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[NSW] AmEx - Tap On/Off with Your AmEx at Sydney Ferries/Light Rail, Get 50% Back, up to $10

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[NSW] AmEx - Tap On/Off with Your AmEx at Sydney Ferries/Light Rail, Get 50% Back, up to $10
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ChippyD on 07/04/2018 - 06:03 americanexpress.com (2689 clicks)
Last edited 07/04/2018 - 08:58 by 1 other user

Save offer to your eligible Card and pay your fare by tapping your Card on Opal reader, when you travel on Sydney Ferries F1-F8 or Sydney Light Rail route L1, and get 50% credit, up to $10. Limited to the first 20,000 Cards to save. Exclusions apply.

More details on using your Amex to travel: https://www.americanexpress.com/au/content/credit-cards/mana…

Note: Your Card can only be used to pay for one fare per trip, and only Adult Opal single trip fares are eligible for payment using your Card. Any Opal benefits (such as travel caps or off-peak fares) are not applicable for payments made with your Card.

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Referrer: 40,000 Reward Points

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Referee gets 200,000 MR points. Referrer gets 150,000 MR points.

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closed Comments

  • Darkii on 07/04/2018 - 06:24
    +2

    That's cool.

    • bargainparker on 07/04/2018 - 12:29
      +5

      Yeah, how to get people off cash and onto cards. Slowly step by step so they don't notice.

      • dsp26 on 07/04/2018 - 19:24

        You say it like its a bad thing… cash assets are just a number in a bank account. Paper/metal money served its time for banks of the day that held actual cash on premisses

        • bargainparker on 08/04/2018 - 00:33

          Whatever I say doesn't really matter. Technology will go on without much thought whether it is good for humans or… not.

          While not directly related to this, this can give you some food for thought http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/techandscience/big-techs-abili…

          You may think it is far fetched, but many things which were predicted came to be true especially when the technology exists that is able to do that.

  • Pivot on 07/04/2018 - 07:10
    +4

    If you're not sure which ferry stops are included as part of this deal, I found this Sydney Ferries Network map quite helpful.

  • RedSky on 07/04/2018 - 07:35

    When do the deals for AMEX cards usually roll around?

  • DooDah on 07/04/2018 - 07:44

    Is this not available in all cards? My esstenital doesn’t seem to be eligible..

    • DooDah on 07/04/2018 - 07:46

      Ignore that just need to follow the link 😊

      • Jackal on 07/04/2018 - 07:58

        Link in op only explains how amex works as an opal replacement.

        Won't give you the 50% discount unless you sign up/activate

        Need the ninja.

        Edit. Nevermind. Picture link does goes to the subscribe page

  • coprocessor8087 on 07/04/2018 - 07:58
    +1

    You have to hand over your Credit card if transit officer check, in front of all other passengers? That doesn't sound safe at all !!

    • FutureTech on 07/04/2018 - 08:16

      I have yet to see a transit officer on the ferries or light rails

      • Tiger on 07/04/2018 - 10:48

        I have seen them (and been checked) on the Wharf.

      • Punkboy on 07/04/2018 - 11:34
        +2

        They're all over the light rail.never seen so many compared with other modes of public transport.

      • [Deactivated] on 09/04/2018 - 16:21

        How have you missed them on the light rail? They seem to have dedicated officers for each train

        • FutureTech on 09/04/2018 - 16:46

          Not anymore I don't think, they used to have then

      • b3au on 07/04/2018 - 11:43
        +1

        Except when you tap on or off at a reader, it doesn't specify whether you had already done so.

        It just says 'Payment Card OK'.
        And if you tap off at the same reader within 15 minutes, it's reversed (though the display will still say 'Payment Card OK')

      • ronnknee on 07/04/2018 - 12:54

        I thought there weren't any light rail officers since a few years ago? Or was that something else?

      • hotdog679 on 07/04/2018 - 15:36
        +3

        Doesn't this open up a box of worms for fare evasion, people can say that they tapped on using their credit card on a train - is a transit officer really going to ask them to get off the train and tap off at a random station just to show that they've tapped on? Especially once credit cards become more popular in replacing opal cards.

      • [Deactivated] on 09/04/2018 - 16:22

        Couldn't someone just run, or even walk away at that point?

    • spaceflight on 07/04/2018 - 11:12
      +11

      How is it any different to handing your card over to pay for something at a store or restaurant?

      I can't see how it is unsafe.

