For those of you who are already living in the UK, you might have questions about the Oyster Card that you keep hearing about. Today, Peyton & Charmed will explain the Oyster Card to help you understand what it is and which type of Oyster Card is suitable for students like us.
🚇 The Oyster Card is a Smart Card that you can top up with money to pay for travel. The advantage of this card is that you can use it both in and outside of London 🗺️, and it covers the Underground (Tube), Tram, DLR (Docklands Light Railway), London Overground, buses, and even Thames Clippers River Bus services.
Oyster Cards are divided into 2 types. If you buy the card in London 📍, you will get a Standard Oyster Card. But if you buy it outside of London 📍, you will get a Visitor Oyster Card instead. The fee for the Standard Oyster Card in 2024 is £7, and for the Visitor Oyster Card, it's £5 💷.
🧑🏻🎓 And for students over 18 years old studying in London, we recommend applying for the 18+ Student Oyster Photocard instead. You will receive a 30% discount on travel fares from the full price. This card will expire when you graduate, and your college or university will notify you when your course ends. After that, the card will stop working, and the application fee for this card in 2024 is £25.
Therefore, for students studying in London, we recommend getting the Oyster Card for students aged 18 and over. Besides being easy to use by simply topping up the card as usual, you also get a larger discount than using a Contactless Card to pay for fares.
