London Travel Card - can we purchase at Heathrow

The kind of pass you are talking about is sold only at National Rail stations (many of which are also Tube stations). You can't get it at Heathrow. Simply buy a single fare ticket for each of you at Heathrow to get you to your hotel. Then go to the nearest National Rail station to buy the travel card. It is a paper card and has the National Rail logo on it. You will need a passport sized (not passport quality) photo of each of you for the 7 day card. They will make the id card for you for free.

You can read details of the card, 2-for-1 deals offered and even print out the vouchers you want at the Transport for London Days Out website. [http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/london-transport-museum][1] You have to show the voucher (they may or may not have booklet of these at the station where you buy the card) and your card and id to take advantage of the deals. But they are worth the little bit of extra trouble.

Thank you for the prompt reply. Is the 7 day card available with the paper option to take advantage of the 241 deal ? I am debating between a 3 day London Pass (and its conveniences) and the 241 offer.

Opinions on the London Pass:
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g186338-i17-k7690019-o10-The_London_Pass_Not_a_good_idea-London_England.html

The "London Pass" is not viewed by many here as a good deal. Many of the sites it lists are already free! And it has a daily limit that is not mentioned except in the very small print. Plus, you can seldom see enough sites without really rushing- and why bother if you do that. And if you plan your timing right, you won't need the 'skip the line' option if offers in some places. The TfL National Rail paper travel card with the 2-4-1 deals is usually a much better value. Like you, we prefer to get cards for zones 1-6 (or 7) and have the freedom to travel where and when we desire. Bath train tickets are expensive on the day of. But you can solve that problem 2 ways. Either get a BritRail pass (we often used that because we liked the flexibility it gave us- but it was many years ago and it is not the value it used to be, plus if Bath is the only major train journey you are planning, it wouldn't be helpful), or go ahead and determine a set date and time to travel and buy your ticket about 11 or 12 weeks ahead of your travel. That is when the discount fares are released. Don't wait to long though, they do sell out quickly. But you do need to know that you are committed to a specific train - no changing the time of travel- no refunds or exchanges. If you miss your train or change your minds, you loose your money and have to purchase new, more expensive tickets.

While I agree with all the cost savings tips, sometimes the human element makes a difference. When I traveled with my Mom, she never wanted to spend extra to go into locations with an entry fee. By purchasing the London Pass, she never noticed the extra costs for the Tower and Abby. The cost was worth the stress reduction. Having everything in hand before we left was also less stress for me. Everyone must make their own choice but I would encourage you to remember you are on vacation. Reference the great advice above for cost savings but sometimes convenience is worth the cost.

You are advised to watch this forum for information on strikes on the Underground and on railways.

At the moment strikes are expected on the Underground on the 8th and 9th of July, running into the 10th. Engineering staff are expected to strike on First Great Western railways starting on the 8th.

Sometimes these strikes go forward, often they are settled at the last minute. It is worth being aware because when they do go forward - as is expected with the next round of Underground strikes about the terms and conditions of overnight working - they can cause mayhem over much of the transportation network.

Excellent point Emma. Do the research first then decide. Your comment is a good clarification to my point that not all factors are financial but that finances do count.

What about the line-skipping aspect of the card? or is that not really a major consideration?

very few places have a line to be skipped

The longest amount of time we had to wait in line to buy tickets at a site covered by the London Pass was about 15 minutes, ; so no, I don't feel that is a real consideration.

My question is about using the 2-for-1 deal versus getting tickets online in advance (for fast-track entry).

If we print the 2-for-1 vouchers, they are only good if we buy our museum tickets on-site. That means standing in line. If we buy our tickets in advance from the museum website, we don't get the 2-for-1 deal.

For St. Paul's Cathedral, how bad are the ticket lines? What about the Churchill War Room? If only 15 minutes, that's not so bad. I see the horrendous lines on Rick Steve's TV shows when he skips to the front. That makes me think it's insane to buy tickets at the museum. Can you go late in the day & buy tickets at the door for the next day?

Currently, these are the only two sites on our itinerary that are included in the deal. We aren't going until May 2016, so the deals may change by then.

For St Pauls I have never seen a line.

For the Churchill War Rooms my wife and I visited a couple of months ago and walked right in.