  • virhlpool on 07/04/2018 - 08:02

    Wish they worked on Sydney buses.

  • davo_4 on 07/04/2018 - 08:02

    nice one

  • FutureTech on 07/04/2018 - 08:17
    +2

    But then you cannot accrue or use opal travel reward…

  • peterpeterpumpkin on 07/04/2018 - 08:24
    +5

    As much as I like the idea, I don't know if Opal card readers are reliable enough to deal with credit cards, let alone Opal cards.

    I get faulty machines and obscure errors all the time. For anxious, time-rich and cash poor people visiting train platforms in regional areas, they should have a few machines that ask "Are you sure you want to tap off/re-tap-on/whatever?", or give you time to read warnings, or maybe even tap-off only machines.

    • xyron on 07/04/2018 - 08:44
      +3

      If you think Opal is bad, come check out the atrocity that is Myki down in Vic…

      • [Deactivated] on 07/04/2018 - 09:26
        +3

        What's wrong with Myki? I was in Melb last year for a week or so and found it fine in regards to scan success rate.

        • gimme on 07/04/2018 - 09:35
          +5

          Complaining about myki is a sport in Vic. Only problem is that you can't buy a single ticket as a tourist or an occasional user

        • xyron on 07/04/2018 - 11:07

          if you only used the VIX scan units (on the E class trams) then you might have been fine. but the older scan units at train stations and on old trams are terrible. they take ages to scan which can be a real hassle in morning/evening peaks.

          the signal is also very weak so they wont scan through wallets (never had this kind of problem with octopus, oyster or even humble adelaide metrocard).

        • retiredfeline on 07/04/2018 - 11:10
          +2

          @gimme: And you have to pay for the card.

    • ldt on 07/04/2018 - 09:24

      I had plenty of issues when it launched. But I’ve not had an issue in over a year now.

    • retiredfeline on 07/04/2018 - 11:08
      +2

      The vast majority of the errors are benign. Many are double taps which happens when the card goes in and out of range within a short period. The system detects that and ignores the double tap. Sometimes it hasn't registered due to card or reader issues so just try again, or another reader. The readers on the wide channels are particularly slow and should be avoided.

      I see people rub the card around the reader. The motion is unnecessary, it's not like swiping cards, it's contactless. Others try to hold it at some exact distance above the surface. That sort of behaviour leads to double taps. Just slap the card on the surface and hold it there until it registers.

  • CacheHunter on 07/04/2018 - 08:50
    +3

    Nice for occasional ferry and tram users where the opal reward doesn't matter.
    Personally, I wish that they'd find a way to tap on with Woolworths egift cards.

    • DarkMatter0 on 07/04/2018 - 09:05
      +7

      Use Woolworths egift card recharge your Opal card at Woolworths.

    • CricNix on 07/04/2018 - 10:48

      Haha That would be ideal.

    • retiredfeline on 07/04/2018 - 11:26
      +2

      eGift cards are not contactless cards so that won't happen.

      • Sharp on 07/04/2018 - 15:12

        It can happen. Egiftcards can be stored in Woolworths Money app. You just open the app and tap your phone.

        • retiredfeline on 07/04/2018 - 15:29
          +2

          Yes you could do it that way if Woolies joins the NFC pay schemes. But they have no incentive to let you pay with it outside their stores, they want you to spend in their stores.

  • RockyRaccoon on 07/04/2018 - 09:13
    +3

    NOTE This isnt for anyone who travels on a concession fare.

  • poporange630 on 07/04/2018 - 09:15

    So we can finally use Apple Pay on Opal machine?

    • shuaiking on 07/04/2018 - 09:44
      +1

      YES, if they want to, it's no technical barrier. It could work on any NFC enable device ( actually not any of them).

      • maybe a bot on 07/04/2018 - 13:10

        it does work with nfc enabled devices, i've seen it used with apple pay virtual cards before as well as the bankwest halo

        • shuaiking on 07/04/2018 - 15:11

          Thanks, I don't know there is a Contactless Payments Trial for opal until today. Didn't take train for a long time. I still hope they could allow me to load my opal card to mobile wallet in order to use opal card rewards.

  • syousef on 07/04/2018 - 10:01
    -5

    Opal is not a bargain. Tax payer got ripped off with a terrible system that was obsolete on the day the first reader was installed.

    • miq on 07/04/2018 - 11:44

      Care to elaborate?

