Opal Card - the various ways to use it

[pink845]

We are going to be flying into Sydney on a Monday morning and spending five full days (Monday to Friday) sight seeing, going to the Zoo, taking ferries to Watson Bay, Manly, Parramatta, buses and trains all over Sydney and going to the Blue Mountains by train as well.   I am not able to ascertain from the website (NSW transit) what the weekly maximum would be.  Does someone know? Is is $60 dollars.    $16.10 appears to be the daily maximum I have gathered from the website.  So any rides over that $16.10 would be free each day.  But the weekly maximum is confusing. Do we put $80.50 on the card to include the Airport Access Fee for our exit from the airport on DAY 1 or what??   Would we then be covered for the M to F and not have to spend another penny on transit.  Just tap on and tap off as we go on our merry way.  The website is so full of mumbo jumbo it is so unclear.    

[possum52]

2 hours ago, pink845 said:

We are going to be flying into Sydney on a Monday morning and spending five full days (Monday to Friday) sight seeing, going to the Zoo, taking ferries to Watson Bay, Manly, Parramatta, buses and trains all over Sydney and going to the Blue Mountains by train as well.   I am not able to ascertain from the website (NSW transit) what the weekly maximum would be.  Does someone know? Is is $60 dollars.    $16.10 appears to be the daily maximum I have gathered from the website.  So any rides over that $16.10 would be free each day.  But the weekly maximum is confusing. Do we put $80.50 on the card to include the Airport Access Fee for our exit from the airport on DAY 1 or what??   Would we then be covered for the M to F and not have to spend another penny on transit.  Just tap on and tap off as we go on our merry way.  The website is so full of mumbo jumbo it is so unclear.    

From the NSW Transport Website under Opal Benefits - 

 

Daily travel caps

 

Weekly travel caps

 

Travel all week on metro, train, bus, ferry and light rail services and pay no more than:

• $50 a week for Adult
• $25 a week for Child/Youth and Concession
• $17.50 a week for Gold Senior/Pensioner

So you will need to have $50 plus the fare for the trip from the airport including the Access Fee. So $70 would be sufficient.

 

 

[Mrs f.]

6 hours ago, possum52 said:

From the NSW Transport Website under Opal Benefits - 

 

Daily travel caps

 

Weekly travel caps

 

Travel all week on metro, train, bus, ferry and light rail services and pay no more than:

• $50 a week for Adult
• $25 a week for Child/Youth and Concession
• $17.50 a week for Gold Senior/Pensioner

So you will need to have $50 plus the fare for the trip from the airport including the Access Fee. So $70 would be sufficient.

 

 

For the Senior rate, do you have to be an Australian senior? We are from the U.S. Over 70.

 

[msmoger]

1 hour ago, Mrs f. said:

For the Senior rate, do you have to be an Australian senior? We are from the U.S. Over 70.

 

 

Based on all of my reading the answer is yes.  I believe they refer to Australian seniors as something like Concessionaires (sp).

[possum52]

7 hours ago, Mrs f. said:

For the Senior rate, do you have to be an Australian senior? We are from the U.S. Over 70.

 

Yes you do need to be an Australian senior to use the Opal Card. You have to have a Seniors Card or a Pensioner Concession Card issued by one of the Australian states or territories to apply for a Seniors or Concession Opal. 

 

From the NSW Transport website - 

If you have a Pensioner Concession Card issued by any Australian state or territory, you are entitled to concession fares on public transport in NSW.

You must hold a valid Pensioner Concession Card at time of booking on Regional services or applying for a Gold Senior/ Pensioner Opal card. You must also carry your Pensioner Concession Card when you travel as proof of entitlement or you may be fined.

Concessions are generally not available on private ferries, event shuttles buses, chartered bus services and Great Southern Rail services.

 

 

Leigh

 

 

[Tansy Mews]

We just used our credit card to tap. You benefit from the daily maximum as well. Useful when you are there just a few days.

 

https://transportnsw.info/tickets-opal/opal/contactless-payments

 

Contactless is a quick and easy way to pay for your trip on public transport on the Opal network.

If you have an American Express, Mastercard or Visa credit or debit card or a linked device, you can use it to pay for your travel by tapping on and tapping off at Opal readers. Just look for the contactless payment symbol . Contactless payments are available on all public transport in the Opal network.

You will receive the same travel benefits of an Adult Opal card and pay an Adult fare when you tap on and tap off consistently with the same credit card, debit card or linked device. Find out more about paying the right fare.

If you’re unsure whether your card is contactless-enabled, check with your card issuer.

Always separate your cards when you tap on and tap off so your preferred card is charged.

Edited February 23, 2020 by Tansy Mews

[Thrak]

Slightly confused. We're doing our first cruise to the area - Southern Australia/New Zealand/Aukland - and I thought you used a Myki card rather than an Opal card. We are sailing out of Melbourne. We do 6 days, 13 days, and 14 days with a return to Melbourne each time. We're total noobs to this part of the world so in need of information.

[Tansy Mews]

25 minutes ago, Thrak said:

Slightly confused. We're doing our first cruise to the area - Southern Australia/New Zealand/Aukland - and I thought you used a Myki card rather than an Opal card. We are sailing out of Melbourne. We do 6 days, 13 days, and 14 days with a return to Melbourne each time. We're total noobs to this part of the world so in need of information.

