Can an Oyster card be used immediately once a railcard discount is added?

[Tayway]

I am looking to buy an Oyster card when I arrive in London next week to take advantage of the 1/3 discount with a 16-25 Railcard.

I presume I can just purchase the card at an Underground station and ask a staff member to add the discount (will likely be King's Cross St Pancras), but I was wondering if the discount takes effect immediately – I'm only in London for a few days so it might not be worth the bother (and £7 fee) if not.

 

[JBuchananGB]

I think the only catch might be that you have to register an Oyster card in order to have a discount attached. But you could create a TfL account now ready to do that, and then having bought the card and before seeking out the staff member to add the discount, you'll need to log on to the account and add the Oyster card to the account. Then the discount comes into effect immediately. No doubt if I have go this wrong someone will be along soon to correct me.

 

[alex94]

I have just added a new railcard to my Oyster a few days ago and can confirm that the discount is added immediately.
The previous post is also correct about the need to register the railcard.

Also note that staff members can add your railcard discount to the Oyster card on the ticket machines - no need to queue at a ticket office!

 

[Haywain]

I’ve a recollection of having to use a new Oyster card and then wait 24 hours before adding a railcard discount (as well as registering the card). But as it’s a few years since I’ve needed to do that I might not have remembered correctly. @MikeWh is the expert on this though.

 

[signed]

), but I was wondering if the discount takes effect immediately – I'm only in London for a few days so it might not be worth the bother (and £7 fee) if not.

I had the discount immediately added at the Visitor Center in KGX/STP.

The attendant got the discount added at the same time I bought the card, but you will absolutely need to register it after on the TfL app using the password you gave at purchase time.

 

[pelli]

Searching the forum for "Oyster railcard register" yields the following results, with selected quotes:

Oyster Card 'Registration' and Railcard Discount (8 Aug 2023)

Registering on the website isn't the same as registering a card. Station staff can 'register' your card in the process of adding a railcard discount (you can't add a railcard via self-service means).

There are two types of registration. Basic and full.

Basic is what most people have. An oyster account to protect against theft and loss. This isn't connected to the back office system that the ticket machines run off, so your basic registered oyster will show as unregistered on the machines.

Full registration is done by staff on the ticket office machine computer. This is only really done for people who are registering an oyster for a PRIV discount for the first time. The information taken is more detailed than a basic registration. When this card is presented to the ticket ,machine, it will show as registered. Hope that helps.

Re railcard. When we put a discount on a basic registered oyster, we "trick" the machine into thinking it's fully registered by providing a postcode and and a password....but this can be ABC and not the real details.

Heathrow + Liz Line + Z1, best all-day ticket now? (2 May 2023)

I thought they had to be registered online and used at least once prior to a railcard being added?

Not in my experience.

Although my Oyster card did end up as “registered” in the system (despite me not having done so) when the Oyster card was added, requiring a call to TfL to actually register it to my account

My recollection is that an Oyster card must be registered, and must have been used, before a discount can be added. I had to incur a bus fare in order to get a railcard discount added.

Years ago, when I first added a railcard discount, staff insisted on giving a postcode and making up a password at the machine. This, it later turned out, constituted registering the card.

In my case (last year), the staff member asked me “are you from around here?” - I answered no (I was living in Sheffield at the time, though my American accent may have given a different impression) and he proceeded to enter some random London postcode. I wasn’t asked for a password.

As I said above, this did apparently still constitute registering the card, just not in any way that was useful to me.

The Oyster card was brand new - I bought it off a TVM and immediately asked a staff member (off the gateline) to apply my railcard.

And actually in a way that is particularly useless as it prevents you doing it subsequently. For that reason I would strongly advise anyone wanting to add a discount to register the card beforehand.

I called TfL the next day and they were able to re-register it to me with minimal fuss. So not ideal, but there isn’t really a better way on a brand new card (I suspect this is fairly common, as it’s essentially the only reason to have an Oyster card these days), as I believe you need a journey history to register a new card.

I believe the requirement to make a journey before registering the card online (which appears to not be necessary to apply the railcard discount anyway), is for proving you are the user of the card. When you try to "Add an existering card" in your online account the instructions say "Confirming that you are the card holder: We will ask you to confirm a security question and answer, or to give us details of the last journey you made with the Oyster card. The journey must have been made within the last 8 weeks (but not today). If you have not yet provided us with a security question and answer, and you have not used the Oyster card to travel in the last 8 weeks you will be unable to create an account. Please make a journey using the Oyster card and try again the next day."

 

[miklcct]

Searching the forum for "Oyster railcard register" yields the following results, with selected quotes:

Oyster Card 'Registration' and Railcard Discount (8 Aug 2023)



Heathrow + Liz Line + Z1, best all-day ticket now? (2 May 2023)







I believe the requirement to make a journey before registering the card online (which appears to not be necessary to apply the railcard discount anyway), is for proving you are the user of the card. When you try to "Add an existering card" in your online account the instructions say "Confirming that you are the card holder: We will ask you to confirm a security question and answer, or to give us details of the last journey you made with the Oyster card. The journey must have been made within the last 8 weeks (but not today). If you have not yet provided us with a security question and answer, and you have not used the Oyster card to travel in the last 8 weeks you will be unable to create an account. Please make a journey using the Oyster card and try again the next day."

My experience was that I had to make a journey first, then wait for the next day to register my card. Once registered, the discount could be added.

 

[redreni]

At which station will you arrive in London?

Sounds like it might be an idea to go to the Visitor Centre if there is one (they're at Kings Cross/St Pancras as mentioned, also at Liverpool Street and Victoria). I'm not sure if the security question/answer method of verification is available if you buy the card from a TVM?

 

[Tayway]

At which station will you arrive in London?

Sounds like it might be an idea to go to the Visitor Centre if there is one (they're at Kings Cross/St Pancras as mentioned, also at Liverpool Street and Victoria). I'm not sure if the security question/answer method of verification is available if you buy the card from a TVM?

I had the discount immediately added at the Visitor Center in KGX/STP.

The attendant got the discount added at the same time I bought the card, but you will absolutely need to register it after on the TfL app using the password you gave at purchase time.

Thanks both, I will be arriving into King's Cross so will try this method. I already have a TfL account from using Contactless last year, so hopefully it won't be too much of a pain to register it online.

 

[island]

Just to note that there is no requirement for online registration, or waiting a day, or anything like that. You can add a Railcard discount to a brand new Oyster card if desired, assuming a competent staff member can be found to put it through on a POM (Underground ticket machine). You do not need to have travelled. You do not need to go online, or on the TfL app.

If an unregistered Oyster card is presented by a staff member for adding a Railcard discount, the POM will prompt for the customer to enter a postcode and a password. This counts as registering the Oyster card as far as the POM is concerned. The Railcard discount can then be set by the staff member.

The card can then be used with no further action required of the customer. The postcode and/or password and/or details of a journey made may subsequently be requested by TfL if seeking to register the Oyster card to an online account, which is optional, or when making other interactions with customer service.

 

[redreni]

Good to know, thanks!

 

[Tayway]

Update – I bought my Oyster card from the ticket machines at Kings Cross St Pancras, and found a member of gateline staff who swiftly added the discount.

This morning I've re-registered it online, using the password I made at the ticket machine as the answer to the security question it asks for.

Thankfully a largely painless process!