Oyster card/Travel card

The 7 day travel pass is something you can add to your Oyster Card.

If you have the Oyster Card you can add a 7 day travel pass that gives you unlimited travel in London within certain zones. The prices vary according to number of zones you need to travel through. Central London is in zone 1.

If you don't have an Oyster Card you can buy a just a 7 day travel pass that gives you unlimited travel in London within certain zones. The prices vary according to number of zones you need to travel through. Central London is in zone 1.

An Oyster Card is simply a piece of plastic until you credit funds to it. These can be pay-as-you or you can add the value of a travelcard. There is also a paper Travelcard which can be bought at train stations.

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/ways-to-pay/whats-the-best-way-for-me-to-pay

From your other posts using "we", it sounds like you are traveling with one or more others.

The advantage of a 7-day Travelcard on paper, not on an Oyster plastic card, is that it enables you to use the 2-4-1 offers at many of London's most popular attractions. Do you know about this?

the "top off" is lower for the Travel Card. You can travel as much as you like (I forgot how many zones, but it could be 1 and 2) and if you exceed past 6 or 7 pounds, your card is topped off and you don't get charged anymore.

You have access to the bus and tube just like an Oyster card, and some discounts at the touristy place, even the free museum shops.

Oyster limits your daily tube costs, pays for itself in a few rides. Travelcard uses the Oyster card but limits your weekly tube costs, is more economical if you're staying more than a few days. I got way more than my money's worth out of one last year. Both also work on buses.

I have the same question as the original poster. I've read Rick's entry in his latest London Travel Guide and I understand the concept of an Oyster Card and adding on a 7-Day Travel Card.

However, if you visit the Transport for London website: https://tfl.gov.uk/ There is no mention of how to add a 7-Day Travel Card onto an Oyster Card. In fact, they only mention a Visitor's Oyster card and a paper Travel Card:

https://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/help/ticket-comparison/

My wife and I are traveling to London for 8 days in early April. We plan on using public transit extensively to get around London, primarily in Zone 1. In addition, we will be making two roundtrips to Zone 3, one for a tour of White Hart Lane and the other for a Tottenham Hotspur match.

According to the info in Rick's London Travel Guide, purchasing an Oyster Card and adding a 7-Day Travel Card onto the Oyster Card for 32.40 GBP sounds like the best option. However, I don't see that as even an option from the TfL website. I'd rather not have a piece of paper to deal with. Tapping in and out with a plastic Oyster Card sounds much easier than having to keep using a paper ticket.

Can anyone shed more light on this situation? Thanks in advance!

You are looking at the 'Visitors shop' part of the TfL site so get to see what TfL market especially for visitors.

The page you want is this one in the general site for the info on adding a travelcard onto an Oyster.

Thanks Marco! I appreciate your help!

7 day travel cards purchased from an Underground station are sold loaded on an Oyster card.

I have a similar question. We will be traveling to London for 10 days. Last time, we bought the Oyster with the 7-day travel card and it worked out just fine. This time, we need to travel outside the regular zones when we go to the HP tour. So, do I add $ to the Oyster card prior to traveling from Euston to Watford Junction? I'm a little confused by the process. I don't remember having to add my credit card to the Oyster card but maybe I have just forgotten how the whole process works.

I wouldn't as a visitor link your credit or debit card to Oyster for automatic top ups.

Just add the Oyster PAYG credit at a ticket machine as needed.

If you will go beyond your Travelcard and you want to use the Oyster it is loaded on you will need to have enough Pay As You Go (PAYG) loaded onto it to cover those journeys. Also, if you have a 7 day Travelcard on the Oyster and you using transport for 10 days, then you will need to pay for the rides on those 3 days not covered.

May I ask this or do I need to start a new thread? 2 of us will be in London on a Thurs., Fri, and Sat. and will likely be using the Tube before 9:30 a.m. We will take a train to Hampton Court or Canterbury one day, if that would affect which card. It would be nice to use Tube as well as Bus.
Although I've read these posts I'm still confused. I don't want to waste a lot of time wavering in front of a "card" machine while we could be enjoying London. Thank you for any help you can give....