To ask if you still use an Oyster Card?

[ZippyTurtle]

Both me and my boyfriend live in London, both lived in London since we were born. I have an oyster card and always use it and never use my debit card for the tube. My boyfriend doesn't use an oyster card and just uses his debit card. My boyfriend always complains that he thinks I am "outdated" and that he thinks I should just use my debit card instead of my oyster card. Is he right? Am I outdated? Does anyone who lives in London still use an oyster card these days or is it just me?

YANBU - I live in London and use an oyster card.

YABU - I live in London and just use my debit card

And I assume if you use a different card then you lose the chance of it capping your day travel at the maximum because it thinks you are "two different people ".

Possibly you don't ever use it enough in one day to get to the daily limit but, when I go to London, I'm a tourist or on business, so I get closer to doing so.

I use an Oyster card, I like to keep my money separate and look back at my journey history on my oyster app

Next time you go, just take your railcard and Oyster (or buy an Oyster when you get there) to a member of staff at any Underground station and they can link them for you on the ticket machine. It takes a minute or two max and lasts until your railcard expires.

Mine is a Disabled Person's Railcard but it's exactly the same process, I sure

Oh I would have expected the technology to be inbuilt so that it doesn't ask for the PIN at a barrier. Surely this is stupid since you can't actually give a PIN at that point?

Yes it is the same process for senior railcard.

That is true, but 3 days is a long time to go without your debit card while they replace the one you lost. You can't travel unless you have another with money on it.

You can also cancel your oyster card online and transfer the passes/pay and go balance onto a new one. It was the only bright spot when I lost my handbag recently. All I had to do was borrow the money to get a new oyster.

I'm slightly bamboozled by all the chat about how your phone works or doesnt work, or need a fingerpeint or battery power, on the barriers. So I've looked it up online.

Turns out you can't use the app with a "first generation" oyster card.

Mine is a oyster card, no idea how long that means I've had it.

If I want to use the app it seems I have to upgrade my oyster card and I don't want to do that. Because its mine and I've had it for a hundred years.

So in fact I am unreasonably attached to an ancient, outdated piece of plastic and I won't be upgrading to a smartwatch any time soon.

And why do I even need a card to use the app anyway? Modern technology is beyond me. I'm sticking with Oyster.

tfl.gov.uk/fares/how-to-pay-and-where-to-buy-tickets-and-oyster/tfl-oyster-and-contactless-app/first-generation-oyster-cards

I commute into London for work and use an Oyster because I can have my disabled railcard discount on it.

I don't have any kind of TFL app on my phone. It just works as a contactless payment, I hold my phone over the yellow reader and the gates open. You don't even need a fingerprint.
I don't have / need any kind of railcard so I'm not sure that would make a difference. I just pay as I go.

I realise I am way over-invested in this now but I don't even need a fingerprint or an app?

When I go to Tesco I have to open up my phone, flick up to the payment screen, hold my finger on the sensor for a bit, then I can make a contactless payment. I thought I had to do all that at the gate too. But I just need to tap my phone? That has honestly blown my mind.

I sound like a total country bumpkin who's never left the farm now.

I'm going to try it tomorrow. I'll have my trusty oyster in the other hand just in case.

It might depend on the phone or on your settings. For mine, all I need to do is unlock it (either biometrics or PIN) before putting it on the scanner. It's not necessary to open the payment app unless I wanted to use a different card for some reason.

Oyster 4eva!!

Haha

But yes seriously I don't want random journeys peppering my bank statement every time I touch in.

My Oyster is set to auto top up and just debits £40 from my bank account now and again to keep it in funds.

I mainly use my debit card now, but keep my oyster "alive" by using it occasionally. It's useful to have as a back up, or for foreign visitors to use or anyone who forgets / doesn't have a suitable debit card.

dont live in london anymore but if i go i use my debit card dont know were my oyster card is but you can use it if you prefer it

I do as it is a 60+ card.

I got a refund on my debit card when I accidentally tapped into the overground instead of underground and back out again.

I live in zone 2 and only really travel in zone 1 and 2. I have an Oyster for work related journeys and use a card or tap my phone otherwise.

I don't know anyone who uses an Oyster card in my circle of friends since lockdown.

A season ticket - and thus an Oyster card - made sense when we were commuting 5 days a week and going out at the weekend. Now we're all on hybrid working, PAYG works out as better value, so a debit card is fine.

I'm with your boyfriend on this, @ZippyTurtle . Contactless is more normal now.

There's 6 pages of comments saying it isn't normal for everyone though!

This sounds super complicated.

It is many, many years since I was last using the underground on a regular basis, and it was the days of ticket in, ticket out, barriers opened. I sympathise with the "half second delay" thing though.

DD is going to London at the weekend for a school trip, so far I have learnt that her actual card will be easier than the phone, but how does it know how much to charge you?

Can visitors not get children rates? What if I go with a child, do I need to pass them my debit card?

Forget Oysters being for the luddites, I want ticket machines and paper tickets.

I have looked at TFL, I am still a little confused, though I will just put a whole lot of money in her account and hope it covers it all. (She's turning 18, and they will have quite a bit of freedom)

So many, many years ago I went to University in Canterbury, and lived in the Midlands, so had to cross London when going to and from. My train ticket allowed for the cross London travel to get between the two stations. Can that still be done?

Use Oyster as it’s the only way to link my senior railcard. Can’t see why your choice is of any interest to your partner though, OP.

To get children's rate you need a child's Oyster card (or Zip card if you live in London). If you use a debit card / phone she'll get charged adult prices.
Is she over 11? If she's younger then she travels for free.

No, just tap pay these days.

If you have a railcard eg 16-25, disabled, over 60s etc you can have it linked to your Oyster card and get discounts on pay as you go journeys.

You don't need an oyster card for checking/refunding. You can do the same checking/refunding just as easily if you travel using your debit/credit card.