London: Oyster, Travelcards and contactless

On this page

At a glance

• Add the discount to a registered Oyster card (or an 18+ Student Oyster photocard) for a third off off-peak pay as you go and the off-peak daily cap.
• To set it up, take your Oyster and railcard to staff at a Tube station, an Oyster Ticket Shop or a Visitor Centre.
• An Anytime Day Travelcard bought as part of a ticket from outside Zones 1–9 gets a third off, subject to a minimum fare.
• At the time of checking, the discount works on Oyster, not on contactless bank cards or phones.

Tube tickets: mostly no discount

The 16-25 Railcard gives no discount on most London Underground and DLR tickets. There are two ways to still save in London: Oyster, and Travelcards bought with a train ticket.

Oyster: a third off off-peak pay as you go

You can add your 16-25 Railcard discount to an Oyster card or an 18+ Student Oyster photocard. Once it’s set up you get:

• a third off off-peak pay-as-you-go fares, and
• a third off the off-peak daily price cap

on the Tube, DLR, London Overground and National Rail services in London.

How to set it up

1. Make sure your Oyster card is registered in your name.
2. Take your Oyster card and your railcard to staff at a London Underground station, an Oyster Ticket Shop or a Visitor Centre.
3. Ask them to add the railcard discount.

Trainline’s page puts it simply: to add it to an Oyster card, you have to visit a ticket office.

Anytime Day Travelcards

If you’re coming into London by train from outside Zones 1–9, you can get a third off an Anytime Day Travelcard bought as part of your ticket — but there’s a minimum fare.

Travelcard Seasons and period Travelcards get no discount.

Contactless: not yet

At the time of checking, a railcard discount can’t be linked to a contactless bank card or phone payment. In February 2025 the Mayor’s office said TfL was “working closely with the Department for Transport” to make it possible, but gave no timeline, and we found no official confirmation in 2026 either way. For now, if you want the discount on London pay as you go, use Oyster.

Questions people ask

Can I use it on the Tube?

Not on most Tube tickets. But you can add it to a registered Oyster card for a third off off-peak pay as you go, or get a third off an Anytime Day Travelcard bought with a train ticket from outside London (a minimum fare applies).

Does it work with contactless?

Not at the time of checking — railcard discounts can’t be linked to a contactless bank card or phone. Use Oyster instead.

Sources

Checked 17 October 2026. We wrote this guide from these sources, in our own words:

1. 16-25 Railcard: using your Railcard (official) (16-25railcard.co.uk)
2. 16-25 Railcard: FAQs (official) (16-25railcard.co.uk)
3. 16-25 Railcard (official site) (16-25railcard.co.uk)
4. TfL: National Railcard discounts on Oyster (tfl.gov.uk)
5. Trainline: 16-25 Railcard (thetrainline.com)
6. Time Out: railcard discounts on contactless (February 2025) (timeout.com)
7. 16-25 Railcard terms and conditions (official) (16-25railcard.co.uk)

We are an independent guide, not the official Railcard website. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.