Opal is for Sydney and New South Wales. Myki is for Melbourne area and Victoria . Auckland has a different one again. AT Hop
See https://transportnsw.info/tickets-opal/opal#/login
 

https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/tickets/myki

 

https://at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/#!/journey-planner
 

See Australia - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_smart_cards

 

Frances

[Thrak]

Many thanks! Since we fly into Melbourne and have that as our turnaround twice the Myki is likely all we will need. Love how it's so easy to get help on CC. (Bookmarking your link though. 🙂 )

Edited March 2, 2020 by Thrak

[BoopTennis]

For the OP, just to reinforce that in Sydney you can use a tap on credit card. I live in the US and just got back from Sydney and used my contactless credit card and everything worked perfectly. You just need to remember to use the same credit card to tap on and off and you will still get the benefits of the Opal card (daily max etc). Just be sure you have a credit card that does not charge foreign transaction fees.  
also if there is more than one person you should each use a separate card

[Thrak]

8 hours ago, BoopTennis said:

For the OP, just to reinforce that in Sydney you can use a tap on credit card. I live in the US and just got back from Sydney and used my contactless credit card and everything worked perfectly. You just need to remember to use the same credit card to tap on and off and you will still get the benefits of the Opal card (daily max etc). Just be sure you have a credit card that does not charge foreign transaction fees.  
also if there is more than one person you should each use a separate card

 

I'm a bit peeved. My credit card doesn't have the "tap" logo - the thing that looks somewhat like a WiFi symbol. I called and spoke with Capital One - I have the Venture card. It took a good 20 minutes but I finally found out that it's because I have the metal card. If I give up my nice, heavy, metal (not heavy metal...) card and get a plastic card I can have a touchless card. I asked if anybody ever gave up their metal card and was told something like "no way". Sigh... I don't know how the tech works but it seems my metal credit card can't get touchless tech.

[Tansy Mews]

I have a few cards - Mastercard, VISA and American. Express. Perhaps get another for travel purposes? You might see if you can get one with a PIN for use in ticket machines, gas stations, etc in Europe, etc  

It might not suit you of course. But you wouldn’t have to give up the card you love!
 

Frances

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, Tansy Mews said:

I have a few cards - Mastercard, VISA and American. Express. Perhaps get another for travel purposes? You might see if you can get one with a PIN for use in ticket machines, gas stations, etc in Europe, etc  

It might not suit you of course. But you wouldn’t have to give up the card you love!
 

Frances

 

Nope. We use this card for "almost" everything. I don't pay the utilies with it because they charge extra. I don't use it for gas as the place where I get gas charges an extra 10 cents per gallon for credit. Literally everything else goes on the card. Groceries, garbage, phones, cruises, hotels, etc. You name it and it goes on the card. We pay it off each month so there is never any interest. We get points for using the card. Anything "travel related" can be wiped out with points. We will be traveling to visit one of our sons soon and have booked 3 nights in a hotel. I'll wait until the charge shows up online and then wipe it out with points. Flights, taxi, Uber, whatever. As long as it is a "travel related" item it will show up in a list that can be wiped out with points. I currently owe Princess something in the area of $27k for upcoming cruises. The points will help to ease the pain. 🙄

[Jojiboy]

With these posts talking about using contact-less credit cards, does anyone know if Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay is accepted as a contact-less method in Australia and New Zealand?

[possum52]

3 hours ago, Jojiboy said:

With these posts talking about using contact-less credit cards, does anyone know if Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay is accepted as a contact-less method in Australia and New Zealand?

A quick google search shows all three are accepted and used in Australia.

 

Leigh

[Thrak]

3 hours ago, Jojiboy said:

With these posts talking about using contact-less credit cards, does anyone know if Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay is accepted as a contact-less method in Australia and New Zealand?

 

Only tried to use Samsung Pay once so far and it didn't work. (Just got a Samsung phone.)

[Thrak]

24 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Only tried to use Samsung Pay once so far and it didn't work. (Just got a Samsung phone.)

 

Just spent a bit more time with the app. Haven't tried using it again yet but it looks to my like the reason it didn't work before was due to an Eye Dee Ten Tee error. D'Oh!  (Also added my Costco and Safeway Rewards card to the app. Might as well use it right.)

 

[Jojiboy]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

 

Just spent a bit more time with the app. Haven't tried using it again yet but it looks to my like the reason it didn't work before was due to an Eye Dee Ten Tee error. D'Oh!  (Also added my Costco and Safeway Rewards card to the app. Might as well use it right.)

 

 

I know all about those Eye Dee Ten Tee errors, seem to keep happening more often as I age. I’ve used Samsung Pay in London and in Singapore so was hoping the same would be true for Australia and New Zealand.

[iancal]

One thing we found was that you can top up the cards at the local Woolworth grocery stores BUT the minimum was a $10. Top up.  
 

We had a little money left on both cards when we got to the airport prior to departure.  Gave our cards to a couple of backpackers who has just arrived.

 

We used our tap and go credit cards for our month in Oz mainland and Tasmania travels. We originally took $500. From the ATM when we arrived.  Three weeks later in Sydney we still had $300 of it.  It is the closest we have come to a cashless society so far.

Edited March 7, 2020 by iancal