      • syousef on 07/04/2018 - 14:24
        -4

        World has moved on from using these cards. Directly using credit cards are the right idea. Not manufacture, admin and maintenance of hundreds of thousands of these special purpose tourist unfriendly cards often sold as far away from the train station as possible.

        And I see there are still sheep and government fanboys downvoting.

        • RockyRaccoon on 07/04/2018 - 15:13
          +3

          You fall into the trap, thinking that OPAL is the card.

          It's the backend system that calculates the fares etc, that then get charged to the card, so just going to a credit card solution means nothing unless the system has the smarts behind it to work out how much to charge.

          Hence the complication of how to charge a concession fare, as there is no way yet to determine as others have said, the details of the charge by revenue officers. So they cant also determine if the user would have paid a concession rate or full rate.

        • retiredfeline on 07/04/2018 - 15:40
          +3

          You also forget many users don't have CC/DC, think kids and pensioners. Tourists are a very small proportion of users. At least the card doesn't cost like Myki.

          The infrastructure of readers and backend computing isn't wasted, you would need it anyway for CC/DC. Adding that capability is a backend enhancement.

        • syousef on 07/04/2018 - 21:23
          -2

          @greenpossum:

          I have 1 opal card for each member of the family, and as a result I have about $50-90 tied up in opal accounts at any time. None of us are regular Opal users. I do sometimes go into the city for work at short notice so have to have auto-topup on. I just checked my account. Right now it's exactly $84.50. Please tell me again how it costs me nothing.

        • syousef on 07/04/2018 - 21:28
          -1

          @RockyRaccoon:

          Oh you think the cards were free with the back-end do you?

          And the "complication" of determining concession fare validity is only one of a huge number that has to be overcome by these systems. The officer could easily check a user on a database of concession holders. A concession number and standard Id is all that would be needed.

        • syousef on 07/04/2018 - 21:29

          @greenpossum:

          The Opal card could easily be an option for those who can't use CC/DC. But instead it is the only option.

        • RockyRaccoon on 07/04/2018 - 21:47
          +1

          @syousef: A standard Chip card costs less than 1c to make especially with the volumes that the state would buy. G&D, Placard etc.

          The issue that someone else raised wasn't to do with the validity of someones concession. Its the ability to tell what fare was paid using the credit card. See BeauGiles comment above.

          Obviously there are things to work out, hence it's limited rollout to a few services only, and no concessions offered at this stage.

          Not to say that sometime down the track revenue officers and others will get this ability.

          The history of Opal started back prior to 2000 when the government promised system called TCard which was supposed to be ready for the Olympics. Opal replaced the failed Tcard project in 2010 and rolled out Opal in Sept 2012.

        • retiredfeline on 07/04/2018 - 22:04
          +1

          @syousef: Bah! $90 not in a savings account costs you about 30¢ in foregone interest a month. You will pay more in service fees if they accept CC/DC more widely.

          I'm always amused when people in forums argue and bitch about saving a few cents. It's the big ticket items people should pay more attention to: home loan, car purchase, appliances, daily habits that add up like lunching out and buying coffee.

        • retiredfeline on 07/04/2018 - 22:08
          +1

          @syousef: These systems have long lead times. At the time of design, a chip card was probably the only viable option, given that you have to roll out the system to a large population, many of whom did not have CC/DC with chip cards. And also the tap payment infrastructure wasn't well established at the time. How easy it is to get used to something and think it's always been like this. Anyway the system will evolve. You're just impatient.

        • syousef on 08/04/2018 - 08:31

          @RockyRaccoon:

          And how much does the chip cost to licence?

        • RockyRaccoon on 08/04/2018 - 08:51

          @syousef: The cost of the card, includes the chip

          Source - Relative who was working in the industry. .

          To confirm just look at Alibaba you can buy 1000 cards for 10-15c each, contracts for millions would be much less

          So the card cost is negilible, even at 10c

        • syousef on 08/04/2018 - 13:57

          @RockyRaccoon:

          Sydney Trains didn't buy the cards from Alibaba.

          The project was so badly mismanaged that it cost $100k to have someone wear a giant Opal card on their head to advertise it.

          https://www.businessinsider.com.au/nsw-taxpayers-paid-100000…

          Quit shilling.

    • ChippyD on 07/04/2018 - 12:57
      +2

      Good thing this isn't an Opal deal!

  • BargainKen on 07/04/2018 - 11:38

    Will they be doing Tap On/Tap off using NFC on the phone anytime soon?

