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Top Up old Navigo Découverte Card using Bonjour RATP app on phone

Posted by (The Shire) on

If you already have an existing/old Navigo Découverte Card and want to top up with a new pass/ticket; to save yourself a trip to the ticket office or vending machine you can do it on your phone using the Bonjour RATP app!

Here are the steps for iPhone if anyone is interested (Android phone should be quite similar):

  1. Install Bonjour RATP app on your phone
  2. Create your account if you choose to (not sure if this is needed)
  3. Scan your old Navigo Découverte Card
    • Tap Tickets
    • Tap Read pass
    • Affix/Hold your Navigo Découverte Card closely to the back of your phone and near the upper top
    • If successful it will display 'pass scanned' and show what's in your existing card (probably your expired pass)
  4. Buy pass
    • Tap Buy on pass
    • Tap the pass you want to buy (I select Semaine for Weekly)
    • Under Select zone, tap All zones (1-5) 22,80 €, and it will display all the zone options
    • Tap the zone option you want (All zones 1-5 will cover CDG airport and Versailles)
    • Tap Continue (12,34 €)
  5. Pay for the pass
    • Tap Credit card to choose between credit card or Apply Pay
    • Tap Email address to email the invoice to you
    • Click the box J'accepte les conditions... to accept the conditions
    • Tap Proceed to payment (12,34 €)
    • Enter your credit card information and pay for your pass
    • It will confirm if payment is successful
  6. Top up your Navigo Card
    • Tap 'Continue' (under 'Top up') to load the pass/ticket you just bought to your existing Navigo Card
    • Affix your Navigo Card on the back of your phone again
    • If top up is successful it will say your pass/ticket has been loaded to your Navigo Découverte Card
  7. Confirm the top up
    • To double check, simply repeat step 3 above and it should now display your new pass

Note:

  • The Bonjour RATP app instructions are in English; except the pass options are in French.
  • This is an option to top up your existing/old Navigo Card. You will need to first get a physical Navigo Card (at the ticket office) if you don't have one yet.
  • If you plan to buy the Navigo Weekly Pass; make sure not to buy it too soon (Friday or later for the following week).

Edit:
If you buy the pass from Monday to Thursday 11:59pm; it's for the remaining of the current week.
If you buy the pass from Friday to Sunday; it's for the following week.

Posted by
147 posts

Yes, very helpful! We are heading to Paris in July with our 13-year old. My husband and I have cards from our last visit in 2017 and I was curious if we could still use them. It was on my “to do” list to explore this and you just made the task a bit easier! :)

Posted by
2545 posts

I have never found it that difficult to load my Navigo card at the kiosk. I doubt it takes a full minute. Keeping apps to a minimum is a worthy objective, and the less financial information I have on a mobile phone the better. This is a new feature, some will like it, but others will continue to get along nicely without it.

Posted by
548 posts

While the actual process once at the kiosk doesn't take very long, there isn't always guaranteed to be a kiosk immediately available (especially when arriving at large airports or transport hubs, which is when one is likely to be refilling a pass for the first time).

The other advantage that this offers for those refilling a weekly pass is that the user can refill before physically arriving in Paris, which can come in handy because of the weekly pass' strict timing issues.

For example (this has happened to me), I arrived at CDG on a Friday morning, and then had to return to CDG the next day (Saturday) to meet/greet my travel companions arriving a day later. Had I been able to buy a weekly pass for that week, this would have saved me (since the 3 x €10.30 tickets alone already surpassed the €22.80 cost of the pass).

But since I arrived on a Friday morning I was only able to buy the weekly pass for the following Monday onward. Had I been able to load a weekly pass any day earlier that week prior to Friday, I would have been able to take advantage of the pass' savings.

(Of course, you still need the physical card, so this doesn't help for first-time arrivals! But for refills it can definitely come in handy.)

Posted by
9420 posts

Andrew, excellent point. I have been in that situation many times and it was beyond annoying.

Mindfulness, thanks very much for posting this. Super helpful.

Posted by
145 posts

@Andrew @Susan,

Yes Andrew points out the advantage of been able to buy it ahead of time if one arrives on Friday and still wants to use the card for the remaining of the week.

I usually ride the Roissybus instead of the RER to the city (and back to the airport). With this phone 'top up' option, I can top up and use it to ride the Roissybus right away after arriving at the airport. Without this option, after immigration I will have to walk to the RER office or ticket vending machine at the CDG 2C-2E RER station.

BTK: If you use the SNCF Connect app, the app also allows you to top up your Navigo Découverte Card.

Glad that people find this useful :)

Posted by
9420 posts

Another good point if you want to take the Roissybus. Thanks again Mindfulness.

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