3 day Travelcard question:

The zone 1-2 three-day travelcard costs £17.40, not £16.40. Heathrow is in zone 6 so it will NOT be good for getting from the airport to your hotel. Assuming you'll be traveling alone and won't be able to benefit from the 2for1 offers provided by National Rail paper travelcards, your best option is to buy an Oyster card, load it with £20, and let the Oyster computer calculate the best fares for you each day. You'll never pay more than 50 pence less than the cost of a one-day travelcard for the zones in which you travel each day. At the end of your stay you can get back both your deposit and any unspent money you loaded on the Oyster card.

I'll be traveling with my wife, so can you please explain to me what is the 2for1 offer provided by National Rail paper travelcards? Is it good for the Tube?

I think it all depends on what you plan on during your time in London.

For example, you could arrive first thing in the morning and want to take advantage of seeing the sights or you could arrive late and just go straight to the hotel.

Days 2 and 3 you may want to explore the city only and plan on taking lots of buses etc or you may want to take day trips outside of the center and a travelcard with zone 1-2 only would not be worthwhile.

The Oyster card offers a lot more flexibility if you are staying central. Travelcards are good if you know you will be frequent travel and want to take advantage of special savings.

Here is more information on the 2 for 1s http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/

The National Rail 2for1 offers are listed here: www.daysoutguide.co.uk. Download and print the vouchers you need and bring them with you. National Rail paper travelcards are good on the Tube, the Docklands Light Railway, and on National Rail trains within the zones covered. They are also good on the entire London bus system. They are not sold at Tube stations so you cannot buy them at Heathrow. Buy them at any National Rail station.

I suggest that you buy Oyster cards at Heathrow and use them to get between Heathrow and London on day one and back to Heathrow on your last day, as well as for any other rides you take those days. Buy one-day, zone 1-2 National Rail paper travelcards for each of your full days in London on which you plan to visit any attractions that are included in the 2for1 offers. Otherwise just use your Oyster cards on those days.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions.
I'll be arriving around 10:30 am. I will buy the 2 oyster cards (1 for me and 1 for my wife).
On day 1: I'll go to my hotel, westminster, victoria to catch the hop-on hop-off tour.

The next two days i'll use two-day travel card. Most places i'll go are in zones 1-2.
Last day I'm not going back to Heathrow but to the train station to catch an Eurostar train.
How much money should I put on each card?

I made a mistake, I didn't mean two-day tickets but I was thinking of 2 one-day tickets for zone 1-2. In fact I might just need one since I'm planning to take the hop-on hop-off tour on my second day. So I would not need a day pass for that day.
Is the oyster card still the way to go??
I'm confused!!!

There isn't a two day travelcard. You are better off just putting money on your Oyster if you are staying in Zones 1-2 and heading to St Pancras on the last day. Remember you will not be charged more than the cost of a travelcard on days 2-3 and days 1 & 4 will be single fares.

Check out the Oyster card fares online.

Buy Oyster cards at Heathrow. Use them to get from the airport to your hotel and for any other rides you take that day. On day two if the hop-on hop-off bus stops at any of the places where you want to take advantage of the National Rail 2for1 offers, then buy National Rail paper travelcards at any mainline station (like Victoria) for that day. Otherwise just use your Oyster cards for any rides you take. On day three if you're going to visit any of the places on the National Rail 2for1 list, then buy National Rail paper travelcards for that day. Otherwise just use your Oyster cards. Use your Oyster cards for any rides you take on day four, including getting to St. Pancras. Loading £25 (plus the deposit) on each Oyster card should cover all four days. You can top off the cards with more money if you run short. You'll use less of what you load on each Oyster card, of course, if you buy National Rail paper travelcards for day two and/or day three. When you get to St. Pancras you can get a refund on your deposit plus any unspent money you loaded on the cards.

Tim, Thanks a lot for your advice. Now it seems clear.