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NYCBikeLanes OP t1_jaotzgd wrote

It's a sticker that I put on my OMNY card to give it a MetroCard look! edit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1429887945/sticker-for-omny-nyc-metrocard-inspired

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brooklynlad t1_jap3ynu wrote

Which retail outlet did you go to purchase you OMNY card?

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Mdayofearth t1_jappg7k wrote

Peek behind the cashiers at some Duane Reade locations.

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starxidiamou t1_jat6r6e wrote

Da fook is an Omni card???

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manticorpse t1_jar1u4o wrote

If all else fails, they should have them at the NY Transit Museum Annex at Grand Central.

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eldersveld t1_jaqsb8a wrote

I struck out at several 7-11s and CVSes but I finally found one at a gaming parlor in Chinatown (the one on Grand St close to Shu Jiao Fu Zhou)

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zaptrem t1_jarbbig wrote

I love the design by why bother with a card when you can just pay with your phone?

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LiLisiLiz t1_jasetd7 wrote

  1. Because Westchester Bee-line doesn't accept phone payments yet, so we're still stuck having to use the Metro card.
  2. Bc using the omny card ensures that you're being charged the correct amount and not being double charged.
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[deleted] t1_jasedhn wrote

[deleted]

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brooklynlad t1_jasfjn4 wrote

Super! I'll check. I've been checking and have no luck. I wish we could just order from the OMNY site to have them delivered by mail.

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ZweitenMal t1_jap6c98 wrote

I want this. The new cards are soulless.

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itsallthesamejames t1_japh46w wrote

They’ll probably get better once the Metrocards are phased out. Metrocards were similarly plain and monocolored in their very first days.

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LazarusRises t1_japku12 wrote

Why not just use a credit card...?

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ZweitenMal t1_japl66q wrote

Because I get a transit card from work with pretax funds on it, and the card vendor doesn’t offer chipped cards.

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itchi_butthole t1_japyfju wrote

Have you tried apple or Google pay? My vendor doesn’t either but they allowed me to add it to Apple Pay (even though the card itself did not have contactless capabilities).

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ZweitenMal t1_jaqzq1m wrote

Frankly I’m not comfortable using my phone as a train pass. I want it to be a separate card.

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Astoria321 t1_jaxpfvd wrote

Why not..?

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ZweitenMal t1_jaxqn8j wrote

  1. What if my phone dies? What if I keep it in airplane mode? What if I don't bring it with me? What if I don't trust the apps to charge the right card?
  2. What if I want to lend the card to my college-aged kids, home for break? Can't give them my phone.

There are loads of reasons.

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Astoria321 t1_jaxt982 wrote

For one I'd just tap my credit card on those occasions but I guess 2 makes sense.

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ZweitenMal t1_jaxz7bn wrote

You missed the part where I said my transit benefit card (pre-tax commuting funds) does not have a chip.

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MulysaSemp t1_jask9j2 wrote

I use Google pay to pay for things. And I know, although it really wouldn't be that hard, I would mess up switching between cards on the google pay app. Don't feel like risking it.

Of course, my monthly metro card is cheaper than OMNY currently. When I have to make the switch, I'm hoping the OMNY cards are easy to find.

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_busch t1_jar07u3 wrote

a lot of people do not qualify for a CC

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freeman687 t1_japl71w wrote

I’m curious too. Is there some benefit to a separate card?

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[deleted] t1_jaq2j9w wrote

[deleted]

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ipadthighs t1_jaq5u0j wrote

You can reload your MetroCard with cash app rebate from home?

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TosicamirDTGA t1_jasjajl wrote

Actually, no, as the transaction comes up on Cash App as OMNY, and not MTA. I've tried with my own OMNY card and Cash App, and no such luck.

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manticorpse t1_jar2xnc wrote

Well, OMNY only charges you for 12 rides a week (with all the following being free), but only if you use the same card/device to tap in each time. The way an OMNY card works is that you can reload it online with any credit or debit card (and eventually you'll be able to reload it at vending machines, presumably with cash). So I guess if you want to use multiple cards/accounts to pay for transit you can use the OMNY card to make sure that you still get the post-12-ride discount.

