swee'pea99
Legendary Member
I thought about that too, but having googled, it seems that America doesn't really do contactless.
Looking for travel advice -London Heathrow to Russell Square with a family
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marknotgeorge
Hol den Vorschlaghammer!
- Location
- Derby.
Aren't teenagers a bit old for those heely things? Bit dangerous on the Tube too...
jonny jeez
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chislehurst, Kent, UK
total codswallop, unless you are travelling around midnight and even then the road works will be out in force. Tube is your best shot, far less stressful as you aren't sat there watching the cost go up every 3 seconds as you sit on traffic not going anyplace.
Not many do these days.
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
The Oyster gates are now contactless-enabled at the same price, so if you have or can get contactless payment cards/phones which gives you a sensible exchange rate (including any fees), I'd use them for the adults and get Zip Oysters for the children if you've enough time before your visit.
Also I'd use the public cycle hire (nicknamed Boris bikes, similar to hubway) for short journeys along CS3, CS6, Quietway 1 and National Cycle Routes 4 and 13 - basically, the green + in the middle of https://mapzen.com/products/maps/walkabout/bike-map/#lat=51.5120&lng=-0.1034&z=13.9167 and the green routes to the southeast. At £2 per bike per day for sub-30-minute rides (IIRC), it's much cheaper than the tube and without all the going down/up and playing sardines, plus you might ride past interesting stuff too.
snorri
Legendary Member
- Location
- East coast, up a bit.
Just a friendly caution, not an insurmountable problem, but using a credit card issued in the US may not be as straightforward as using UK cards.
https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless/what-are-contactless-payment-cards
edit to add eight words at start of my post
https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless/what-are-contactless-payment-cards
edit to add eight words at start of my post
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mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Yeah, but one could buy an Oyster at Heathrow Visitor Centre if a card turns out not to work, as long as you arrive during opening hours and you're not in a tearing rush to get to the hotel - but I'd try to get cards that should work for UK contactless payments because it's so much nicer not handling grubby keypads for low-value transactions.
nickyboy
Norven Mankey
- Location
- You want hills? We got hills
I've been with clients from Canada, HK, Singapore and PRC in the recent past and they've all been ok with their DR/CR cards on the tube. However I do appreciate that USA may be....err....different
vickster
Legendary Member
If lots of luggage, Could book a people carrier minicab for fixed fare through a company local to LHR. Still more than tube
HertzvanRental
Veteran
That's interesting. Assuming you have contactless cards, does it work in the same way as an OC? Just swipe at the start and end of the journey for the same rate?
nickyboy
Norven Mankey
- Location
- You want hills? We got hills
Exactly the same. Hence most locals just use their DR/CR cards these days
HertzvanRental
Veteran
Thanks!
jonny jeez
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chislehurst, Kent, UK
You could but in truth luggage isn't a major pain, both ends have an escalator or lift so most of the things me it will be sat next to a seat.
Maybe a few internal stairs to negotiate, which is a small pain
OP
OP
Nigeyy
Legendary Member
- Location
- Massachusetts, USA
It's funny but the USA has been a bit behind the times with credit cards. It was only about a year or so ago I actually had my old magnetic strip only card replaced with a chip card. Going back about 3-4 years ago I tried to pay for my brother's petrol at a filling station and was told since I didn't have a chip card they couldn't accept it! Interestingly last year I "paid" with my credit card at a small UK Indian restaurant and the charge didn't appear, contacted the owner and he didn't get payment -I was back in the States by then (did get my sister to drop by and pay the bill in cash however). Don't know if the owner made a mistake, but my credit card company didn't seem to have their act together just telling me the restaurant charge was subsequently "removed" for absolutely no reason -that owner could have been easily stiffed.
So given all that, I think it's safe to say I won't use a contactless US card even if I had one unless I'm at the point of sale with a real person (BTW, are contactless cards the same as chip cards?).
Either way, I'll have time on my side to get transportation sorted out, so that won't be a problem, and I'll be at LHR to do that with no great hurry. And... DC/CR = Docklands? What does CR stand for? Guessing not Costa Rica. Just tried to google with no luck. If I'm at LHR I'm guessing it's still easier to get a touristy oyster card. Thanks again for all the responses.
So given all that, I think it's safe to say I won't use a contactless US card even if I had one unless I'm at the point of sale with a real person (BTW, are contactless cards the same as chip cards?).
Either way, I'll have time on my side to get transportation sorted out, so that won't be a problem, and I'll be at LHR to do that with no great hurry. And... DC/CR = Docklands? What does CR stand for? Guessing not Costa Rica. Just tried to google with no luck. If I'm at LHR I'm guessing it's still easier to get a touristy oyster card. Thanks again for all the responses.
