Cheaper with Oyster card or all in train ticket?

Any peeps know if it is generally cheaper to travel in from the Midlands to Euston & then use an Oyster card to cross to Victoria & then out to Surrey on an overground train, or cheaper to get an all encompassing ticket all the way through?
(I need to get cards anyway for cheaper bus travel, so can't remove it entirely from the equation!)

I live in Sussex and when we go to London and know we're going to need to use the tube, we always get a travelcard. I'm pretty certain it is cheaper that way - maybe pop into your local station and ask at the ticket office.

Hi Kitten

As a retired travel agent, I've looked at, as an example, the one way fare for Birmingham to Guildford, via Euston for 20 October. The best fare starts at £27.00. This is non-refundable but includes the underground. I doubt you'd be able to beat this by splitting the ticket and using an Oyster.

If you want flexibility, it's £93.50 for a Standard Anytime fare, also including the Tube. If you want to compare the fare with using an Oyster, it's as follows:

Birmignham/Euston £46.00
Euston/Waterloo £ 2.00
Waterloo/Guildford £11.50

Total £59.50

To be fair, there are loads of fares between Brum and Euston so comparison is difficult but it seems possible that, by splitting the ticket, you may get a good deal and keep your flexibility. However, it might be best to go on a site like the Train Line or National Rail Enquiries and do some research.

Good luck!

Thanks LC & Mike!

I finally got around to booking the tickets & went for the Oyster card option in the end, so any of us can visit the girls a bit more often & have the flexibility of trundling about once there at reduced rates!

I should've done it sooner, then I could've picked up a nice Virgin 1st class seat cheaper on an Advance ticket, now, not wanting to pay a small fortune, I'm going to be stuck on a sh*tty LM train for 2 & a half hours in cattle class! Why do I never learn to drop the OCD calculations & just get on with things.......? :sad: :blush: :emo: