London Underground: need 5 methods of contactless payment for family of 5?

Here is what Transport for London says are the options for payment:
https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/how-to-pay-and-where-to-buy-tickets-and-oyster?intcmp=54645

Is this the only public transit you will be using the entire time in London? If so, yes you can buy single tickets (the link is buried in the page already linked above, here is the direct link: https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/how-to-pay-and-where-to-buy-tickets-and-oyster/single-and-return-tickets)

If you're going to move about London more than just the one journey, you can purchase more individual tickets or Oyster cards. Yes, there is a nonrefundable fee for each Oyster card but it may be much more convenient (and safe) than hauling 7 credit cards with you. Depending on the age of your children, they may get a discounted rate so make sure to purchase at a staffed ticket window to get the proper card for your situation.

Our only London travel will be to and from the airport. So the Oyster card did not seem like a good solution, especially since I think we would need 5 separate Oyster cards. Our kids are 12 and up, so there does not appear to be a discount.

I think at this point I'm mostly trying to understand if we really do need to use a separate contactless payment method for each of us. It sounds like the answer is probably yes?

(Edited)

OK, then single fare ticket would be the most effective option I think, unless you're willing to use phone pay, or your kids have their own bank accounts with debit cards (it doesn't have to be a credit card).

The simple answer to your question is YES you will need 5 separate credit cards to do tap on/tap off the Tube ride for 5 riders. A better plan may be to use one credit card to buy 5 single trip tickets from the machine at Heathrow.

I think at this point I'm mostly trying to understand if we really do
need to use a separate contactless payment method for each of us. It
sounds like the answer is probably yes?

The link I provided is about single tickets. Just buy five tickets at Heathrow station when you arrive, and buy 5 tickets when you take the tube back to the airport. No need to fret about contactless for two trips total.

They need not be 5 separate accounts, for example, if your wife and you have a credit card account, and each have a credit card issued to you, that works.

While you say you do not use Google/Apple Pay, can you? That same credit card you could load to multiple phones or watches, and that would work. Basically, you each need a physical card or a device, then you are good.

Thank you everyone! We'll put some more thought into this and decide if we want to bring 7(!) methods of payment (5 credit cards and 2 backup cards), or if we'll just buy paper tickets. Contactless seemed like less hassle (always a goal of our travel style), but now I'm feeling like the paper tickets may actually be easier. Thanks again!

just don't use the paper tickets too much - they soon add up to more than the cost of Oysters. They are VERY much more expensive than contactless fares. Won't take long until you have paid £7 each excess.

You may want to consider adding your 3 teenagers as “authorized users” of your CC. All charges go to the same card but each authorized user will have the ability to use it on their own. Having your chosen card available with a tap of your phone or watch is the best way to go in my opinion.

Note that there are child cash fares available for those aged under 16. You don't need to do anything else but buy them.

You certainly need to bring more than one credit card with you for your trip, to make sure that you are not left without funds if one is not accepted. You could use the credit cards for as many cards as you want to bring and then just buy the more expensive paper tickets for the rest of the party.

Why turn this molehill into a mountain?

You plan to take only 2 tube rides: to and from the airport.

Just buy paper tickets £7/ticket.

You can use 1 credit card to buy the whole shebang.

There is no need to carry 5 separate credit cards for such a simple purchase.

FYI, even if you never, ever actually use Google Wallet/Apple Wallet to purchase something, read up on the advantage of Google Wallet for card replacement in the event of lost, stolen cards and fraud.

Edited to correct information.

jeanm, is it true that paper tickets are 3.50 for children 15 and under? I had searched all over the official websites and it looked like there was only a "child fare" for under 11, and that kids 12 and up paid the "adult fare".

Assuming kiosks are easy to operate and don't have long lines to use them, and that we can also get cheaper "child tickets", then sounds like paper tickets are a win-win!

We'll still take a couple backup credit cards (as usual), but that's better than carrying 7 different cards!

I'm responding to Paul's suggestion regarding couples using the same credit card for tap in/tap out. I do not have experience in England, but I'm thinking the technology is likely similar between countries? We were recently in Rome and my husband couldn't enter the metro, and we finally figured out it was we were using the same credit card. The cards were both the same company, but did have different numbers. The system would not allow him in until he switched to a different card. Again, I'm not sure if this would also be the case in England.

JP, sorry for the incorrect info. I forgot that the discount kids fare requires a zip oyster card that wouldn't be feasible for your trip.

Still, I would do a single card purchase of paper tickets for your gang rather than handing everybody a separate credit card to use and then carry around for the rest of your trip.

Unless you decide to use the London Metro/bus for more than 1 round trip between Heathrow and Kings Cross, separate forms of payment to save only a few dollars doesn't make sense to me. Sometimes we have to pay a little more for convenience.

