Yes, you can use most National Railcards on the Tube (London Underground), DLR, London Overground, and Elizabeth line to get 1/3 off Oyster pay-as-you-go fares. To use it, you must link your Railcard to an Oyster card by visiting a staff member at a Tube station.
You will need to have registered your Oyster in your name to do this. Simply take your Oyster card and valid Railcard to a London Underground station and ask a member of staff to set the discount for you. You can also get the discount set at Oyster Ticket Shops and Visitor Centres.
Is it cheaper to tap your card on the Underground?
Pay as you go is cheaper than buying a paper single or return ticket (train companies may offer special deals on some journeys). In Zones 1-9, your pay as you go fare is capped so you can travel as much as you like in one day or week (Monday to Sunday), without paying more.
Railcard discounts can be applied to your Oyster card to get up to 1/3 off pay as you go travel. There are also many ways to get child rate fares with Oyster.
If your journey involves travelling via or across London to connect with another National Rail service, your ticket should include the cost of transfer on London Underground, DLR, Thameslink or Elizabeth line services between the relevant stations.
HOW TO PAY FOR LONDON UNDERGROUND // Oyster vs Contactless Card
Does a railcard cover the tube?
Add your National Railcard to your Oyster card to get discounted travel on the Tube, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth line and National Rail services.
Traditionally, if you bought a through ticket which needed a journey across London on the tube, the journey would be covered by the ticket. Yes, the underground gatelines do accept your printed National Rail ticket!
Yes, linking your eligible Railcard to an Oyster card is generally worth it for significant savings (around 1/3 off) on off-peak Tube, DLR, Overground, Elizabeth line, and National Rail journeys within London, paying as you go. While it requires using a physical Oyster card (not contactless) and getting the discount set up at a station, the savings often quickly cover the Railcard's cost, making it a great hack for regular London visitors or residents with qualifying cards (like 26-30, Senior, Two Together).
Pay as you go (paying only for the journeys you make) is the easiest way to pay for travel in London. You don't have to work out the cost of your journey in advance. You can pay as you go using contactless (card or device), an Oyster card or a Visitor Oyster card.
A constituent has raised that many discounts such as railcards rely on use of a physical Oyster card and cannot be linked to contactless payment and therefore to mobile payments like Apple Pay on the Transport for London (TfL) network.
What is the cheapest way to pay for the tube in London?
You can get discounts on the London Underground (Tube) primarily through National Railcards, Oyster Photocard programs (for students, apprentices, seniors, veterans, care leavers), or by travelling off-peak. Railcards like the 16-25, 26-30, Senior, or Forces card can give 1/3 off off-peak pay-as-you-go fares when linked to an Oyster card, while specific Oyster photocard schemes offer significant savings for London residents in certain situations.
London's "1 hour rule" refers to the Hopper Fare, which allows unlimited bus and tram journeys for a single £1.75 fare within one hour of your first tap-in, using the same contactless or Oyster card. It means you can switch between buses and trams as much as you like, even linking with the Tube or DLR (though the main benefit is bus/tram hopping), without paying again, provided your subsequent taps are within 60 minutes of the initial touch.
You can use your 16-25 railcard to travel anywhere throughout Great Britain on the National Rail Network. The 16-25 railcard can also be used on the London Underground by loading the discount onto a physical Oyster card.
For example: a single Tube journey within zone 1 or between zones 1 and 2 outside the hours of 06:30 to 9:29 and from 16:00 to 18:59 or on a weekend would cost £2.40. With a railcard linked to your Oyster card, the same journey would cost £1.59.
If you don't touch in and out, we cannot tell where you've travelled from or to, so your journey will be incomplete. As we cannot work out the right fare for your journey, we'll charge you a maximum fare.
If you didn't know, you can save a third on pay-as-you-go tube, bus and tram fares during off-peak hours if you connect your railcard to your Oyster. It might feel a little retro using a physical Oyster card instead of contactless payments, but with the savings it's totally worth it.
A Visitor Oyster Card costs £5. You can then pre-load the card with pay-as-you-go credit, in quantities of £10, £15, £25, £40 or £50. The Visitor Oyster card is the cheapest way of getting around London as the maximum daily charges mean you travel free after you reach the 'daily cap'.
The price you're charged for travel with Oyster or a contactless card is the same - and in both cases the overall amount you can pay in a day or a week is capped. However, using Oyster or a contactless card is cheaper than buying paper tickets for your travel.
What's the best way to pay on the London Underground?
Using pay as you go (paying only for the journeys you make when you travel) is the easiest and cheapest way to pay for travel in London. You don't have to work out the cost of your journey in advance or buy tickets. You can pay as you go using: A contactless card or device (overseas charges may apply)
