My husband and I went to England last in 2016. I looked in an old folder and we still have our Oyster cards from that trip. Can we use these cards this fall in London?
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7991 posts
Definitely! You’ll just need to add whatever amount to the balance of your cards in order to ride the Tube or buses. You might still have money on your cards from the last time, so you may or may not need to top up the balances immediately. Use the machines just inside a Tube station to check the balance, or to add to it.
A post on this Forum in just the last few days discussed Oyster vs. simply using a credit card, or a Smartphone or Smartwatch to tap in and out of the gates to get in and out of the Tube. Each method has its devotees, but if you want to stick with the tried-and-true Oyster cards, they will still work.
Posted by
Land of La
9261 posts
Yes you can still use them.
I have one I’ve used for over a decade. Many on this Forum will advise using a tap credit or debit card which is fine.
My sole reason for not doing that is I would be furious if I lost either a debit or credit card.
For me having and using an Oyster card is convenient and safe. I keep it in a lovely card carrier I bought in the British Museum gift shop.
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5466 posts
One circumstance where you can't use them is if you got the deposit refunded, which some people did before departure. It isn't possible to "reactivate" these cards.
Posted by
alameda, ca, usa
2693 posts
I'm the same as Claudia--prefer to re-load my 2010 Oyster card, and my spiffy case came from the London Transport Museum.