I'm heading to London in May for several days before joining a Seymour tour of SE England gardens. I saw several older posts about the Oyster card but none mentioned a "visitor" oyster card. Is this a daily new thing? I'll be in London for 4-5 days and it seems like this card doesn't have to be topped off with money if you run low and has a daily cap. Am I understanding this correctly?
Also is there somewhere at Heathrow that I can purchase an Oyster card?
You certainly don’t want a visitor Oyster card and you don’t even need a regular one. You can just use a contactless card or phone or smart watch pay - tap in and out on the tube and just tap in on buses. You will be charged once a day and the system will work out the cheapest charge automatically.
Oyster cards can still be used if you wish - some people prefer to use one rather than risk losing a credit card. But they cost a non-refundable £7 and you will be charged as above and you will have to keep the card topped up with £s.
Here is a helpful discussion explaining differences between Visitor and regular oyster cards.
Yes, you can purchase the Oyster card at Heathrow.
This will be a "regular" Oyster card; what most visitors to London buy.
The visitor Oyster card is sold online and mailed to you (more expensive)....you don't need to do this because it's so simple to buy the Oyster card once you get to Heathrow or into London.
Depending upon where your hotel is located, you might take the Heathrow Express train into London. If your hotel is near Paddington Station in London, this is a good option.
Oyster cards can be bought at train and tube stations in London, also at small food stores. If you use a machine at Heathrow or inside one the tube stations, it will look like an ATM machine. You use a credit card to pay, choose an amount to put on it (20 to 30 pounds) and then your Oyster card will pop out.
There are dozens of YouTube videos guiding you through the purchase of the Oyster card.
I'm sure others will chime in about this, but you can also tap your credit card or phone to pay for rides on the tube.
Ok so the consensus is forget the visitor card. Might be time to load a cc to the apple wallet.
It's very easy to just tap your credit card entering/exiting the Tube and when entering the bus. Then you don't have to think about how much do I need to load on an Oyster card, what do I do with leftover funds, etc. It worked very well for me last month. Don't know if you're traveling solo or with someone - if with someone else, each person has to have their own credit card to tap on/off.
Have a great trip!
I was worried about having my cc out to tap---afraid I might drop it rushing through the turnstiles. However, I uploaded my card to my phone and put my phone on an lanyard for double security. Remember to use the same credit card each time!
Might be time to load a cc to the apple wallet.
This is the way.
