I have three oyster cards that haven't been used since 2018. Are they still useable or should we order new ones. I've tried to check them online, but get an error message.
Posted by
Freedonia
16420 posts
Oyster cards don't expire. My Oyster card us older than yours and I've never had a ptoblem.
Posted by
Tallahassee, Florida
9 posts
I think after a certain period of time you can't look up the balance online. BUT they still continue to hold the value last on them. I had the same issue with mine from a few years back. I couldn't get any information on them online anymore, but when I went to the machine at the tube station the card picked up right where it left off.
Posted by
alameda, ca, usa
2693 posts
I have a card that was new in 2011 and didn’t get used again until 2018…I had no idea what was left on it but happily discovered £13 when I got to the Underground station.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8130 posts
I have had one that I used for years on and off, as it seemed I went there for work every couple years. Still have it, probably stashed with some expired currency.
Technically, the card uses pretty straight forward RFID technology, so the card itself will not easily lose functionality (damage maybe), so it would take a software change, likely for security reasons, on their end, to really make it useless.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7208 posts
Ditto what the others have said. Mine go back at least to 2015. After their last use on any trip I note the balance remaining and write it down so I know how much is on them.
Posted by
PA
2880 posts
We like London. So we always make certain when we leave London that there is enough remaining balance on our cards to ride the Tube from Heathrow into town at the higher fare if need be without having to top off on the way in.
Posted by
Land of La
9265 posts
Mine have worked since the year of Kate and Williams marriage.
I have two just because….
Both worked fine last November. Both still have poundage on them.
Will use them again in July!
BTW the way I love the Oyster card holders I got at the British Library.
Posted by
OP
Spokane, WA
477 posts
Thank you all for the replies. So looking forward to being in London again.
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5467 posts
There are a few features mainly related to the app that first generation Oyster cards can't do. See this TfL page for details if you think they might be useful. Exchange is possible.
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
Last time I was in London I had a couple of old ones, stopped in a TFL center in Paddington and they consolidated them for me. I might have added some value then too. They seem to be good forever, a great way to pay for transportation.
Posted by
Winchester, UK
142 posts
I recently moved back to the UK from America to happily find my Oyster card still worked 😀