Tap and Go CC question-transport

Nope, you definitely don't want to put a daily use card in your money belt.
What works for me is a teeny card holder like this, attached to the inside of my crossbody bag.
https://www.quince.com/women/italian-leather-wristlet-card-case
Easy to have in my hand as I approach the gate, then slip back into my bag after.

I recently returned from Poland, where some places accepted AMEX, and some didn't. After about 3 days, I switched to a Mastercard as my primary card, and never had a problem.

We were in England in May.
1. We found some vendors did not accept our AMEX card, mostly smaller businesses. I did not try to use my AMEX for transport.
2. Our USA issued credit cards worked overseas - one credit union, AMEX, and 2 banks (BOA & our Costco/CC). We generally tried to use our AMEX first (non-transport) because we were trying to build Delta points on this relatively new card. YOU NEED TO TELL YOUR FINANCIAL INSTITUTION THAT YOU WILL BE TRAVELLING INTERNATIONALLY so they don't block your card--can be done online for some. Check with your CC company if you have doubts.
3.Use your money belt only for extra credit cards/ID/Passport/large amounts of cash that you don't expect to be using when out and about. Have the $ for the day (you may not need to use any cash) and credit card you expect to use in a safe, accessible location. Perhaps you have a crossbody purse or a safe zipped pocket. My husband kept his wallet in his front pocket and his passport/extra cards in a neck money pocket on the last trip. He quit using the money belt the last few trips because they were uncomfortable for him.
I have shirts (from Costco/Eddie Bauer) with a side zip pocket which I used this last trip. I also have a "Stashbanz" which I used in place of a money belt this last trip if I was not wearing the pocket shirt.
We placed our credit cards in our phone electronic "wallets". This was new to me so I was nervous how well it would work. I got a lanyard for my phone so it was around my neck and then often resting in the outside pocket of my crossbody purse or jacket pocket for extra security from falling should the lanyard break (which it did on the last day!)
4. Do not worry about an Oyster card. We took old ones we had on hand from a long ago trip, but never added money to them. I think I used mine once on a bus to see if there was any $ left to use up.

If you are only in London for a day, you will be using transit minimally. Just get your CC ready before going through the turnstile at the station, and put it back into your purse pocket after. Try to allow yourself a few extra minutes so you don't fee rushed to the train and can put the card away to your satisfaction. I sometimes use the inside pocket of a jacket for a temporary holding place if I'm in a hurry but this is not as good as putting a card away into a purse.

I'm sold on the tap and pay with my phone. For my next trip, I need to order a new phone lanyard or purchase a crossbody phone holder. I really liked the lanyard security when reaching to take a photo over a window ledge!

Millions of Londoners use contactless cards of all sorts every day, and keep their cards in their purses or wallets. For years I have used a small cross body purse that has a built in RFID pocket, so easy to slip the card in and out of the pocket as needed, pretty much as I do every day at home. If concerned about a crowded bus or tube be sure and keep the purse to the front of your body and your hand on top of the purse. I tried using a money belt once and gave up after a day, it was uncomfortable and hot and a nuisance.

I’d recommend using a crossbody bag and consider putting ApplePay or equivalent on your phone. I find it’s easier to grab your phone and pay that way than to fiddle about with credit cards. As above, millions of people do this every day and the risk of anything going wrong is very low.

The one day cap for Zones 1 to 6 is £15.60 for Pay as you go (credit card or Oyster).

You could totally avoid credit card handling by buying a One Day Off Peak (after 0930 Monday to Friday, all day Saturday and Sunday) Zone 1 to 6 paper Travelcard on arrival at Heathrow for £15.90

If you have credit cards loaded in your phone's wallet (Apple Pay, Google Pay) for contactless payment, you can tap your phone in and out.

Just put the card back in your wallet like you would when you use it at home. No-one is going to snatch it out of your hand. The main thing to remember is put it back in the same place each time, otherwise you might mislay it.

I'm really not a believer in money belts etc. London is very safe, as long as you are careful about pickpockets in very crowded areas. But even then in years of frequent travel to the UK I've never had my pocket picked.

As mentioned above you can use your credit card or your phone, but be aware that the daily (and weekly, but since you are only there for 24 hours this is not relevant for you) cap is computed individually for each. I.e. if you use 5 GBP on your card and 5 GBP on your phone, you wil NOT be capped.

I didn’t see anyone mention this but I believe the way you tell if your card will work on a “tap and go” terminal is if it has a chip in it. That’s the tiny gold coloured rectangle embedded in your card that you can see on the front.

Even if you are only in London for 24 hours you will likely use it multiple times: almost everything is tap-to-pay in London, from food carts and transport to picking up a round at the pub.

And I echo Lesley: London is safe. Just take normal precautions. No one will snatch your card out of your hand at the turnstile.

Even more convenient? Loading your card on your phone!

Oh - and finally - always remember to tap on and then tap off when on the tube! On the TFL buses, just tap once on the way in.

Cheerio and have a blast! :-)

2-How do know ahead of time if my USA-issued Chase or Capital One CC
will work?

I have used both a Capital One credit card and debit card on TFL bus and tube and it works just fine. As long as yours has a chip and the contactless symbol on it, you don't even need to tell them you're traveling. Just make sure your security alert settings are current and I suggest putting the Capital One app on your phone for easy access. I can't speak to the travel requirements for the Chase card so you'd need to look in to that.

And as has been noted you must tap in and out on the tube specifically. If you don't you'll be charged the daily maximum.

I too am a fan of using my phone with Google Pay with my Chase card loaded into the wallet. It worked seamlessly last Spring when I was in London for 10 days.

Just make sure you use the same payment form,cc or phone the whole time to take advantage of daily max charges.

Volva - it’s not the rectangle on the card (sometimes gold but more usually silver coloured) that indicates whether the card is set up for contactless payment. There should be the contactless symbol, which is 4 semi circular lines together on the card which indicates that.

Not sure if you want to use contactless payment for buses outside of London at all (you mentioned paid for trains). Rare for Amex to be accepted in my experience.

Thanks, johnew52! I wasn’t sure and am glad someone caught my error. Much appreciated.

Several years ago I used my contactless Amex to pay for the tube. Worked fine but I now use a different card and pay by phone. As others have indicated Amex is not as widely accepted as Visa of Mastercard. Since it started as a travel and entertainment card I thinks it’s more likely to be accepted at nicer restaurants and hotels.

Enjoy your trip.

I'm now using Google Wallet on my Android watch. It works great. Avoids the need to expose either the card or the phone to potential theft (though theft likelihood strikes me as vanishingly low).

And I used my Apple Watch with Apple Pay everywhere in the UK last June. Not having to fumble for wallet or phone is HUGE in my book and smart watches, in my opinion, are the way to go via contactless.