How do I use my Opal card for the first time?
Once you have yours, just add value, then tap on and tap off to travel. You’ll never pay more than the Daily or Weekly caps, no matter how much you travel.
Opal is the smartcard ticketing system used to pay for travel on public transport in Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, the Hunter and the Illawarra. Add value before you travel and tap on and off to pay your fare.
If you applied for a new or replacement Opal card online or over the phone, you will need to activate it if you added value to the card.
Once it has arrived in the mail, you can activate it online.
Activate your Opal card online
- Log in to your Opal account
- Locate your Opal card. You will see an ‘Activate card’ link over your new card
- Click/tap on the link, check the card number and enter the security number on the back of your card
- If you added money when ordering the card, tap on after 60 minutes and within 60 days to transfer the balance to the card.
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Tap on within 60 days to access the balance
Once you have activated your card, you will need to wait 60 minutes for your balance to become available.
You then need to tap on at an Opal reader within 60 days to transfer the balance onto the card.
Benefits of registering your Opal card
A registered Opal card has your personal information linked to the card. This means you can:
- Protect your balance – You can block your card if it becomes lost or stolen, so no one else can use your funds.
- Transfer the balance to another Opal card – If your Opal card becomes lost, damaged or stolen, you can transfer the balance to another Opal card.
- Set up auto top up – Registered cards can be set to automatically top up when your balance becomes low, so you don’t need to remember to top up manually.
- View and download your activity statement – See up to 18 months of Opal card activity to help you keep track of how much you spend. You can also download your activity statement to share with a third party, like your employer or accountant.
- Set SMS or email alerts – Choose to have notifications sent via SMS or email if your balance gets low or when an auto-top-up has been applied.
- Link multiple Opal cards – Multiple Opal cards can be linked to one account to keep track of them all in one place so you can view and manage all the Opal cards for your family or household.
Reading your Opal activity statement
It can take up to 48 hours to show all activities and balance on the website activity statement.
If you haven’t tapped on or off, the origin or destination will be ‘Unknown’ and you will be charged the maximum ‘default’ fare. This is recorded as an incomplete journey, which means it doesn’t count towards your weekly travel reward.
You can recognize any Opal transactions, such as card top ups, on your bank statement if ‘TfNSW’ and ‘Opal’ is listed in the transaction description.
How do I connect my Opal card?
- Select the ‘Manage your Opal card’ button.
- Log in using your username and password.
- Select ‘Link card’ box next to the Opal card image.
- Enter the Opal card number and security code of the card you want to link to your account.
- Enter a nickname for your Opal card (optional).
- Select the ‘Link card’ button..
How do I use my Opal card on the train?
Simply tap on and tap off with your contactless card or device on the Opal reader to pay the Adult fare and receive all the same travel benefits. Contactless payments are available on all public transport in the Opal network.
How do I check my Opal card balance?
An Opal card reader shows your card balance when you tap on or off. You can also check your balance at a top up machine or an Opal retailer, if you’re a registered user, you can also log in to your account or if unregistered, use your Opal card number.
