Student Oyster versus RailCard and Banking...

Hey all,

So London has been incredible thus far (the food!), but I'm completely baffled by London's transportation price scheme. I heard that there's a 30% discount by applying online for a student oyster card, but then there is also a railcard that also saves some money too.

I'm living in Kingston and will probably be heading into central London quite often, mainly by taking the train/rail from Kingston to Waterloo and then taking the tube.

The reason why I'm trying to figure all this out so quickly is due to the wonkiness of the student bank accounts I've been offered. RBS told me that overseas students aren't eligible for the no-charge student account, but there is a basic account that seems to offer everything I'd need.

However, Natwest is charging 6.75 quid a month for a student account that comes with a slew of discounts, including the Railcard. The rest of the discounts sound fairly pointless, but would the railcard and the other discounts like the 25% off concert gigs (by going thru their box office) be worth the monthly fee?

Is that just a 16-25 Rail Card or is it a National Rail season ticket?

The 16-25 rail card is handy. I bought it for £25 for a year and it's more than paid for itself in savings. I get a pretty nice discount on off-peak travel on national rail. I've loaded the rail card onto my PAYG Oyster as well, which reduces the cap price by 34% if you first touch in after 9:30am and use rail at least once during the day (Underground counts as rail). On many days, it's actually cheaper for me to take the train rather than the bus. So one thing to consider aside from how often you'll be travelling with these cards is WHEN you'll be using them.

The Student Oyster is only good for if you're buying passes rather than PAYG. You do get a good discount with week, month and annual passes. I've used the weekly one on occasion when I have to travel during peak hours and know that it would save me money. But to be honest, I generally just use my PAYG Oyster with its rail card cap.

I'm personally bias when it comes to bank accounts and refuse to pay fees if I can. I have an account with Lloyds. There aren't any perks, but my money is there, they didn't care I was an international student, and they don't charge me. Unless you really plan to take advantage of the things Natwest is offering, I don't think it's worth paying a fee.

I'm personally bias when it comes to bank accounts and refuse to pay fees if I can. I have an account with Lloyds. There aren't any perks, but my money is there, they didn't care I was an international student, and they don't charge me. Unless you really plan to take advantage of the things Natwest is offering, I don't think it's worth paying a fee.

Just wanted to chime in, and note that you should make sure you're eligible for the account NatWest has which includes the railcard, etc.  For most "student accounts" I've seen, it says in the fine print that you need to have been resident in the UK for the past 3 years or something like that in order to be eligible for that type of account.