📱 Oyster & Contactless – your digital ticket hub 💡 In 30 seconds
- Fares are identical on Oyster and contactless — but contactless skips the non-refundable £7 card fee
- Families with kids aged 11–15 should set up an Oyster Zip Card in advance to get the 50% discount
- The Elizabeth line from Heathrow costs £15,80 — the Heathrow Express costs £26 on the day
What is the Oyster card — and what's the contactless alternative?
The Oyster card is a prepaid smartcard accepted on the Tube, bus, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth line, tram, and most National Rail services within London. You load credit, tap in and tap out, and TfL deducts the correct fare automatically.
Contactless — your bank card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay — works on exactly the same network at exactly the same fares. The difference: no card to buy, no credit to load. Just tap.
When is Oyster the better option? When you're travelling with children aged 11–15 who have a Zip Card discount, when you have a Railcard discount, or when you want to load a 7-day Travelcard that starts mid-week.
How much does it cost?
Both Oyster and contactless use the same pay-as-you-go rates. TfL raised single fares by an average of 5.8% in March 2026 but kept daily and weekly caps frozen.
| Ticket type | Price | Validity | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single Tube, Zone 1 (peak) | £3,10 | One journey | Occasional trips |
| Single bus / tram | £1,75 | 1 hr (Hopper fare — unlimited transfers) | Bus-heavy days |
| Daily cap, Zones 1–2 | £8,90 | Mon–Sun, resets midnight | Up to ~4 Tube journeys |
| Weekly cap, Zones 1–2 | £44,70 | Mon–Sun | 5+ travel days, Mon start |
| 7-day Travelcard, Zones 1–2 (on Oyster) | £44,70 | Any 7 consecutive days | Mid-week arrivals |
| Paper single, Zone 1 | £7,00 | One journey | Avoid entirely |
(As of March 2026, Transport for London — tfl.gov.uk)
The bottom line: contactless is cheaper for most adults because you avoid the £7 non-refundable Oyster card fee. The daily cap kicks in after just 3–4 Tube journeys, so that fee is never truly "absorbed" — with contactless you're ahead from the very first tap.
The weekly cap runs Monday to Sunday. If your trip starts on a Wednesday, contactless accumulates daily caps across two separate Mon–Sun windows. In that case, loading a 7-day Travelcard onto an Oyster card (which runs for any 7 consecutive days) works out cheaper.
Step-by-step: how to get started
- Check your bank card. If it supports contactless and your bank doesn't charge foreign transaction fees, you're ready — no Oyster needed. Cards from Revolut, Wise, or most major European banks work without surcharges.
- If you want Oyster: buy a standard Oyster card (£7 fee) at any Tube station ticket machine or customer service point on arrival. Alternatively, order a Visitor Oyster card at visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk before your trip — costs £7 plus minimum £10 credit, shipped to your home.
- For kids aged 11–15: a 50% discount is available via an Oyster Zip Card. This is not on-the-spot — it requires an online application at tfl.gov.uk with a digital photo, and at least 2 weeks' processing time. Apply before you leave. Without a Zip Card, children aged 11–15 pay the full adult fare on contactless. Children aged 0–10 travel free with an accompanying adult (up to 4 children per adult).
- Download the TfL Go app (iOS / Android — search "TfL Go" in your app store). It lets you track spending, check your daily cap progress, and top up Oyster remotely.
- Always tap in AND tap out on the Tube. On buses, tap in only — never tap out, or you risk a penalty fare.
Getting from Heathrow to the city
This is where most tourists get it wrong — and where the price difference is starkest.
| Option | Journey time | On-the-day fare | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piccadilly line (Tube) | ~50 min | £5,90 (contactless/Oyster) | Slowest, cheapest, counts toward daily cap |
| Elizabeth line | ~35 min to Paddington | £15,80 (contactless/Oyster) | Best balance of speed and price |
| Heathrow Express | 15 min | £26 standard / from £10 advance | Paddington only; children under 16 free |
(As of March 2026, TfL and Heathrow Express — tfl.gov.uk, heathrowexpress.com)
The Elizabeth line is the default recommendation. It's modern, step-free, serves central London stations directly (Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street), and your contactless card covers the whole journey — no separate ticket needed. The fare counts toward your Zone 1–6 daily cap of £16,30, so if you make any further TfL journeys that day, the effective cost of the Heathrow leg goes down.
The Heathrow Express makes sense only if you book at least 45 days in advance (from £10), your hotel is near Paddington, or you're travelling with children — kids under 16 ride free on the Express, versus under 11 on TfL services.
Note: The Heathrow Express does not serve Terminal 4. If you land at T4, take the Elizabeth line.
Common mistakes
Mistake: Buying a paper ticket at a Tube station machine. Fix: A Zone 1 paper single costs £7,00 — more than double the contactless/Oyster fare of £3,10. Paper tickets exist for visitors who can't use any other method. You almost certainly can.
Mistake: Splitting journeys across different contactless cards or devices to "share" a daily cap. Fix: TfL tracks caps per payment method. Using two different cards means two separate caps, not one shared one. Each traveller needs their own card or device.
Mistake: Assuming the Heathrow Express is the only fast option from the airport. Fix: The Elizabeth line takes about 35 minutes — 20 minutes slower than the Express — but costs over £10 less per person on the day. At the airport, Express staff often stand near ticket machines. Know your options before you reach the barriers.
Travelling with a buggy or pram
Step-free access on the London Underground is improving but remains incomplete. Around 100 of 272 Tube stations are step-free from street to platform, including most Zone 1 tourist hubs: King's Cross, Paddington, Waterloo, Westminster, London Bridge, and Tottenham Court Road.
The Elizabeth line is fully step-free end to end — every station, every platform, wide doors and level boarding. For families with a buggy, it's the most practical line in the city.
On buses, buggies are welcome unfolded if space allows — there's a dedicated area near the centre doors. During school hours and rush hour, buses can be crowded; keep that in mind for Zones 1–2 routes.
Check the TfL step-free map at tfl.gov.uk/maps before planning a route. Stations marked with the wheelchair symbol are step-free from street to train. For stations that are not step-free, TfL's Journey Planner has a "step-free routes only" filter.
✅ Roamy's quick checklist
- Use contactless if you're an adult with a fee-free bank card — saves £7 on Oyster fees from day one
- Apply for an Oyster Zip Card at least 2 weeks before travelling if you have kids aged 11–15 — it's not available on the day
- Take the Elizabeth line from Heathrow — £15,80 vs £26 for the Heathrow Express
- Never tap out on a bus — tap in only
- Check your daily cap progress in the TfL Go app to know when further journeys are free
For the complete London transport guide — Tube zones, night services, river buses and more — visit roammate.eu/cities/london.html.