My do Barclays offer Oyster on a Barclaycard if they can't manage both seamlessly?

I've got a Barclaycard. It used to be Gold (no idea what it add to the standard, but it's a bit cooler).

Used to be, because I had the idea to try the new Barclaycard with an Oyster card on it -probably so that both the government Big Brother and the Barclays Little Brother (or is it the other way around) has the possibility to always know where I am on the underground network.

The least I can say is that the customer experience isn't very seamless.

First, you have to give up your gold card and reapply for a new Barclaycard -which they don't make in any other metal than standard plastic. Since I never really saw the benefits of the Barclaycard Gold, it did not bother me but it's daft from a marketing standpoint (why create product tiers if you can't carry them across your portfolio?).

More annoyingly, you have to reapply for a direct debit, send the form, etc... They can't do it for you, nor have they the intelligence to pre-fill the form you send them. #fail, as I tweeted today.

Then, if you loose your card and get a replacement, they're not smart enough to relink the Oyster and the Barclaycard. They probably call it a daftcard?

So, when that lady (or whatever gender is that made up name meant to confer) sent me an email with the following question, here was my reponse:


Aderemi Ademola
Oyster Customer Services Manager
tfl.gov.uk/oyster

"We hope you are satisfied with the level of service you have received."

Quite frankly? No.

I've got my Oyster on my Barclaycard -it's the same card! Why do I have to deal with all that then?