10 days. At Heathrow I purchased my Oyster card (easy) and put 35 pounds on it to start. I then took the TFL train to Paddington using the Oyster card and around 11 pounds. I then used the card for three days. Many of the exit turnstiles tell you how much is left on the card. I then added a 7 day pass. I took one trip out of zones 1 and 2 on a Sunday afternoon and it deducted 1.50 pounds each way from the original amount. At the end of the trip I needed to add a few pounds to take the TFL train back to Heathrow. It was easy and very convenient.

Thanks Mary! This is probably what we will end up doing. :) I am glad to hear it was so easy!