2 for 1 deals in London

I found on the Days Out Guide web site that the tickets below qualify for the 2 for 1 deals. But I am not sure exactly what this means for me. We are taking a train from Heathrow to the Buckingham Palace area (Victoria station) of London (hoping to use the cheaper train) and then planning on getting an oyster card for use during our 3 days in London. Would these tickets qualify? Do I need to print vouchers for the deals from home before I go? I've been looking at older posts here and trying to figure this out. National Rail tickets - purchased from a rail station, including: Advance Anytime Off-Peak Gatwick/Stansted Express
Travelcards - only when purchased from a train station.

An Oyster card does not qualify for 2 for 1. You could by a zone 1-2 travelcard (issued on paper) at a National Rail Station (Paddington, Victoria, etc.) for each day of your trip and that would qualify.

Thanks Laura. I saw someone posted that they used their train ticket from Heathrow into London as their train ticket. Do you suppose that qualifies?

It's a good idea to print the vouchers ahead of time for the sites you want to visit since they can run out of the brochures during the summer. When you buy your travelcards at the train station, ask if they have the 2 for 1 brochures available. You might see something else you want to visit that you didn't print a voucher for. The train ticket/travel card needs to be valid for the dates you want to use the 2 for 1 deals. I believe, but am not positive, that if you have a return train ticket you can use it on the arrival and departure dates and the dates in between. If it's a one way ticket, then it would only be good on the date you arrive in London on that train. Plus I don't think the Heathrow Express is included (don't see it on the list you posted).

Thank you both. I have found this website that post info on using the 2 for 1 card. It sounds like a great deal. We can save a good bit on several of the site we want to see in London. Are there any other discounts you know of?
http://www.londontoolkit.com/blog/transport/2-for-1-london-pass-with-travelcards-train-tickets/

It's better to use the official site: www.daysoutguide.co.uk/2for1-london Their FAQs are pretty comprehensive and verified that you can use return tickets for the full amount of time between arrival and return, and that Heathrow Express tickets do not qualify. If you are using train tickets rather than Tube travel cards, be sure to show your ticket to the person at the attended gate at the station, and tell them you need to keep it, rather than slipping it into the slot on the automatic gates. Unlike the paper tickets for the Tube, which pop up on the other side of the gate and can be retrieved, train tickets disappear into the slot forever. As far as other discounts, you might try looking at the websites for the places you want to visit. Many museums/galleries are free, but even the ones that charge (like the Courtauld Gallery) sometimes have discounted dates. (Monday in the Courtauld's case). We attended Sunday evensong at Westminster Abbey and then walked around the Cloisters afterwards rather than touring since we had done that on an earlier visit. Not good if you want to see everything, but very pleasant for us.

I just returned from London and bought a 7 day travel card from Kings Cross and it worked. It is real easy to do it. There are many different National Rail stations that you can pick from.

....and Trip Advisor has a great primer for the Ntaional Rail 2-4-1 program:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g186338-c133479/London:United-Kingdom:Paper.And.Oyster.Travelcards.2.4.1.Offers.html

One more thing....I did not need to provide a photo for the travel card but there is another thread going on right now where someone over there was unable to get one because they did not have a photo. Might want to bring one just in case.

In October 2012 we had to have a photo.

You must have a photo card for the season ticket / travelcard to be valid - the serial number needs to be written on the ticket. Both need to be presented if asked at a ticket inspection.