There are a number of posts asking about the ‘2-4-1 OFFERS’ in London so thought to myself last night to create a post to explain and illustrate the so-called ‘PAPER TICKET’ the ‘OYSTERCARD’ and the ‘2-4-1 OFFERS’.
2-4-1 OFFERS (when you go by train)
In order to take advantage of the buy two attraction tickets for the price of one (2-4-1) offers available on www.daysoutguide.co.uk , its necessary to have a PAPER train ticket. An Oystercard (see below) is NOT valid. See below, under 'paper ticket' on what sort of ticket you need.
The ticket must cover the date that you will be visiting the attraction. For example, say you are visiting somewhere on a Tuesday, maybe Tower of London. Either you need a train ticket for that Tuesday specifically, or you need a pass that covers the Tuesday, say Sunday to Saturday, or Monday to Sunday etc.
If you are travelling to/from London by train, then you can use 2-for-1 on the day you travel to London on a single ticket, or on the days you travel and the days between the out and return (to London and from London) journeys on a return ticket . Most London stations have automatic ticket barriers which keep the ticket at the end of the journey. You must go through the manual / wide gate and ask the attendant to let you keep your ticket.
If you have return tickets you need to keep the out and return tickets with you and show them at the attraction to be able to use 2-for-1 on the days between the two travel days. This also applies if you have two single (one-way) tickets which together form a return journey.
There are no limits to how many 2 for 1 vouchers you use but they have to be used within the validity of your ticket.
If you do get the 2-4-1 hardcopy (booklet), there are numerous pages which have ~23 pages of offers, inside the back page are 3 vouchers which you need to complete.
To enlarge click on " Click Here to Enlarge" below the thumbnails. This will enlarge the image currently in view.
The vouchers are like
this and on the back are the
Terms & Conditions.
This will show all travelers what is on offer when they pick up a booklet from a station.
Just click on the thumbnail and away you go.
To go back a screen just click on the picture.
To use the offers in the booklet you WILL a ‘PAPER' TICKET BOUGHT FROM RAILWAY STATION, which brings the next point.
‘PAPER’ TICKET (not Oystercard)
VERY IMPORTANT: The ticket that is valid for 2-4-1 must be purchased from a railway station. Confusingly to visitors, this is not the same as a tube station (also called the underground, and visitors may refer to it as a 'metro' - locals call it "the tube").
Even more confusingly, many railway stations in London, for example Paddington, Kings Cross, Victoria, Liverpool Street, will have a railway station at ground level and a tube station underneath. In these cases in order for your ticket to be valid for 2-4-1 you must buy it, ( even though its the exact same type at the exact same price), from the railway station counters or machines, not the tube station.
IMPORTANT CHANGE FROM 20th MAY 2012 - ALL 7-DAY TRAVELCARDS ISSUED AT A NATIONAL RAIL STATION MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A PHOTOCARD - SIMPLY PROVIDE ONE PASSPORT-SIZED PHOTO AT THE TICKET OFFICE AND THIS WILL BE MADE UP ON THE SPOT.
Unfortunately you cannot buy a paper travelcard valid for 2-4-1 at Heathrow airport, because that is a tube station only, not a railway station. This means either buying single tickets to a rail station and buying a paper card there, or using both Oyster card and paper tickets (see OYSTER CARD below).
List of Rail Stations here.
NOTE: ignore the prices as these photo’s were taken at a local station (Richmond). You can get prices online at:
The paper ticket that is needed to take advantage of the above 2-4-1 OFFERS in the Days Out Guide can be purchased in person from a clerk OR at a ticket machine, which are all touch screen and look like this.
The first screen is generally tailored with the most popular tickets purchase from that machine. But in the bottom right-hand corner you will see ‘TRAVELCARDS AND TICKETS TO UNDERGROUND ZONES’ press this and it will take you to the next screen where you will have a choice of travelcards. Most travellers opt for the ‘ZONE U12* LONDN’ which gives you unlimited bus rides and all other transport within Zones 1 & 2. Right column 2nd from the top. Nearly all tourist attractions are in Zones 1&2.On the buses you just show/flash your
paper ticket.
Make your choice and you will be taken to the
next screen where you will have a choice of:
- ANYTIME DAY TRAVELCARD
- TRAVELCARD 7 DAY STANDARD
- TRAVELCARD 7 DAY FIRST CLASS
- OFF-PEAK TRAVELCARD (only available on weekends or after 09:30 on weekdays
From here just follow the prompts to make your payment.
You will receive 3 tickets:
- 1 x receipt;
- 1 x receipt 2;
- 1 x actual travelcard which looks like
this:
-
To purchase more than 1 ticket or travelcard in the same transaction you will see at the payment page/screen at the bottom right a yellow button to add more tickets to your basket. Press this and it will take you back to the beginning to make your 2nd purchase.
You will then make your way back to the payment screen where you will see the 'basket' button to the bottom left. Click on this and you will see that both tickets are now in here and ready for purchase.
To purchase a 3rd, 4th or more just repeat the process till you are ready to pay.
Here is that same ticket explained briefly.
VERY IMPORTANT: Just to repeat; 2-4-1 deals are not valid with an Oyster card.
The Oyster card is a very fast and efficient way to travel around London. With the touch-in, touch-out system it couldn’t be easier. Oyster card is just a way to hold either money (pay as you go = PAYG) or a travelcard, for example valid for a week. Or you can have both on one card. It might even work in your benefit to buy an Oyster card and put a small amount of PAYG money on it to cover your trips to and from Heathrow or other outlying areas, and then use a paper travelcard for a week or a day to use with your 2-4-1 deals. At the time of writing, there is a £5 deposit needed on Oystercard. You can get a refund of this, plus any unspent PAYG money, at your last station but try and keep the money under £10 when you ask for a refund, otherwise the clerk will refund you, not with cash but with a cheque which will probably cost you more to cash it outside of the UK than its worth.
An example of using both will be;
Arrive at Heathrow. Buy Oystercard, put £10 PAYG on it. Travel to your hotel. Use Oystercard to travel to a railway station. Buy a weekly (or daily) paper travelcard, (probably for Zones 1-2 as thats where most attractions are), so that you are now eligible for the 2-4-1 offers.
Use the travelcard from now on but with maybe a few exceptions. Perhaps one day, you go to Zone 4 - use your Oystercard for that rather than your zones1-2 travelcard. Your last day, return to Heathrow, use Oystercard for that. Claim your refund for the unsued PAYG money and the £5 deposit. (warning, reports are that the lines may be long for refunds)
You will see the yellow pad everywhere and this is what you touch with your oyster card whenever you enter/exit the station/bus.
Most Oyster cards can be topped up at stations/machines where Oyster cards are for sale otherwise at the ticket counter/clerk.
You will need to keep this topped up for your journeys. When entering/exiting a station/bus it will display your balance. Sometimes this will go into the negative which will be displayed in brackets (brackets) which you will then need to top up your Oyster. If you are too far into the negative the gates will not open and just beep at you or the bus driver will not let you on the bus.
Hopefully this will help somewhat and please feel free to copy and paste this link into other posts where necessary which may save many of those who live in London re-iterating the above.
Sorry about the lengthy post but hope it clears a few things up and makes thing easier to understand.