Train travel from Gatwick Airport

[TunnocksTeaCake]

I will be flying in to Gatwick Airport on Friday 10 May 2024, arriving around 8.30am. I intend to take a train to London Bridge and then make a number of tube and/or bus journeys in Zone 1 that day. I am extremely confused by the ticket options available on the Thameslink and TfL websites. I am looking to find the cheapest way to make my journeys.

The TfL website states that
a) the PAYG cap from Gatwick Airport (exc Gatwick Express) to/from Zone 1-9 is £25.60 off-peak. This is confusing me most.
b) PAYG single fare from Gatwick Airport to London Bridge is £10.10 off-peak
c) PAYG single fares from Gatwick to East Croydon is £3.90 off-peak & from East Croydon to London Bridge is £4.20 off-peak (£8.10 in total)
d) a PAYG cap for zone 1 and 2 is £8.50

The Thameslink website says that I can buy an Off-Peak Day Travelcard (Gatwick Airport to/from Zones 1-6) for £19.70

1. Is it simply best for me to use contactless at Gatwick Airport and or all my journeys in Zone 1 that day.
2. I have plenty of time, so will the ‘out and in’ at East Croydon save me money.
3. Does the ‘Off Peak Friday’ fares running until 31 May 2024 apply at Gatwick Airport and therefore there is no need for me to start my journey from Gatwick Airport after 9.30am.

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

1 – yes

2 – I really wouldn’t bother doing that to save £2. You have to go up the ramp, tap out and tap in again as I don’t think there are any readers at platform level

3 – The off peak friday fares do apply from GTW (usign the train station code!) on Southern and Thamleslink trains (it’s not clear if the GEX is included or not)

[AndrewT]

If you are definitely staying within Zone 1 once you get there, the best combination of the numbers above would appear to be use one card PAYG Gatwick – London for £10.10, then use a different card within Zone 1 (&2) capped at £8.50. If you want to save a couple of quid tapping out and back in at ECR that’s your choice, I agree probably not worth the effort, but either way use one card to get to London and a separate card within Zone 1.

I doubt the Friday fares would apply to GEX as they charge different / higher fares in the first place.

Bear in mind the £19.70 Travelcard is Thameslink only, not valid on Southern from Gatwick (but valid on on all operators including Southern within Zones 1-6 as that is the main TfL area).

[John]

The bridge at the north end of East Croydon station is much easier than the ramp if you have no luggage (or a companion who can hold the luggage while you go up and tap everyone’s cards).

Outside of rush hours you can often get back on the same train, with practice.

I can’t be bothered to work out the exact saving but, if you use contactless and travel enough, you will be charged the Z1-2 cap plus a single fare – either Z3-GTW, or Z3-Z5 + ECR-GTW

On Oyster it may charge more initially and then refund you later, which requires a paid journey (or free Heathrow transfer) to collect. Oyster also needs to have a balance of the GTW to Z1 fare at the applicable time in order to enter the gates

[TunnocksTeaCake]

Thanks for all of those quick replies. So to summarise
a) I will NOT be using Gatwick Express, so Friday Off-Peak should apply no matter when I tap in at Gatwick Airport Station
b) I will use one contactless card for ALL of my journeys on Friday 10 May (and trust that TfL calculates the appropriate fare as per John’s reply).
c) I will ignore the £25.60 PAYG cap quoted on the TfL website ‘Gatwick Airport to/from Zone 1-9’. It is not relevant to me as I will be travelling around Zone 1 only after I arrive from Gatwick Airport.
d) If I can be bothered I will tap out and back in again at East Croydon.