Southampton Store to Acquire UK SIM Card? Also Buy Oyster Card?

[moondoggie]

Arriving SH on 12 May 2024 and will need to purchase and install new SIM card.  Are there stores near the coach station that sell/install UK SIM cards?

Also will need to purchase Oyster Cards that day.

TIA!

[markeb]

55 minutes ago, moondoggie said:

Arriving SH on 12 May 2024 and will need to purchase and install new SIM card.  Are there stores near the coach station that sell/install UK SIM cards?

Also will need to purchase Oyster Cards that day.

TIA!

 

Can't help with the first, although if you have an eSIM capable phone you can probably buy one online and download onto your phone. 

 

You no longer need an Oyster Card if you have either a 1) contactless credit card or 2) a phone with Apple Pay or Google Pay. Each traveler needs their own credit card or phone. Oysters have become kind of a thing of the past. Obviously you want a credit card with no foreign transaction fees.

[moondoggie]

Thanks for the info.  I have a recent iPhone, but had trouble trying to do the online eSIM when we were recently in Spain for three weeks.  We are doing a Transatlantic prior to UK docking at Southampton, so I wouldn't want it to start till we are there, not useful on the Atlantic crossing.

 

Regarding Oyster, isn't there a daily cap when using it?  If so, does that apply to contactless cards?  Pls advise!

[gumshoe958]

6 minutes ago, moondoggie said:

Regarding Oyster, isn't there a daily cap when using it?  If so, does that apply to contactless cards?  Pls advise!

The daily cap applies to contactless as well as Oyster.

[Globaliser]

4 hours ago, markeb said:

Oysters have become kind of a thing of the past.

 

Not really. Contactless is probably now the best solution for most adult visitors who will only be in London for a short while. But some visitors with children, for example, may find benefits that are only available with Oysters.

 

44 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

51 minutes ago, moondoggie said:

Regarding Oyster, isn't there a daily cap when using it?  If so, does that apply to contactless cards?

The daily cap applies to contactless as well as Oyster.

 

For completeness, the weekly cap (Monday to Sunday) also now applies equally to both Oysters and contactless.

[markeb]

42 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

Not really. Contactless is probably now the best solution for most adult visitors who will only be in London for a short while. But some visitors with children, for example, may find benefits that are only available with Oysters.

 

 

Interesting. We don't have children, so that wasn't an issue. Most people I follow online treat the Oyster with the sort of historical reverence I'd give to a carburetor...

 

I assume you need a child's Oyster for reduced rates? Your contactless wouldn't have an age associated with it. And the children would each need their own unique contactless card. I've found Apple Pay to be so simple that I don't really look at the alternatives anymore, and I've always been a huge Oyster fan. I mean, you can use you iPhone on MTA in New York now! (Or in Singapore, and who knows how many other locations...)

[gnome12]

6 hours ago, moondoggie said:

Arriving SH on 12 May 2024 and will need to purchase and install new SIM card.  Are there stores near the coach station that sell/install UK SIM cards?

You can order a SIM from Amazon. 3 is a local UK provider. There are other options besides the one I linked to here.

https://www.amazon.com/10GB-Activation-Required-Unlimited-Applicable/dp/B0CL751J48/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2WGW5UZWZXVCJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.oLvoY4FZzpKV7kBkbWx4ncj-sjUg-f9fRg7o6erkeID8-6pw1ZbU1C8ye_JK25M1qhGxWYAvDxaYKjxoMcYvKLnOccfLf9lyOo4BtFyKmD0HskSqILwqYXg5InOVH_o7VgR9oi98GyFyh6vG4-EwwTgZ_B8D74CL1NX90nW9eCB3wPTA4odLeCe3Q8e55PAG9xU5H7Dr73RiSp2Gfpf-3M4CYX0OBGn55UPgQjO_dfA.OYisG02zwYS3qZc042uAopFQFi1qKX5xyxZKvxohtZw&dib_tag=se&keywords=sim%2Bcard%2Beurope&qid=1712450321&sprefix=sime%2Bcard%2Beurope%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-1&th=1

[-Lew-]

On 4/6/2024 at 6:37 PM, moondoggie said:

We are doing a Transatlantic prior to UK docking at Southampton, so I wouldn't want it to start till we are there, not useful on the Atlantic crossing.

 

You can download and install an eSIM and activate it when you're ready to use it.  Check out the eSIM Database for a listing of just about every option. I've used Airalo and found it very easy to use.

[Meander Ingwa]

You can also buy SIM on line and simply install the day you arrive.  I do this as I am usually so brain numb when I get to Heathrow.  I like 3 because they don't push a ton of spam IM at you .

 

Agree with others you can use your contactless.  I am sentimental about my Oyster which I have used for many years, though

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, Meander Ingwa said:

Agree with others you can use your contactless.  I am sentimental about my Oyster which I have used for many years, though

I’m sorry I turned my Oyster Card in when I could still get my £5 back. I would prefer to keep it separate from my credit card. However, that was in 2019 and I’m not sure when I will be back in London so it was probably for the best. 

[Globaliser]

2 hours ago, gnome12 said:

I turned my Oyster Card in when I could still get my £5 back.

 

For anyone else who has an old Oyster and is wondering about this: Whether you can get your deposit back depends on when you "bought" your Oyster. If you got it when the deposit was refundable, in most cases the deposit should remain refundable indefinitely.