What happens if your Oyster card runs out of money?

If you run out of credit, you can top up your card at any station or at thousands of shops throughout London. You can also make one bus journey without any credit. The cost of the journey will be deducted when you next top up your Visitor Oyster card.



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If you have a negative balance, you must add credit to clear it before you can use it again.

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The pay as you go credit on your Visitor Oyster card never expires so you can keep your card until your next visit, or lend it to family and friends. If you don't need your Visitor Oyster card, you can get the remaining credit refunded.

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Unused credit on your Visitor Oyster card The pay as you go credit on your Visitor Oyster card never expires so you can keep your card until your next visit, or lend it to family and friends. If you don't need your Visitor Oyster card, you can get the remaining credit refunded.

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It's memory space, TfL recently said that there were 16.5 million dormant Oyster cards out there with just under 30 million pounds of credit on them. No computer system really wants to have to remember 16.5 million details on its active servers if it can avoid it. So dormant accounts are moved off the active system.

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Is it cheaper to use Oyster or contactless? As both cards use the same Pay As You Go system and are compatible with the TfL Oyster & Contactless app, the costs are comparable. As a tourist in London, it can be worth getting an Oyster Card as part of the London Pass.

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As a general rule a Travelcard is more expensive than an Oyster card or Contactless payment card. The exception is if you make 3 or more journeys for 6 days or more within a 7 day period. In this case a 7 day Travelcard works out cheaper than an Oyster or Contactless payment card.

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Any contactless payment card such as a debit card, credit card, or prepaid virtual card can be used to perform a contactless payment. The contactless payment is performed exactly the same way as with an Oyster card. Just tap the yellow card reader using a contactless card at the start and end of your journey.

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Oyster Cards are reusable so you can load and reload your card as many times as you need to while you're here. Visitors can even take their Oyster Cards back home with them and either keep them as souvenirs or hold onto them until their next trip to London!

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Supports cash: If you want to pay for your transport in London using cash, you can buy and top up an Oyster card with cash. This is normally a lot more cost effective than paying for a cash ticket, with the rare exception of a one-off single journey as you have to consider the cost of the Oyster card.

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The minimum top up amount is £5, and top ups must be made in increments of £5. Topping up at Newsagents You can top up your oyster card at many independent shops around London, just like you can at a station. Look out for the Oyster Card sign in the shop window. Why register my card online?

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It is significantly cheaper to travel in London using an Oyster card than it is to purchase individual tickets for each trip. The only reason you would want to just buy individual tickets is if you are only using public transportation once or twice during your stay.

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Travelcards can start on any day. You can buy Travelcards on Oyster: Online with a contactless and Oyster account, if you have a UK bank account - 7 Day, Monthly and Annual Travelcards, or one with start and end dates you choose (any length between 1½ and 10½ months)

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