[Incorrect Information, Pre-Authorisation Charge] Travel on Sydney Trains for $1

tokziktigah on 13/12/2018 - 19:13
Last edited 13/12/2018 - 19:31 by 1 other user

Moved to Forum: Original Link

Noticed Sydney Trains now allow you to use your Visa, MasterCard and American Express to tap on and off instead of using your Opal card. Been testing it this week and have only been paying $1 per trip. Not sure if it's just for a trial period or a promotion. No idea of ending date. I normally pay $4.40 per trip so $1 is a great price!

Info from opal website:

Contactless payments are now available for standard (peak) Adult Opal fares on Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink Intercity trains.

If you are catching a train you can now tap on and tap off using an accepted contactless payment card, which means there are more ways to pay for a standard (peak) Adult Opal fare on any train, Sydney Ferries or light rail service within the Opal network.

There’s no need to have an Opal card or wait in a ticket machine queue, just tap on and tap off to pay your Adult fare at an Opal reader with most American Express, Mastercard, Visa credit / debit cards or a smartphone, tablet or wearable device linked to one of these cards.

Contactless fares are now the same price as a standard (peak) Adult Opal fare for the same trip. Opal Daily, Weekly and Sunday travel caps are also applied, making contactless fares more attractive than before.

However some other Opal benefits such as Weekly Travel Rewards, Transfer Discounts, Off-peak train fare discounts, Trip Advantage and free access to Opal Park&Ride carparks are not available with contactless payments.

Being able to pay an Adult fare using cards and devices most people already carry makes public transport more accessible, particularly for tourists and locals who don’t use public transport often enough to need an Opal card. It also offers a handy backup option if you forget or lose your Opal card.

Whether you are heading to the airport, a concert, sporting event or conference or are just want to explore for the day, contactless transport payments mean there’s one less thing to worry about.

Travel

Related Stores

Opal Card - NSW Government
Opal Card - NSW Government

Comments

  • RichardL on 13/12/2018 - 19:29
    +2

    From Opal Site, FAQ Number 24

    After you tap on at the Opal reader at the train station, ferry wharf or light rail stop, a $1 pending transaction may appear on your statement or device for each trip taken. When fares are settled by your bank (processing times may vary), any pending transactions will be replaced with individual charges for each trip taken, accompanied by a description on your statement that says ‘Transport for NSW travel’.

    Example
    You tap on with your credit card before boarding a train. You tap off and exit the paid area before tapping on and boarding a different service. As you are taking two trips, you will see two $1 pending transactions on your statement. These will be replaced with two separate Adult Opal fares when your bank settles the funds.

    Transport for NSW processes payments at 4am the day after travel has taken place so you may see delayed transactions or fare adjustments on your statement up to seven business days after you travelled. This is normal and may occur for various reasons, including when you qualify for an Opal Daily, Weekly or Sunday Travel Cap.

  • dylo on 13/12/2018 - 19:13
    +6

    There was a similar thread, they pre-auth and then process full charge at later date.

    • tokziktigah on 13/12/2018 - 19:18

      Oh really? Bummer haha I tried looking up for a previous post but couldn't find one.

    • MorriJ on 13/12/2018 - 19:25
      +5

      Same as the airport line, ppl will use prepaid credit cards for this no doubt. Good way to get your $1 fares.

      How does this work with inspectors?

  • Iwantthatbargain on 13/12/2018 - 19:14

    Contactless fares are now the same price as a standard (peak) Adult Opal fare for the same trip.

    • D C on 13/12/2018 - 22:48

      Yeah no off-peak fares is bollocks.

  • CyberMurning on 13/12/2018 - 19:16

    Haha…. If squack like a duck then it is a ?… If too good to be true then it's not….

  • easternculture on 13/12/2018 - 19:24
    -1

    Here we go again

  • Balls on 13/12/2018 - 19:24
    +2

    we had a similar post and it was very embarrassing for the creator

    • SydOzber on 13/12/2018 - 19:26

      Embarrassment. Username checks out

  • paulbrown073 on 13/12/2018 - 19:26

    No doubt if you have a card connected to a loyalty/frequent flyer program you would get the points.

    • jacktator on 13/12/2018 - 21:01
      +1

      Topup at Coles, using discounted eGC, purchased by AMEX.
      You get Amex MR, Flybuys, Flybuy Dollars, and discounted OPAL fare.

  • Blue Cat on 13/12/2018 - 22:39
    -1

    One could abuse this with a bank card that doesn't allow overdrawing, given that you can bother to always keep $1 balance on your card between trips.
    But then again, a bank card is tied directly to your identity, so wouldn't eventually Opal come knocking on your door saying "lol u used ur card 200 times and only paid $200 pay up the reminder $1000 mate"?

    • Neoika on 13/12/2018 - 22:53

      I lost my card and someone else is using it like this.

      • Blue Cat on 13/12/2018 - 22:56

        You lost your card and have been making daily $1 transfers from your other account at least twice per day?

    • shadowangel on 17/12/2018 - 20:50

      prepaid ?

      • Blue Cat on 17/12/2018 - 20:59

        I have yet to find a prepaid that:

        • does not require a passport or some other form of ID
          and
        • allows $1 reloads.

        So far the closest is CashPassport but it requires to provide your Australian passport or Australian driver's licence number for identification verification purposes and the minimum reload/starting load is $100.

        • Neoika on 17/12/2018 - 21:19

          Coles Reloadable, was discontinued though. Many people should still have it.

  • Neoika on 13/12/2018 - 22:56

    I can see there might be another Opal hack happening soon.

  • dane45 on 17/12/2018 - 12:56

    Does anyone know if it's possible to use prepaid visa gift cards with only $1 left on them for this?

    • Neoika on 17/12/2018 - 16:26
      +1

      I do not think so. It requires the card has a chip allows contactless payment.

      • dane45 on 18/12/2018 - 11:01

        Oh duh, of course! -_- I can dream though

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