Disney Magic How To Do London Like A Local

[dcassetta]

May I ask? When were you last in London?

Personally as a Londoner I disagree and think this is poor advice and confusing.

As posted before.

https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-informati...g-around-london/best-ways-for-visitors-to-pay

From TFL Transport for London.

In the end the readers will have to decide what they wish to do..........

One will cause hassle and I actually think for the " wrong" reasons on someone just wanting to disagree with me.

Not that this is really your business or an issue here, but March. I went with my mom who was in London for the first time in 20 years and does not anticipate returning. I used the Oyster card I have had for a number of years and we purchased one for her upon arriving. We refunded it before our flight at Heathrow. She tapped the card, received cash back and bought some Dairy Milk at the duty-free. I think Transport for London does an excellent job of accommodating visitors. The site you linked provided several options for visitors, including obtaining an Oyster card.

The poster who was asking about transport would have to talk to their bank to try and obtain a contactless card, and the site you linked to mentions specifically "Overseas transaction fees or charges may apply for non-UK cards. This will be one charge per day, not each time you travel. Please check with your card issuer." Would this not be a hassle?

I am not posting "just to disagree with you". I was giving someone advice from my personal experience that I thought might be helpful.

I am sure you don't mean to sound like you are the only person who has knowledge of London and London Transport, but you are coming off that way.

 

[dcassetta]

I'm just looking for the easiest way to get around. Saving $5 isn't as important as not having issues. Can we pay with cash? It's a long trip and London is the final 2 days, so I'm expecting some exhaustion by that point. The same thing happened last time we were there - 3 days at the tail end of a month abroad - and I always end up not as prepared for the end of the trip as the beginning. I'm probably also less concerned (probably not a good thing TBH) since I've been to London quite a few times but I also know that things change, especially with all the tech and security stuff.

Yes, on the tube and rail journeys. You would just buy single ticket at the machine. But, it more expensive than using contactless or Oyster. You cannot use cash on buses.

 

[mmmears]

We refunded it before our flight at Heathrow. She tapped the card, received cash back and bought some Dairy Milk at the duty-free. I think Transport for London does an excellent job of accommodating visitors. The site you linked provided several options for visitors, including obtaining an Oyster card.


The poster who was asking about transport would have to talk to their bank to try and obtain a contactless card, and the site you linked to mentions specifically "Overseas transaction fees or charges may apply for non-UK cards. This will be one charge per day, not each time you travel. Please check with your card issuer." Would this not be a hassle?

Yes, I'm trying to avoid getting another card, just for 2 days worth of tube rides. So there's a way of getting the cash back when we are at Heathrow? That would be ideal since we're flying out of there after our days in London. I'll definitely look into that. And we don't need a special card to purchase the Oyster cards? The card we use now has no foreign transaction fees.

 

[mmmears]

Apparently Apple Pay can also be used... so it sounds like there is no need for a contactless card for those of us who have Apple Pay.

 

[dcassetta]

Yes, I'm trying to avoid getting another card, just for 2 days worth of tube rides. So there's a way of getting the cash back when we are at Heathrow? That would be ideal since we're flying out of there after our days in London. I'll definitely look into that. And we don't need a special card to purchase the Oyster cards? The card we use now has no foreign transaction fees.

Purchased mom's Oyster card with her US bank credit card. We could've used cash also.

Apparently Apple Pay can also be used... so it sounds like there is no need for a contactless card for those of us who have Apple Pay.

I have no experience with Apple Pay, so would be interested to hear about your experiences when you return.

 

[mmmears]

Purchased mom's Oyster card with her US bank credit card. We could've used cash also.

I have no experience with Apple Pay, so would be interested to hear about your experiences when you return.

Thanks, that helps. I never use AP, but my DH uses it all the time, so if he uses it for this I'll be happy to share our experience with it.

 

[seelyt2]

Thank you for mentioning Apple Pay - this is comforting! When I called Disney Chase credit card services the rep said they don't issue pins (only for cash withdrawals) after I said we were going to London. I think she's confused?

 

[Dug720]

Thank you for mentioning Apple Pay - this is comforting! When I called Disney Chase credit card services the rep said they don't issue pins (only for cash withdrawals) after I said we were going to London. I think she's confused?

I thought the PIN for cash advances was the same PIN you would use at a Chip-and-PIN card reader sales point.

 

[seelyt2]

I thought the PIN for cash advances was the same PIN you would use at a Chip-and-PIN card reader sales point.

If anyone knows, please chime in. At any rate, I don't have a pin for withdrawals, either. She told me to call the international number on the back of the card if I run into issues. Not very comforting, honestly. I only plan to use it on incidentals and souvenirs since my husband will be using his card (with pin and no foreign transaction fees) for the major stuff.

 

[seelyt2]

I called my Disney Chase (again) to speak with a different rep, who said the same thing as the first. She said the pin they provide is only for cash withdrawals (NOT what I want). I told her I keep reading that I'll need a pin at kiosks, like when ordering train tickets, for example. She said there is a way to by-pass this by pressing "skip". Boy, I hope she's right! I hope someone can speak to this...

