Oyster Cards

Can you use Oyster cards on the Heathrow Express?

In this helpful guide, we’ll look at how to use your Oyster card on the Heathrow Express.

Buying your Oyster Card at Heathrow Airport

You can buy an Oyster card once you land at Heathrow to use on both the Heathrow Express and a variety of London Transport options within the city.

It’s quick and easy to buy an Oyster card from either Heathrow Central station or Heathrow Terminal 5 station. Either queue up at the ticket office or use one of the many ticket machines and follow the on-screen instructions. You’ll need your bank card or some cash to pay the £7 for your card and add some credit to your account.

You’ll also find various visitor centres within the terminals where you can pick up Visitor Oyster cards.

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What is an Oyster card?

An Oyster card is a pre-paid travel card that you can add money to, so you can pay-as-you-go on a variety of transport options in and around London. You can use an Oyster card to pay on the bus, tube, tram, DLR and London Overground, as well as most Elizabeth Line, IFS Cloud Cable Car and Thames Clippers River Bus services. You can also use it on the Heathrow Express.

You simply touch in with your Oyster at the start of your journey and touch out at the end on yellow card readers to pay the right fare.

Can you use your Oyster card on the Heathrow Express?

Yes, you can use your Oyster card on the Heathrow Express. Just like getting the tube or London Overground, you simply tap your Oyster on the ticket barriers as you enter and leave the station.

Say, you’re travelling from London Paddington to Heathrow Central on the Heathrow Express. You’ll tap your Oyster Card at the ticket barriers before you arrive on our Heathrow Express platforms (usually six and seven). And when you leave the train at Heathrow Central, you’ll tap your Oyster card again to complete your journey.

For a single journey on the Heathrow Express, you’ll be charged for a single ticket with a cost of £26.

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Don’t have an Oyster? Here’s how to get one

You can buy an Oyster card in a variety of ways, including:

Online with a contactless and Oyster account, if you live in the UK

At Oyster Ticket Stops in many newsagents in London

At all Tube, most London Overground and most Elizabeth line stations

At Visitor Centres

To buy one in London, it will cost you £7 and you’ll need to top it up with credit before you travel. You can also choose auto top-up where your card will automatically top-up if your balance drops below £20.

How to recharge your Oyster Card (online and in-person)

It’s a simple process to recharge your Oyster card, either online or in person.

To recharge your Oyster card online, all you need to do is:

Visit the Transport for London website and sign up for an Oyster contactless account or log in to your existing one

Add your Oyster card to your account if you haven’t already

Navigate to the section for topping up your card and choose your desired amount

Choose your payment method and complete the payment

You’ll usually need to touch your card in at a yellow Oyster card reader within 30 minutes of making your top-up

In-person recharging at Oyster ticket machines works like this:

Find an Oyster ticket machine at a London Underground, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth Line station or National Rail station

Touch your Oyster card on the yellow card reader

Select “Top Up Oyster” or “Add Money” on the screen

Choose the amount you want to add to your card

Follow the on-screen instructions to make your payment, either cash or card

Touch your Oyster card on the card reader again to complete the top-up

Choose tickets that suit your journey and budget.

Discover more on the Heathrow Express

Our ticket types

Choose from a range of Heathrow Express ticket types to suit your journey and your budget.

Single

Book a Single ticket on either Standard Class or Business First Class. Pick any train on that day and travel one way either to or from Heathrow whether you're flying for business or pleasure.

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Advanced Discounted Single

Make great savings by booking your single ticket on Standard Class 45+ days in advance. Get organised with your train travel and plan a single journey to or from Heathrow for just £10. Get your advanced discount ticket. Get your advanced discount ticket here.

Same Day Return

Book a Same Day ticket if you're flying out of and returning to Heathrow on the same day. Ideal for business travelers regularly flying out of Heathrow. Hop on a morning flight for a meeting in Edinburgh or Berlin and fly home that evening, using Heathrow Express both ways.

Return

With a Return ticket on Heathrow Express, you have ultimate flexibility for your travel to and from the airport.

Whether you're away for two weeks with the family or enjoying a city break, you can travel five days after you buy the ticket and return within one month.

Carnet tickets

Available as a Carnet x6 or Carnet x12 on both Standard Class and Business First Class, you'll save money on your journeys by buying your tickets in bulk.

With a Carnet x6 you get 6 journeys for the price of 5, whilst a Carnet x12 will give you 12 journeys for the price of 9.

Family travel

Children aged 15 and under travel for free on Heathrow Express. If you're travelling as a family from Heathrow – whether to see friends or for the holiday of a lifetime – book tickets for the whole family, but only pay for the adults.