Using up a Visitor Oyster Card down to the last penny?

[Martijn]

So, because all my previous trips to London were with a partner, I now have two Visitor Oyster Cards, each with a couple of pounds on them.
As I will be traveling alone for the foreseeable future, I was wondering if it's somehow possible to use up one of the cards, down to the last penny?

It's not like I can't afford to just top up the one card, but it seems silly to just leave a couple of unused pounds on the other…

 

[johnnychips]

Is it literally £2, or perhaps a bit more?

 

[Martijn]

Is it literally £2, or perhaps a bit more?

No way to check online or anything, but if I noted it down correctly, £3.30 or something like that (on both cards)…

 

[Nova1]

Can't oysters go into minus credit?

 

[plugwash]

AIUI technically they can go into the red due to the way PAYG is implemented (it takes an incomplete journey fare at touch-in and then corrects to the actual fare at touch out) but if you don't have enough credit for the journey you are actually making then you are in violation of the conditions and can be penalty fared.

 

[Martijn]

And there's no way to go in the red with one card, then pay what you're due with the other card?

 

[matt_world2004]

AIUI technically they can go into the red due to the way PAYG is implemented (it takes an incomplete journey fare at touch-in and then corrects to the actual fare at touch out) but if you don't have enough credit for the journey you are actually making then you are in violation of the conditions and can be penalty fared.

I don't think this is the case . There was a case in disputes a few years ago where Southern tried to prosecute such a case but the case got dropped when it was determined all you needed was a valid touch in to make a journey . The deposit is supposed to cover the cost of going into negative credit

 

[185143]

I don't think this is the case . There was a case in disputes a few years ago where Southern tried to prosecute such a case but the case got dropped when it was determined all you needed was a valid touch in to make a journey . The deposit is supposed to cover the cost of going into negative credit

I thought that was the whole point of the deposit. Also, isn't/wasn't there a feature to allow you to get one more bus even if it put you in a negative balance so you wouldn't be stranded?

 

[Springs Branch]

If the credit is less than £10, you can get one or both of the Oysters fully refunded in cash at Underground stations (possibly needs to be one of the main ones) or at a Visitor Centre.

I've done this several times without a problem at the Visitor Centre at Euston station as I've been leaving London, albeit with "conventional" Oyster cards purchased in London, rather than the Visitor variety.
(I have one of those pesky foreign Visa cards which works perfectly well for contactless everywhere in the UK except on TfL - hence the need to faff about with Oysters for the wife & myself)

Visitor Oyster credit no longer needed

What to do if you no longer need your TfL Visitor Oyster card.

tfl.gov.uk

Visitor Oyster credit no longer needed
If you no longer need your Visitor Oyster card, you can keep it for your next visit, give it to someone else to use or get a refund.
If you're still in London
Get a refund in person
If your remaining credit is £10 or less, you can get a refund from a Tube station ticket machine.

You can also get a refund at a Visitor Centre (except Gatwick).

Your Visitor Oyster card will be cancelled when we process this refund.

 

[zero]

You could just top it up to the exact amount needed for the last journey?

You can do this by card and cash at most national rail stations in the oyster area (5p increments) or coins only at tube stations that accept cash (10p increments). I think DLR stations may accept card for 10p too

If you refund an oyster with a balance ending in 5p at a tube station it gets rounded up!

I once saw someone use an oyster with a balance of £2.37 and I'm confused about how that was possible

 

[sjb-2812]

I once saw someone use an oyster with a balance of £2.37 and I'm confused about how that was possible

Probably something to do with railcard discounts? Mine has a balance of £**.21, for instance

 

[Alex365Dash]

Probably something to do with railcard discounts? Mine has a balance of £**.21, for instance

Fares discounted with a railcard are rounded up to the nearest 5p.

Is it possible to top up to 1p at Oyster Ticket Stops?

 

[sjb-2812]

Discounted fares may now be rounded up; but not sure if this has always been the case? I don't think I've topped up by anything other than a round number of pounds.

 

[swt_passenger]

Replacement cards issued by post a few years back, (when they needed to update the chip), came with 1p credit, because they couldn’t issue a replacement with nothing at all loaded.

 

[zero]

Replacement cards issued by post a few years back, (when they needed to update the chip), came with 1p credit, because they couldn’t issue a replacement with nothing at all loaded.

That answers having 1p or 6p as the final number, but I definitely saw someone with 7p

 

[bb21]

That answers having 1p or 6p as the final number, but I definitely saw someone with 7p

I have topped Oysters up previously with odd-pence Rail Travel Vouchers, which means one of my card ends with 2/7p and the other 3/8p.

 

[Joe Paxton]

I have topped Oysters up previously with odd-pence Rail Travel Vouchers, which means one of my card ends with 2/7p and the other 3/8p.

I don't want to derail the thread, but am I right in thinking there's now no way of topping up an Oyster with a Rail Travel Voucher?

 

[MikeWh]

I don't want to derail the thread, but am I right in thinking there's now no way of topping up an Oyster with a Rail Travel Voucher?

Correct.

 

[Martijn]

If the credit is less than £10, you can get one or both of the Oysters fully refunded in cash at Underground stations (possibly needs to be one of the main ones) or at a Visitor Centre.

The page you linked even states "you can get a refund from a Tube station ticket machine", so that would be the solution for my case…
Thanks!