If you’re travelling to South Korea soon you’ve most probably already came across the TMoney card and Climate card during your trip research. This article is a Climate Card vs TMoney card comparison breaking down the similarities and differences of these two cards
My goal is to equip you with all the information you need to decide on which card you should be getting!
By the way this article is simply an excerpt of my youtube video, do feel free to watch that instead if you prefer to consume your information in video form
And so without further ado lets get into it!
What is the TMoney card?
To really understand the differences we need to start with the basics and that is what exactly is a Tmoney Card?
Well, The TMoney aka transit money card is a rechargeable smart card widely used in South Korea for convenient, cashless transactions which include public transportation but its not limited to that as it can also be used at various retail outlets, convenience stores, and vending machines, basically anywhere where the T-Money sign is displayed as a payment method
You will need to top up the card before you can use it to ride public transport, how much you should top it up for depends on how much public transport you plan on taking
But to give you an idea a subway ride cost starts from 1,250 WON or 0.94 cents one way whereas a bus ride starts from 1,000 WON or 0.75 cents one way
What is the Climate card?
But what about the climate card? It works in a completely different way
Instead of paying per ride you will pay a fixed price for a fixed period of time to take UNLIMITED subway and bus rides, the daily price works out to start from just $2 a day!
As you can see here the climate card comes in 1, 2, 3,5, 7 and 30 days to choose from at different pricings
What is the Cost of a TMoney or Climate Card?
Speaking of pricing the one thing thats similar between the two cards is that both will cost a 3,000 WON when purchasing
Where to Get a TMoney or Climate Card?
You can get the TMoney card at convenience stores such 7-11 or GS25 when you arrive in South Korea however you can also get it for free if you purchase it in a mobile data bundle together with a SIM card or esim card.
You can also purchase the climate card at all convenience stores but given the card’s popularity you may also with to check out the customer safety centres inside Lines 1-8 of the Seoul Metro
Full list of where you can buy the climate card is here
How to Top Up the Balance of a TMoney or Climate Card?
Once you’ve purchased either the TMoney or climate card you can top it up at the charging kiosks located at basically any metro station or at any Korean Convenience store
The difference is that the Tmoney card has a balance upper limit of 500,000 Korean Won or around 375 us dollars whereas the Climate card can only be topped up for a set number of days at the pricing as shown on the table here
But here’s an important thing you need to note, the official website for both the TMoney and Climate card specially state that foreign credit or debit cards will not be accepted.
As such I recommend having cash on hand when purchasing or when topping up
Is the balance on TMoney and Climate Card Refundable?
But what if you dont end up finishing up the balance on your Tmoney card? Or perhaps you end up only using 5 out of the 7 days of a climate card package
Could you get the remaining balance back?
That leads quite nicely into this next section, balance refund
Lets start with TMoney refunds, please note that you will need to have above 10,000 Korean Won to be eligible for a refund and also that service fee of 500 Korean Won will be charged
If your TMoney card balance is below 20,000 WON you can basically refund this at any convenience store that sells Tmoney cards
However if your amount is above that you will need to head to TMoney town which is located on the 1st floor of the Seoul City Tower Building which you will find at Exit 10 of the Seoul Station metro
For the climate card only the short term climate card tourist passes are refundable aka the 1-7 day passes (30 day pass is NOT eligible)
To do this simply visit the card reload machines located inside subway stations, scan your card and press the “Refund (Stop Card Use)” button on screen of the card reload machine
I highly recommend you do this at Seoul station as you will then need to head to the T-Town Customer Center I mentioned earlier to get your refund
Once there confirm your refund eligibility and fill out a refund form. Do remember to bring your passport for the refund process.
The refund amount is calculated by subtracting the actual total used on public transport and another 500 WON service fee from the package amount
Another thing you need to take note of is that you will need to visit the T-Town within 3 business days after you pressed the “Refund” button at the card reload machine to get your money back
Does the Balance on a TMoney Card or Climate Card Expire?
If the refund process is sounding a bit tedious to you, you may be thinking if you can just keep the card for future use, so lets talk about the Tmoney vs Climate card balance expiry.
Simply put, the balance on a climate expires once the number of days you’ve purchased it for has lapsed, you will need to top it up in order to use it again on your return trips.
This is where the TMoney card excels, the card is has permanent validity and the balance on it is valid for up to 5 years from the last date you topped it up
So for example if I topped it up in September 2024 I have all the way up to September 2029 to utilise the balance which is great if you plan to make return trips
Which I have done many times which I why I just keep my card so that I can reuse it.
Card Coverage
And lets continue with coverage aka Where can I use these cards and is there a difference?
Lets start with the easy one the TMoney card can be used across South Korea that includes transportation in Busan, the AREX from the airport to Seoul and more
Whereas the Climate Card only covers transportation within Seoul including Seoul-based subway lines, Seoul-licensed transit and town buses however it doesn’t cover subway lines outside of Seoul, intercity and airport buses or non-Seoul-licensed buses.
Which means that it also will not cover the AREX, KTX or Korea Limousine Buses from the airport to Seoul
UPDATE – as of Sept 2024, the Climate card tourist pass can now be used to take the train from Seoul TO the Incheon and Gimpo Airport
NOTE – Getting OFF at Incheon Airport Station (T1 and T2) is allowed with the Climate Card however, boarding at Incheon Airport Station (T1 and T2) with the Climate Card is not permitted.
You will thus need to pay an additional fee if you get off the train at a station that is located outside of the service range listed above
For example if you get on at Myeondong Station which is within Seoul but then get off at Indeogwon station which is outside of Seoul you will have to pay for the fare difference
Climate Card vs TMoney Card Benefits
But what about card benefits? Does the climate card have some benefits that the TMoney card doesn’t?
Im glad you asked let’s do a quick recap and also compare the card benefits
As you have seen so far the Tmoney card definitely has more coverage, can be used as a cash card to make other purchases and also whilst you have to pay per subway or bus ride you will get a 100 WON discount by using the card versus just paying for the single trip ticket independently
The climate card in comparison can be used to take as many subway or bus rides WITHIN its coverage area in Seoul, you cannot use it for any other purpose BUT you can get some discounts off the entrance tickets to some of the popular attraction spots in Seoul including 50% off the Seoul Science Center, Botanic Park and Grand Park, 30% off the Theatre des Lumieres Exhibition and many more which is great if you were already planning to check these places out.
Conclusion
In summary the Climate Card offers excellent value for tourists or short term travellers who only plan to extensively explore Seoul. The undeniable convenience of unlimited public transportation makes it a cost-effective choice.
However, if you’re planning to explore places outside of Seoul you will need to consider the additional costs, in these instances you may even need to also get a Tmoney card to cover those parts of your itinerary
Outro
There are of course other things to consider before your South Korea trip apart from deciding on a travel card, I have previously done a first timers guide to South Korea which where I talk about everything I learnt through research before my trip and also what I had to learn the hard way whilst I was there
Definitely watch it or read it so you dont end up making the same mistakes as I did
If you have more questions, do check out the rest of my content on Youtube, Instagram and TikTok or send me a DM there!
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Lastly, watch this space for more PHAT updates on Korea!