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Opal benefits

Opal benefits apply when you travel with an Opal card or credit card, debit card or linked device on public transport in the Opal network. This excludes OpalPay trips on selected private ferries and On Demand public transport. Make sure you understand the differences between a trip, journey and transfer.

Travel all day on metro, train, bus, ferry and light rail services and pay no more than:

Travel all week on metro, train, bus, ferry and light rail services and pay no more than:

Travel all day on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays and pay no more than:

 

When you have paid for eight journeys in one week (Monday to Sunday) with an Opal card or contactless credit/debit card or device, you reach the Weekly Travel Reward. For the rest of that week, your fares will be half price. You must tap on and tap off each time to receive the discount.

When you travel outside of peak times with an Opal card you will receive a 30% discount. Off peak fares apply on metro/train, bus and light rail services. Find out more.

Adult Opal card holders and contactless card users get a $2 discount for every transfer between metro/train, ferry, bus or light rail as part of one journey within 60 minutes from the last tap off.

Child/Youth, Gold Senior/Pensioner and Concession Opal card holders get a $1 discount for every transfer between modes.

Once you reach the Weekly Travel Reward of half-price travel, the Opal Transfer Discount is also reduced by 50%.

There is a 30% discount for off-peak fares, which means some fares may be less than the applicable transfer discount.

If the second trip costs less than the transfer discount, the discount will be capped at the second trip price, resulting in a $0 fare for the second trip.

In the event where a second trip’s transfer discount equals the cost of the second trip fare, there will be no further transfer discounts on a third trip.

Trips that include transfers between Sydney Metro, Sydney Trains and/or NSW TrainLink Intercity services are considered a continuous journey. No need to tap off and on again between services, and you’ll be charged a single fare.

If you are travelling to and from the Sydney Airport train stations, you will need to pay the additional station access fee on top of your fare.

There is a station access fee weekly cap, however this is different to the Opal weekly travel cap.

If you make several trips using the same mode of transport, as long as your transfer occurs within 60 minutes of tapping off from your last trip, it counts as a single journey and a single fare.

An exception applies to the Sydney Ferries Manly ferry service where you do not tap off and the standard transfer time is counted as 2 hours and 10 minutes from tap on.

Auto top up lets you link your Opal card to a Visa or Mastercard credit or debit card. Then, whenever your balance gets low, it will top up automatically with whatever amount you have chosen. You won't need to remember to top up again as it will all happen automatically. Set up Opal auto top up.

With contactless payments, you get the same fare and travel benefits of an Adult Opal card.

Benefits include:

  • $2 discount for every transfer between modes (train, ferry, bus or light rail) as part of one journey. The Opal Transfer Discount does not apply when transferring between light rail and Sydney Ferries, except at Circular Quay.
  • Half price travel after eight paid journeys in a week.
  • Fares capped daily, weekly and on weekends and public holidays.
  • 30% discount on fares for off peak travel.

Concession fares are not available using this payment method. If you are entitled to concession fares, you should travel with a Child/Youth, Concession or Gold Senior/Pensioner Opal card to avoid paying a higher fare.