 

[RogueKnits]

I called my Disney Chase (again) to speak with a different rep, who said the same thing as the first. She said the pin they provide is only for cash withdrawals (NOT what I want). I told her I keep reading that I'll need a pin at kiosks, like when ordering train tickets, for example. She said there is a way to by-pass this by pressing "skip". Boy, I hope she's right! I hope someone can speak to this...

From what I understand, there is an override, but you would have to be somewhere with a clerk who can do the override and make it a chip + signature transaction instead of chip + PIN. So, your card may not work at the self-serve kiosks. But, I don't have any direct experience (yet), that's just what I've surmised based on my own anxious researching. Not sure why the US didn't go to chip + PIN like the rest of the world when they issued us all new chip cards a few years back.

 

[dcassetta]

I called my Disney Chase (again) to speak with a different rep, who said the same thing as the first. She said the pin they provide is only for cash withdrawals (NOT what I want). I told her I keep reading that I'll need a pin at kiosks, like when ordering train tickets, for example. She said there is a way to by-pass this by pressing "skip". Boy, I hope she's right! I hope someone can speak to this...

Not a Chase Visa, but mom had no issue using her US bank card in London. She was not required to enter a PIN.

 

[pjacobi]

US = Chip and Signature for purchases, PIN used only for (very expensive) cash advances
UK/Europe = Chip and PIN for everything

In general, you cannot use a US credit card at unattended kiosks in UK/Europe. Use cash.

For restaurants and shops in U.K./Europe, you can uses US credit card, but will need to sign receipt.


-Paul

 

[poison ivy]

I called my Disney Chase (again) to speak with a different rep, who said the same thing as the first. She said the pin they provide is only for cash withdrawals (NOT what I want). I told her I keep reading that I'll need a pin at kiosks, like when ordering train tickets, for example. She said there is a way to by-pass this by pressing "skip". Boy, I hope she's right! I hope someone can speak to this...

I don't carry a chase visa. Only capital one and credit one and both mailed us a pin number under separate cover when we were planning our trip to the UK last July. But we never needed to use it so I'm not sure if this number would have worked at a kiosk. We used our Capital one to buy gifts and the sales clerk rung it up without asking for a pin number.

We also carry American Express and they gave us the same story Chase gave you - pins are only issued for cash advances which we don't have as an option on our cards. When we inquired as to what to do if we're asked for a pin number at the point of sale they told us to use the 4 digit code on the front of the card. This is something I can confirm works.

What happened to us is exactly what you describe. We unexpectedly found ourselves needing to ride the Tube and were in front of a kiosk to buy tickets. We had both the Amex card and cash (British pound) on us. This kiosk accepted either method of payment so we used the Amex and it prompted us for a pin number with no option I saw to skip. When we entered in the 4 digit code on the face of the card, it worked.

I wrote about our experience here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...les-cruise-2017.3623371/page-10#post-58280105

 

[dvcdisney]

Not sure why the US didn't go to chip + PIN like the rest of the world when they issued us all new chip cards a few years back.

I'm actually surprised about this as well. I've had the chip for 10yrs now (Canada) and whenever we go to the US, we're still surprised that we still need to sign the receipt. I thought US started with the chip a few years ago...perhaps it's only some places.

However, I do notice that in some places in Canada, the machines still have BOTH chip or magnetic strip capabilities. So, perhaps it would be feasible for tourists places in the UK to have this option for visitors (especially US) who don't have the chip technology.

 

[mmmears]

I'm actually surprised about this as well. I've had the chip for 10yrs now (Canada) and whenever we go to the US, we're still surprised that we still need to sign the receipt. I thought US started with the chip a few years ago...perhaps it's only some places.

However, I do notice that in some places in Canada, the machines still have BOTH chip or magnetic strip capabilities. So, perhaps it would be feasible for tourists places in the UK to have this option for visitors (especially US) who don't have the chip technology.

The US has the chip part. But it's chip & signature, not chip & PIN. When using a card at an automatic kiosk the chip & signature isn't an option.

 

[dvcdisney]

The US has the chip part. But it's chip & signature, not chip & PIN. When using a card at an automatic kiosk the chip & signature isn't an option.

Oh, okay. Now I understand the frustration.

Before we had the chip and pin, we had the swipe and pin....so it was a natural progression to chip+pin.

 

[cruiser21]

I called my Disney Chase (again) to speak with a different rep, who said the same thing as the first. She said the pin they provide is only for cash withdrawals (NOT what I want). I told her I keep reading that I'll need a pin at kiosks, like when ordering train tickets, for example. She said there is a way to by-pass this by pressing "skip". Boy, I hope she's right! I hope someone can speak to this...

You do not need a pin. It's chip and sign. I've been in about 10 European countries and it's the same everywhere.

 

[seelyt2]

Thank you!

 

[janiebubble]

Apparently Apple Pay can also be used... so it sounds like there is no need for a contactless card for those of us who have Apple Pay.

I use my Apple Watch to pay on the tube every time I visit now