Oyster card purchase

No, it is not worth it to order an Oyster card in advance. Buy one at the airport. Either use a credit card or get pounds from an airport ATM.

We just returned from England. I got a Capital One charge card before we left and charged most things while we were there. The exchange rate figured out to be about 1.60 USD for each GBP. That was much better than exchange rates we found anywhere in England. I did buy 200 GBP for about 370 USD at a post office in London. We needed some cash because a few places won't accept a credit card and that was more than enough to get the two of us through 16 days in England. Most credit card companies charge the card holder about 3% of any transaction as an exchange rate. Capital One doesn't. I charged our rail tickets, senior cards and Oyster cards.

I landed at Heathrow, got sterling from an ATM while waiting for my luggage to appear on the carousel. I then paid cash for the oyster card. You can also pay by credit card. Two things to remember: 1. if you have to top it up, do so the same way you bought it, either cash or credit for the refund. 2. Don't load it up too much. Make sure your balance when you are ready to leave is £10 or less (not including the £5 deposit). If you follow the above, you can get an immediate refund at most tube stations - cash or cc credit, depending on how you paid. But if you have paid both ways, or if your balance is more, they will mail you a check (presumably in sterling) for the refund. It will probably cost you more in bank fees than it's worth. The tube stations and some buses can read your card and tell you what the balance is. Buying before you go is a waste of money.

The Oyster can be "topped up" at various stores throughout the area. wherever you see the yellow pad, just lay your Oyster on it and give some money to the clerk. This is especially handy at the KingsCross/St Pancras station where there is often a mob trying to buy tickets or Oysters. Across the street is a store that sells food, etc. and will top up your card. I think you can buy new cards there, also.

Aretta, I just got back from London. Find an ATM and take out some pounds, make sure it's a debit ATM and not a currency exchange ATM because they're side by side. I know by personal experience because my friend got the debit one and I got the currency exchange one so I ended up having to pay for taking my money out, oh well. If you're in Terminal 5, when you walk out of the baggage claim area, turn right and there's a transportation office and a tourist info office across from each other. They were very helpful and helped us figure out how much money to load on the oyster. It cost 3 GBP to buy one, then load it with however much you need. If you need to top off you have to do so in 5 GBP increments. When we got back to Heathrow, we went up to the same office and got our refund of our deposit plus whatever was left on it. It was very easy to top it off, the tube stations I saw had actual people in booths that can do it for you if you don't want to use the automated machines

Thank you all. Question solved.

I've always used the paper Travelcard with unlimited usage. Is the Oyster Card better for some reason? What is the benefit? I go to London at least once a year, and have kept getting the Travelcard in the US for a minor postage charge.

As well, if you don't use the Oyster for a day, no loss. Or use it less than the cap for the day, again, you don't lose any money. Only benefit to paper is the 2-1 offers. If you're not using them, I'd go for the Oyster. Or even Oyster some days, paper for others. I'd go to the bank and get a few pounds to get you started, 10 pounds will get the card, if you need something at Heathrow, and get you going.

The oyster card is great because you can add a travel card to it, and register it online. If it gets lost, you can get the money and card replaced. If you lose a paper card, the partys over :)

Jim, I too use a paper travelcard which I buy in London. I do not consider $13.00 to be a minor shipping cost. Travelcards take two minutes to purchase in London with cash, debit cards, or credit cards accepted by English speaking clerks. I updated a cost comparison between the US and London prices here:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ApAT6ZYPYl1ndF9IdHFXbE5tM3YzRVZYQTdRLXBWMEE&hl=en#gid=0 Note that the markup for buying one card in the US vs London is at least 17%. Buy in London. I do not recommend the Visitor Oyster Card either. It holds pay as you go only. 7 day travelcards can not be loaded on the Visitor Oyster. Note the expense vs a standard London purchase,too.