Credit cards

If i buy a 1 day 2-6 off peak ticket at Heathrow can i use a machine or
do i have to go to the ticket seller ?

On 23 Sep 2006 10:17:34 -0700, "davidmetzger0@"
<davidmetzger0@> wrote:

>If i buy a 1 day 2-6 off peak ticket at Heathrow can i use a machine or
>do i have to go to the ticket seller ?

The touch screen machine should sell you that ticket.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

davidmetzger0@ wrote:
> If i buy a 1 day 2-6 off peak ticket at Heathrow can i use a machine or
> do i have to go to the ticket seller ?

I recall that you may be posting from the U.S. (Ignore this post if I'm
wrong.) I had problems convincing some of the ticket machines to accept
my U.S. credit card, since the U.S. hasn't adopted chip-and-PIN.

But the human ticket agents accept credit cards, including those issued
in the U.S.
--
David of Broadway
New York, NY, USA

David of Broadway <david.of.broadway@>typed


> davidmetzger0@ wrote:
> > If i buy a 1 day 2-6 off peak ticket at Heathrow can i use a machine or
> > do i have to go to the ticket seller ?

> I recall that you may be posting from the U.S. (Ignore this post if I'm
> wrong.) I had problems convincing some of the ticket machines to accept
> my U.S. credit card, since the U.S. hasn't adopted chip-and-PIN.

> But the human ticket agents accept credit cards, including those issued
> in the U.S.

Given the relatively trivial price of this ticket (£4.30) might you not
be better off paying cash? The machines can (sometimes) change large
notes and you will need to have some loose change for casual purchases
sooner or later.

It might make sense to break up a large note at an airport shop before
facing the Tube.

(You can then keep most of your valuables secure and have small change
and your Travelcard handy & accessible.)

--
Helen D. Vecht: helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk
Edgware.

Helen Deborah Vecht wrote:
> David of Broadway <david.of.broadway@>typed
>
>
>> davidmetzger0@ wrote:
>>> If i buy a 1 day 2-6 off peak ticket at Heathrow can i use a machine or
>>> do i have to go to the ticket seller ?
>
>> I recall that you may be posting from the U.S. (Ignore this post if I'm
>> wrong.) I had problems convincing some of the ticket machines to accept
>> my U.S. credit card, since the U.S. hasn't adopted chip-and-PIN.
>
>> But the human ticket agents accept credit cards, including those issued
>> in the U.S.
>
> Given the relatively trivial price of this ticket (£4.30) might you not
> be better off paying cash? The machines can (sometimes) change large
> notes and you will need to have some loose change for casual purchases
> sooner or later.

Some people, myself included, find cash an unnecessary hassle to deal
with where credit cards are accepted. I use credit cards wherever
possible, /especially/ while traveling, simply to avoid the hassle.

Also, some people may face smaller fees with credit cards than with ATM
cards. (Not I -- neither my credit cards nor my ATM card charge fees.)

FWIW: When I arrived at Heathrow, I withdrew £100 from my bank account.
When I left three weeks later, I still had cash left over. I paid for
nearly everything by credit card. And now that the bill has arrived, I
not only have a nearly day-by-day reminder of where I've been, I even
have a day-by-day account of the exchange rate (which, unfortunately, is
unwaveringly depressing from beginning to end).

Given the subject line of this thread, I assume that, for whatever
reason, the OP would like to pay by credit card.

> It might make sense to break up a large note at an airport shop before
> facing the Tube.

I'm not willing to pay the prices that airport shops charge. I'm
certainly not going to buy something just so I can end up with a
different form of cash. I have a credit card, thank you very much.

> (You can then keep most of your valuables secure and have small change
> and your Travelcard handy & accessible.)

(scratches head) What valuables am I keeping insecure by using a credit
card?
--
David of Broadway
New York, NY, USA

Helen Deborah Vecht wrote:

> Given the relatively trivial price of this ticket (£4.30) might you not
> be better off paying cash?

Or, put differently, since you are able to pay by credit card why not
do so?

If the OP is drawing cash using a cash card, IMX the rate/charges are
usually poorer than those provided by credit cards.

Neil

David of Broadway <david.of.broadway@>typed


> (scratches head) What valuables am I keeping insecure by using a credit
> card?

The credit card itself, and possibly the wallet in which you keep it,
which may contain other valuables.

I keep my CCs well out of reach when on the Tube, but keep my tickets handy.

--
Helen D. Vecht: helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk
Edgware.

Helen Deborah Vecht wrote:
> David of Broadway <david.of.broadway@>typed
>
>> (scratches head) What valuables am I keeping insecure by using a credit
>> card?
>
> The credit card itself, and possibly the wallet in which you keep it,
> which may contain other valuables.

The credit card itself can be replaced if it's stolen, unlike cash.

As for whatever else is in the wallet, that issue is independent of what
I'm pulling out of the wallet. Except that if I usually use credit
cards, there probably isn't much cash in my wallet to begin with.

If I don't want to pull my wallet out, I keep my credit card in a
separate pocket.

> I keep my CCs well out of reach when on the Tube, but keep my tickets handy.

Although London seemed quite safe to me, if I'm worried about losing
anything on the Tube, it's cash, not credit cards. (Oh, and a black
cotton jacket. I managed to lose that too. Last I saw it, it was
traveling on the Piccadilly line, a bit over a month ago.)
--
David of Broadway
New York, NY, USA