What is the difference between Oyster and Contactless? - London Message Board (2024)

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The advantage of contactless if you have it is convenience i.e. you already have the cards so no need to get Oysters as well. But if you feel more comfortable having separate Oyster cards for your travel then that's fine.

Amex cards should be fine for tube and bus fares. You will find that some retailers may not accept them for payments for other services, so I would ensure that you have another means of payment with you as well.

I use Oyster for security - I don't like showing everyone in a busy public place exactly where my contactless card is stowed. If you're prone to losing cards it would be sensible to buy an Oyster, as all you lose if the card disappears is whatever you've loaded on to it and not spent. If you have an Apple watch with Apple Pay that would be another good choice.

There is a very small financial advantage to using a contactless card if you're in London for more than a week and travel extensively every single day (weekly capping) but otherwise it's no cheaper than using an Oyster.

I'd agree with John that Amex isn't generally accepted in smaller shops due to the high fees they get charged and they are also slow in paying the retailer.

I've got an American Express contactless and I find it's sometimes rejected by contactless terminals, say in 20% of attempts to pay, so just be prepared for the eventuality. I've not tried it on the underground. My Barclaycard Visa contactless has never been rejected.

It's no great matter, go and use your Amex at the Heathrow tube if that's what you decide on, and if it's rejected you go to a ticket machine and buy an oyster using your Amex and pin. It's a one minute transaction and there are staff to help you.

Destination Expert

If adding a 7 day travelcard to an oyster then it can begin on any day of the week.

Contactless payment also has a weekly cap relevant to the zones you use it that begins only on a Monday and ends on the Sunday.

So using a contactless method starting on a day other than a Monday would mean paying the daily cap rate for most if not all the days.

The biggest advantage of contactless is that you do not have to guess your likely spend then put money on to the card. You also avoid the hassle of reclaiming unused credit.

I have used my American Express contactless card extensively in London on several recent trips and have never had it declined. It was widely accepted. The contactless iteration makes purchases under £30 very convenient.

There is no financial benefit from using a contactless card. (Although I have read a few posts that maintain in certain situations contactless fares can be bit cheaper, they seemed like one off situations though)

What ever you do, use the same card (credit card or Oyster) for each trip and for all trips during the same day to take advantage of the daily cap for travel on the tube (cap depends on travel zones entered)

Edited: 5 years ago

How many days will you be using London transport? A 7 day Travelcard loaded on the Oyster Cars might be a consideration (can be break even on a 5 day stay)

https://www.londontoolkit.com/mnu/london_transport.htm

https://www.londontoolkit.com/briefing/travelcard_oyster.htm

By the way, an Oyster Card uses contactless technology.

"There is no financial benefit from using a contactless card. "

The well known exception is if arriving into Gatwick (after weekday peak hours), traveling into central London, and then traveling extensively in central London on the same day - contactless is slightly cheaper than oyster in that instance. Quite a niche set of circ*mstances, though probably relevant to a few posters on this forum.

But to confuse it further, if arriving into Gatwick at a weekend with extensive travel in London on arrival day, this can be one of the few times when a paper travelcard can be cheaper than either contactless or oyster.

My understanding is that contactless only works with UK issued cards.