A good reason for Londoners to refund their TfL tube or bus season ticket due to coronavirus

If you usually work in London but are working from home for the forseeable future, you should be claiming a refund on your season ticket.

The reason I’m discussing this on Head for Points is that there is a little extra benefit if you do so.

What are the rules for refunding your Travelcard, bus or tram season ticket on Oyster?

Transport for London has put some guidelines in place.

You can claim a refund if there is at least:

• 6 weeks remaining on an Annual ticket
• 7 days remaining on a Monthly ticket
• 3 days remaining on a 7 Day ticket

Importantly, your refund will be backdated to the day when you last used your season ticket.  The administration fee will also be refunded.

Why is this interesting to HfP readers?

For most Londoners, buying their season ticket is a great way of putting a large amount of spending onto a credit card.  It can take you a decent way towards your next British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher or a new credit card sign-up bonus.

Here’s the sad news:

TfL will only issue refunds by bank transfer.

Disaster.

They will not send the money back to the credit card you originally used.  This means that you don’t lose any miles or points and your ‘qualifying spend’ for any bonus is not reduced.  Handy ….

Once you go back to work, you can buy a new Travelcard and put another chunk of spending through your credit card.

There is a catch though

For people who cannot see any way they will be returning to work for at least the next 4-6 weeks, you should be claiming a refund.  This is regardless of the points aspect.

However, do the maths.

Your refund is NOT pro-rata.  TfL will deduct the cost of a travel card for the period you have used.

If you bought a one-year Travelcard on 1st January and started working from home on 15th March (10 weeks in), your refund is NOT 42/52 of what you paid.

It is ‘cost of a one-year Travelcard’ minus ‘cost of 2.5 monthly Travelcards’.

This means that, if you have used your Travelcard in the last few days and expect to be back at work within 1-2 weeks, getting a refund does not make sense.  You will be out of pocket because monthly Travelcards are disproportionately more expensive. 

However, for anyone who will be out of the office for at least two months – which is most of us – you will still make a saving by getting a refund.

Instructions on how to claim a refund on your TfL Travelcard or season ticket are on this page of the TfL website.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – July 2025 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 15th July 2025, the sign-up bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card is TRIPLED to 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. This would convert into 25,000 Avios or into 40 other airline schemes. It would also get you at least £300 of Marriott hotel stays based on our 0.5p per point low-end valuation. Other T&C apply and remain unchanged. Click here for our full card review and click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th August 2025, the sign-up bonus on the Hilton Honors Plus debit card is TRIPLED to 30,000 Hilton Honors points. You will also receive Gold Elite status in Hilton Honors for as long as you hold the card. Click here for our full card review and click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card

30,000 Avios and the famous annual Companion Voucher voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

The American Express Business Platinum Card

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

The American Express Business Gold Card

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 0.8 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review