Jules - that is not the case in London. You can use cards linked to the same account as long as you both have a physical card.

TFL in London uses two factors to track the fare, Account and Device. As long as what you use is unique to you, you are fine, So one account, using a card, phone, or watch is still unique.

Further, if you tap in using your watch, you must tap out using your watch...not your phone on the same account, or the physical card.

Thanks Paul

Apparently some stations are no longer selling nor recharging credit onto Oyster cards. Don't know whether this is a harbinger or not, but I'd want to empty my card of credit sooner rather than later.

Apparently some stations are no longer selling nor recharging credit onto Oyster cards.

TFL states you can get an Oyster at ” At all Tube, most London Overground and most Elizabeth line stations”.

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/how-to-pay-and-where-to-buy-tickets-and-oyster/buying-tickets-and-oyster#:~:text=You%20can%20get%20an%20Oyster,and%20most%20Elizabeth%20line%20stations

I had no problem topping off my card at a station last month.

jeanm, is it true that paper tickets are 3.50 for children 15 and under? I had searched all over the official websites and it looked like there was only a "child fare" for under 11, and that kids 12 and up paid the "adult fare".

JPTravels - Kids under 11 travel free with an adult; they don’t even need a ticket. Kids 11 to 15 get a reduced rate. I believe if your kids are in that age range you can buy a cash fare single ticket for them. However, there are always TFL staff at Heathrow. Just ask them before you purchase the ticket.

If you look at the TfL fare finder you will see that the cash fare for children aged 11 to 15 is indeed £3.50 or with an Oyster card is £1.00.
That £1.00 Oyster fare is an all day Off Peak Travel card so is unlimited journeys that day in off peak hours.
For the £3.50 fare you do not require a Zip Card.
The slight catch for the £1 fare is that the adult or adults (up to 4 children with each adult) must also be travelling on an off peak all zones travelcard.
In this case I don't believe that is financially the best option.

TFL states you can get an Oyster at ” At all Tube, most London Overground and most Elizabeth line stations”.

Good to know. The sign I saw was at the Heathrow Underground, so maybe a special case. I'll check the other stations we're using.

I will say that the TfL Android application is worse than worthless for finding the best tube routing to get from one place to another. Both Citymapper and Google Maps give much better results.

We were there in June with 2 adults and two under 15 teens. Yes, each needs own card to tap and go. We did it two ways. First we got tickets from machines. Easy. Second, we had two adults with two cc on their phones and one touched with one card, went through and then handed the phone to the kid with the other card selected and they tapped in. If the line isn't long at the ticket machine, just do that. The line moves very fast and there are attendants that will help.

Yes, I'm afraid that public transport in London is hugely overcomplicated with punitive charges for those that can't or won't comply with their preferred payment methods. The answer is that you absolutely need 5 different cards if you are going to use contactless because the way that charging works is that the tap in is matched to the tap out to calculate the journey cost. Easy for them but a real pain for families.
I have friends that have used foreign cards with no problem so that shouldn't be an issue hopefully. If you have more than one card (debit and credit for instance) both should work. You can also use a mixture of oyster cards and credit cards. I live in the UK and have kept an oyster card specifically because it's the only way I can access the underground on the infrequent occasions I go to London with my kids.

Allan - your comment is technically correct t but somewhat misleading. As others have said on the thread you can use more than one card linked to the same account and you can also use phone or smart watch pay linked to one card. So it is possible to just have one card and link that to phones or watches for the rest of the group. But if you can't or don't want to use other devices then you will need a separate card for each of your party.

It's pretty irrelevant for the OP who only wanted to take two journeys anyway and in all likelihood has been and gone as the original post was in June.

I will say that the TfL Android application is worse than worthless for finding the best tube routing to get from one place to another

Paper maps work. Always have.

@Johnew52, I feel like more clarification is needed. I commented that it seemed to me that each person needed a separate card. When we were in Rome, my husband was not able to use our Nordstrom VISA and we figured out it was because I had just used mine to go thru the metro turnstyle. Our cards have different numbers, but both are linked to the same account. You commented this is not the case in London.

But, above, I think you are saying that a couple cannot use the same account unless a phone or smart watch is being used for the transaction?

Same account but different payment methods is fine.

Jules - no I'm not. You can use both.

If you have a card account with more than one card on it each card can be used for contactless travel. In addition you can also put the card on phone or smart watch as well as use it for others. So one card account with two physical cards and also put on 3 phones or smart watches would allow 5 people to travel on contactless payment, all being paid on one card account.

Yes you can use 2 different cards linked to the same account. We do this all the time. It works perfectly.