How To Get A Refund From Your Old Oyster Card

Old Oyster Card Refund: Could You Be Owed £5 Plus Any Unused Credit?

If, like our family, you've collected several Oyster cards over the years, it may be worth finding them before assuming they're worthless bits of plastic. Some older cards can still have unused pay-as-you-go credit sitting on them, while cards issued under the old deposit system may also have a refundable £5 deposit attached.

The rules have changed several times, so whether you're owed anything depends partly on when you got the card.

There is a sizeable amount of money involved across London as a whole. MoneySavingExpert reports, based on TfL figures from June, that more than 95 million Oyster cards hadn't been used for at least a year, with more than £560 million held across unused credit and historic deposits. That doesn't mean every old card is worth money, but checking takes very little time.

Which Oyster Cards Still Qualify for a Refund?

The rules depend on when your Oyster card was originally issued. Older cards operated with a refundable deposit, while newer cards have a non-refundable purchase fee instead. Your unused pay-as-you-go balance is a separate matter and can normally still be reclaimed.

If you got your card before the 23rd of February 2020, you would normally have paid a £5 refundable deposit. Current Oyster refund guidance confirms that this historic £5 deposit can still be reclaimed when you surrender the card, alongside any eligible pay-as-you-go balance. Once you reclaim the deposit, the card is stopped and can't be used again.

Cards issued from the 23rd of February 2020 until the 3rd of September 2022 worked differently. The £5 deposit was designed to be returned automatically as pay-as-you-go credit after the card had been held for a year, subject to the card being used again within the relevant collection period. If yours falls into this group, the main thing to check now is whether any pay-as-you-go credit remains.

From the 4th of September 2022, Oyster moved to a non-refundable card fee. That means you can't reclaim what you originally paid for the card itself, although any unused pay-as-you-go money is still yours to claim.

TfL has since increased the fee for a new standard Oyster card, with its current fee set at £10.50 from the 1st of March.

How Do You Check the Balance on an Old Oyster Card?

You can check an Oyster balance by adding the card to your Contactless and Oyster account or by presenting it at a Tube station ticket machine. TfL's online account also lets you view journey and payment information for cards linked to you.

This is worth doing even when you don't remember leaving money on the card. Small leftover balances are easy to forget, particularly if you've switched to contactless payment and the Oyster card has been sitting unused for several years. If you have several cards at home, check each separately.

The TfL Go app can also display information linked to your account, although current guidance says the actual credit or deposit refund isn't completed through the app itself. You can instead use your online Oyster account, a qualifying station ticket machine or TfL Customer Services.

How Do You Get an Oyster Card Refund at a Ticket Machine?

If your pay-as-you-go balance is £10 or less, you can normally claim an old Oyster card refund from a Tube station self-service ticket machine. Touch the Oyster card on the yellow reader, choose the Oyster refund option and follow the instructions shown on screen. TfL's conditions confirm that qualifying refunds of £10 or less can be processed this way.

The ticket machine pays the refund in cash. If the card was issued under the refundable deposit system and a deposit remains due, that can also form part of the refund. Check the amount shown on screen before confirming the transaction.

There is an important catch. Once a refund is completed through a Tube station ticket machine, the Oyster card is stopped and can't be used for travel again. Don't cash it in if you're planning to keep it for another trip to London.

What If You Have More Than £10 on the Oyster Card?

A ticket machine isn't the right route when the pay-as-you-go balance is above £10. You can instead sign into your Contactless and Oyster account, link the card if necessary and use the available refund process. Current refund guidance also lists TfL Customer Services as an option.

If you're dealing with an unregistered card, adding it to your account may require some information about its previous use. Keep the physical card with you because you'll need its number. If you encounter problems, TfL Customer Services can explain the available route for that particular card.

Can You Get a Refund If You've Lost the Oyster Card?

Registration matters if an Oyster card is lost or stolen. TfL's current Conditions of Carriage state that an unregistered Oyster card isn't protected for refunds or replacement if you lose it. If the card is registered, TfL may be able to cancel it and deal with the remaining balance through your account.

This is worth bearing in mind if you still use Oyster regularly.

Registering the card gives you a record connecting it to your account rather than relying entirely on possession of the physical card. Keep your account details up to date if you move house or change contact information.

Finding an old card at home is different because you still have the physical card. In that case, check its balance before deciding whether to refund it or keep it for future journeys.