    • retiredfeline on 07/04/2018 - 11:43
      +5

      Technically possible but who knows when. I'd rather they fix up the train mess where a fatality on one line disrupts other lines for hours.

      • clx on 07/04/2018 - 13:10

        Can't they fix more than one thing at a time?

    • b3au on 07/04/2018 - 11:44
      +1

      This way you can use any contactless Card (be it Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Citi Pay, a plastic card, etc) including your phone.

      • BargainKen on 07/04/2018 - 11:48
        +3

        Yeah I'd like to be able to, or perhaps an app that can simulate the opal card which can utilise the NFC portion of the phone. That way less likely to fumble and cause issues in peak periods getting in and out.

        • Emerald Owl on 13/04/2018 - 14:54

          For the cost is takes them to develop all this shit, I would rather a cheque in the mail

  • Vallani on 07/04/2018 - 11:49

    I assume this works for multiple transactions, capped once you spend $20?

    • RockyRaccoon on 07/04/2018 - 15:16

      No it doesnt

      The OP even covers this

      Any Opal benefits (such as travel caps or off-peak fares) are not applicable for payments made with your Card.

      • Vallani on 07/04/2018 - 16:04

        That’s not what I mean. I realise it doesn’t contribute to the weekly reward, but if I take 3 x $6 ferry trips using my Amex, will I only get 50% back on the first trip, or all three?

        • kerfuffle on 07/04/2018 - 19:17
          +1

          Should be 50% back on all three; usually they state in one or more transactions. Isn't the most expensive ferry ride the one from Circular Quay to Manly which is $8.90?

        • retiredfeline on 07/04/2018 - 20:52
          +1

          I think you would get $3 back on each of the first 3, then if you take fourth ride you would only get $1, as the total rebate is capped at $10.

  • JJkx on 07/04/2018 - 13:38

    can the officer scan your amex ? They do random check in light rail,

    • [Deactivated] on 09/04/2018 - 16:24

      No

  • MathNerd on 07/04/2018 - 20:17
    -1

    This deal doesn't apply to Centurion cards because the Titanium messes with the antenna causing communication errors between the card and the reader.

    Counts me out, bummer.

    • kerfuffle on 07/04/2018 - 21:29

      Can’t you just use Apple or Google Pay? Or are Centurion cards not part of mobile wallet platforms?

      • MathNerd on 08/04/2018 - 08:58

        Haha I've got no idea!

    • miq on 08/04/2018 - 00:44
      +4

      "Counts me out, bummer."

      uh… congratulations on having a centurion card i guess? (that's what you wanted to hear, right?)

      • MathNerd on 08/04/2018 - 08:58

        I wish! If only…

  • Jared17 on 08/04/2018 - 01:07

    "Sydney Light Rail route L1, "

    I'm ignorant so does this include the route from Central to star casino?

    • paulbrown073 on 08/04/2018 - 18:33
      +1

      Yes L1 is the light rail service from central to the star and dulwhich hill

      • Jared17 on 09/04/2018 - 11:26

        Cheers

  • Jared17 on 08/04/2018 - 01:08

    Also how does this compare with travelling on Sundays? There is stil a cap of $2.50 on Sundays?

    • b3au on 08/04/2018 - 07:01
      +3

      No, the single trip tickets / contactless payments do not have caps / weekly rewards

      • Jared17 on 08/04/2018 - 07:16

        Thanks so the opal cards trips still do have a cap?

        • b3au on 08/04/2018 - 08:48
          +2

          Yep - if you use a reloadable Opal card the caps still apply (which is $2.60 on a Sunday)

        • Jared17 on 09/04/2018 - 11:26

          @BeauGiles: yep thanks. Confirmed it. Did multiple trips yesterday. Sundays probably the only day using opal is better than using this offer.

  • ItsSean on 08/04/2018 - 10:22

    Apple pay had launched the transport card (just like opal) in Beijing and Shanghai.
    Hope it will launch in Sydney too as there is no promotion to use credit/debit card.

    • ItsSean on 08/04/2018 - 10:23

      Samsung pay had launched the same service in Beijing ,Shanghai, Guangdong and more.

  • paulbrown073 on 08/04/2018 - 18:31

    From https://www.facebook.com/groups/466535556706915/permalink/21… (If you can see this on Facebook you will need to request access)

    Some Sydney Bus Routes will soon be opal card only ie you won't be able to purchase a ticket from the bus driver. Just like the current "Pre-Pay" program.

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