Oyster Card with 7 Day Travel Card attached

You're welcome, Dave. The paper travelcard is good for the Tube, Docklands Light Railway, and National Rail trains within the zones covered and for the entire London bus system (all zones). An Oyster card is good for the Tube, DLR, some (but not all) National Rail trains, and for the entire London bus system.

You can buy the paper travelcard at Gatwick but not at Heathrow (no National Rail trains at Heathrow, only the Heathrow Express and the Heathrow Connect).

There are some 2for1 offers associated with the seven-day travelcard that you can load on an Oyster card, but the best 2for1 offers are associated with the PAPER seven-day travelcard that you can only buy at National Rail stations, not Tube stations. See the Days Out Guide.

I suggest that you buy the PAPER seven-day travelcard when you arrive and buy an Oyster card and use it as a pay-as-you-go card for Monday-Wednesday. The Oyster computer will give you the best fare and will not let you pay more each day than 50 pence less than the cost of a one-day travelcard for the zones in which you travel that day.

Thanks Tim, that sounds like the way to go. We'll pick up the one week travel card and our Oyster Card on Monday when we get into London, either at the airport or at Paddington Station. Our hotel is near there so we'll be doing a lot of walking around.

Amazing how many 2 for 1 offers there are for admissions with the paper travel card. Do you know if the one-week paper travel card works on busses as well as the tube?

Just noticed an article that said as of the 25th of September 2005 you can't get a 7 day travelcard unless you put it on an Oyster card. ?? Does this mean we can't get the paper 7 day travel card anymore? So all the 2for1 deals are void, even though they are still on the website? We were going to get Oyster cards anyway, and use them for Monday and Tuesday. I'll certainly say that those IC cards are a lot better than traditional paper tickets. You just touch in and go through the gate, don't have to find the ticket and worry about which pocket you put it in. I used this kind of card in Osaka, Japan in 2006 and loved it. They also let you use the balance at some of the station conveinance stores to buy drinks or whatever. Brilliant idea.

This is an assumption, so take it for what it's worth. In the past a person could buy a one-, three-, or seven-day paper travelcard at Tube stations. Since the only travelcard that can be loaded on an Oyster card is the seven-day one, I assume that one- and three-day paper travelcards will still be sold at Tube stations, but after September the seven-day travelcard will only be available on an Oyster card. I assume that this will have no effect on paper travelcards of any duration which you buy at National Rail stations, bear the National Rail logo, and qualify you for the extensive 2for1 offers that are associated with those cards.

I don't know where there are any National Rail stations in London, I went to their site and there is no list, and no mention of the paper 7 day travelcard anywhere. Paddington is managed by Network Rail. Where can you buy a paper 7 day travelcard? Can you buy one online?

Paddington IS a mainline (National Rail) station. Other major stations include Victoria, Waterloo, Liverpool Street, Euston, King's Cross, and St. Pancras. There are several more smaller stations.

I don't think you can buy a National Rail paper travelcard in advance. And there isn't any advantage in doing so that I can think of.