What About Visitor Oyster Card Refunds?

Visitor Oyster cards have different rules from standard blue Oyster cards. The current Visitor Oyster card includes a £10.50 activation fee, and TfL's Visitor Shop confirms that this fee is non-refundable. You can still reclaim unused pay-as-you-go credit.

For balances up to £10, the Visitor Oyster card refund can be processed at a Tube station ticket machine. Refunds can also be arranged through Visitor Centres or by contacting TfL, depending on your circumstances. TfL's Visitor Shop currently lists station machines, Visitor Centres and post among the available refund routes.

You don't have to refund the credit at all. Visitor Oyster pay-as-you-go credit doesn't expire, so keeping the card for another London trip may make more sense if you expect to return. Just remember that completing a station-machine refund cancels the card for future travel.

Is It Worth Checking Very Old Oyster Cards?

Yes, particularly if the card predates the 23rd of February 2020. An old Oyster card refund could include the original £5 deposit as well as whatever pay-as-you-go balance remains. Even when the deposit isn't refundable, unused travel credit may still be available.

Our old cards are exactly why I originally wrote this guide. Oyster cards have a habit of ending up in drawers, wallets and old travel bags once you stop travelling into London regularly, particularly now that contactless payment is so widely used. A few pounds sitting on each card soon becomes worth recovering when there are several of them.

The current figures underline how common that forgotten money is. Recent reporting using TfL data puts the total held on cards inactive for at least a year at more than £560 million, split between historic deposits and unused pay-as-you-go balances.

Should You Refund the Card or Keep It?

If you still travel in London and the card works, there is no requirement to cash it in. Pay-as-you-go credit doesn't simply disappear because you haven't travelled for a while, and keeping an existing card avoids needing to buy another one later. This is particularly relevant now that a new standard Oyster card costs £10.50 and that fee isn't refundable.

If you've moved away, switched permanently to contactless or have several spare cards, checking them makes more sense. Work out what is refundable first, then decide whether the cash is more useful than keeping the card. Remember that a station-machine refund stops the card permanently.

For an old pre-2020 card with a refundable £5 deposit and leftover credit, there is little reason to leave the money sitting unused if you're confident you won't need the card again.

Check the Drawer Before Writing the Card Off

The key change since I first wrote this post is that an Oyster card refund no longer automatically means getting the purchase price of the card back. Old deposit-based cards can still qualify, while newer cards were sold with a fee that isn't refundable. Unused pay-as-you-go credit remains the part worth checking regardless of the card's age.

If you've got old Oyster cards sitting around, gather them together and check each one rather than guessing what might be left. A card bought before the 23rd of February 2020 may still have its original £5 deposit attached, and any card can potentially hold unused travel credit. Once you know the balance and when the card was issued, you can decide whether to keep it or claim the money.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still get my £5 Oyster card deposit back?

Yes, if your Oyster card was issued under the older refundable-deposit system and the £5 hasn't already been returned. Cards issued before the 23rd of February 2020 are the main group to check.

Can I get a refund of unused Oyster credit?

Yes. Unused pay-as-you-go credit can be refunded even when the fee paid to obtain the card itself isn't refundable. The method depends partly on the balance and type of Oyster card.

Can I get an Oyster refund at a Tube station?

Yes, if the pay-as-you-go balance is £10 or less, a Tube station self-service ticket machine can normally process the refund. The card will be stopped once the refund is completed.

Is the current Oyster card fee refundable?

No. New standard Oyster cards now have a non-refundable £10.50 card fee. This is different from the refundable deposits attached to many older cards.

Do Oyster card balances expire?

Unused pay-as-you-go credit doesn't simply expire because the card hasn't been used for a while. You can keep the card for future travel or look into claiming the remaining balance.

Can I refund a Visitor Oyster card?

You can reclaim unused pay-as-you-go credit from a Visitor Oyster card, but its £10.50 activation fee isn't refundable. You can also keep the card and its remaining credit for a future visit.

Can I use an Oyster card again after getting a ticket-machine refund?

No. Completing the refund through a Tube station self-service ticket machine stops the card. Only request it when you're finished with that card.

What happens if my Oyster card is lost?

A registered Oyster card has more protection if it is lost or stolen because TfL can identify it through your account. An unregistered card generally can't be refunded or replaced once you've lost it.