I’m currently in London for the week and I haven’t been here since 2022, before we got Apple Pay in Kuwait.
One cool benefit I realized I now have on this trip is that I can use the London Underground by just tapping my phone on the yellow card readers. I don’t even need to double tap the side button or even activate Face ID, I just take my phone out of my pocket, touch the yellow card reader and it automatically takes the money from my account and lets me through. It also works if you have Google Pay but I haven’t tried that.
Another cool thing I got to try on this trip is the eGate at the airport. Because I have the Canadian passport and I was alone, I was able to use the egate at passport control which meant I didn’t have to wait in any line and was through passport control in under a minute. Anyone who’s had to wait in line for an hour at LHR knows going through in under a minute is just insane.
Other than that its freezing and wet over here right now. I keep forgetting how cold it really gets outside of Kuwait and so I never pack enough winter clothes.
12 replies on “No Need to Buy London Underground Tickets Anymore”
It’s interesting to hear that they came up with this benefit just now in London, UK. I first saw it in the Moscow metro around the year 2017 so I was able to use the metro there by tapping my credit and I didn’t need to buy any tickets. I also experienced it in Kiev and Minsk metro stations in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
Do you not check the weather before you pack? 😂
can you recommend good hotel to stay
I’m staying at Kingsland Locke. It’s my second time here in a row, I really like it. Neighborhood is cool, no tourists, good coffee shops and bakeries but don’t think it’s for everyone.
The tapping card and phone thing has been working for a long time and have used it when I was living in London back in 2017. The express thing maybe new but tap and pay, apple pay, google pay all could be used!
We only got Apple Pay last year
To anyone wanting to use the underground. Never buy an Oyster card, it is a scam. The Oyster card charges per journey while the debit card charges a day fare (much cheaper).
No that is absolutely wrong. Oyster cards also caps out after a certain amount has been triggered and will not charge you extra after that amount. For eg, if you travel 2 trips within zone 1 it will charge you GBP 3.5 (idk current tariffs) but if you travel 5 trips within zone 1 it will hit the max charge of the day GBP 5 (again not sure about current tariffs). The reason why you only see the day charges on your debit card as opposed to the oyster card is that your trips are accumulated at the end of the day and processed by the network and if you hit the cap for that day then you will only be charged for the max limit for that day whereas in oyster card it happens real time and automatically when you hit the day pass it won’t charge you anymore. Idk if this has made things clearer but they are both the same. Oyster might end up slightly cheaper if you think about the forex or processing charges.
I didn’t know that, I was told that it was a scam by a commuter once, considering what the uk is, like I happily believed him. Thank you for correcting me. But I refuse to back down on the cheaper part. You’re paying for the journey regardless, meaning you’ll always be paying forex, you can always get a sterling account with banks like Nomo while in Kuwait to avoid constantly exchanging currencies with every transaction. You also have to remember the oyster card’s £5 deposit, lack of convince and hassle of getting a large refund.
Glad you were able to understand what I typed out lol. There is also a weekly cap that will be automatically triggered once you reach a certain amount within a specific zone after which you won’t be charged.
Yes, I agree if you have a forex card then it will work out to be same as topping up the oyster card with the converted currency. Convenience wise for travelers – forex cards are the best option.
When I am in London for a week, I always buy a 7-day oyster card. It has a fixed cap. It does not matter how many trips I make in a day, I know I will not be charged beyond what I have paid for the Oyster. I am pretty sure the same does not apply for the credit cards.
The express mode for transit on iPhone is also available on the New York subway!