And for families... I can see parents setting up an OMNY account for their kid, giving the kid a card and pre-loading it with cash, and that way the kid has a way to get around.

Also, if you have a non-contactless transit benefits card (like me 😔) then you can use an OMNY card to spend that money.

Lots of reasons.

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TosicamirDTGA t1_jasihvg wrote

I have one as a disabled person. My reduced fare is tied to my OMNY card. Can reload with any credit card I want to.

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Unfair-Owl2766 t1_jaqt0j2 wrote

I remember tokens and I'm still alive. I wish that option would come back.

I'll let myself out thanks.

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RevWaldo t1_jar9sth wrote

They should get to work putting OMNY card RFID chips into jewelry. Have a subway token ring that let's you go through the turnstiles like you're Green Lantern.

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Frenchitwist t1_jarxn59 wrote

Yoooo I had earring made of old tokens ages ago, but I can’t for the life of me find them 😩😩

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Diflicated t1_jarjolo wrote

Could you get an RFID copier to clone your credit card to a chip, then put that in a ring behind the token? Unless your ring is currently functional in which case I want to know how it works!

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jddh1 t1_jasyeb8 wrote

Do you think I can use an RFID copier to close my OMNY card so my girl and I can use it?

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PhAnToM444 t1_jata87t wrote

Genuine question, why?

Other than being the way you grew up with who’s like “you know what I wish I could do? Carry more change around with me wherever I go”

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Unfair-Owl2766 t1_jatdqvj wrote

Just being nostalgic, sometimes I miss those little parts of the past. Then I'm reminded of how it maybe wasn't that great

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IIAOPSW t1_japufrq wrote

since there is no swipe direction, maybe change the bottom text to "Andrew Cuomo (Governor)". Give it that real vintage laughably out of date appeal.

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Blue387 t1_jape8z2 wrote

Do you have the blue Metrocard look?

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san_serifs t1_japmnyb wrote

Still looks like a Butterfinger wrapper.

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experimentjon t1_jaq6zpz wrote

Does anyone know if there is an OMNY card with EasyPay (auto reloads) enabled? That would be the best because then it would work with the Wageworks card (pre-tax funds) for ultimate convenience.

Right now, because Wageworks doesn't play well with Apple Pay, I'm still swiping my EasyPayXxpress Metrocard that is linked to Wageworks, and am slightly bummed every time I take more than 12 rides a week.

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manticorpse t1_jar407q wrote

Yeah, you can do this.

  1. Go get yourself an OMNY card (at CVS/Duane Reade/the NY Transit Museum/etc).
  2. Go to https://omny.info/ and make an account.
  3. Add your OMNY card to your wallet as a travel card.
  4. Add your Wageworks card to your account as a payment method.
  5. In your wallet on the website, select your OMNY card. Choose "Set up reload" > "Scheduled reload". You can choose to reload whatever amount you want either monthly or weekly, as well as the day of the month/week you want the reload to happen.
  6. On the last page, select your Wageworks card as the payment method.

When I had Wageworks I had it set up to pull all of my pretax funds into my OMNY account a day or two after it landed in my Wageworks account. I spent like 6 months never having to think about running out of time or money, never needing to buy any passes or recharge anything. It was heaven. Then my employer switched to Voya and it's been nothing but trouble. :( Hoping I can work out the kinks to make it all automatic again....

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experimentjon t1_jarh64c wrote

Legendary. Will do this for next week. Thank you for the guide!

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Cinnie_16 t1_jaq8ko8 wrote

Bruhhhh!!! This is literally me. I hope wageworks either negotiates something with Apple Pay soon or create a chipper card because the easypauXxpress metrocard aren’t going to work after they take away all the swipe machines, which I read they are going to start phasing out soon 🤦🏻‍♀️

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ShadownetZero t1_jb3pulj wrote

You can already use your transit/commuter card with OMNY cards.

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Cinnie_16 t1_jb3th16 wrote

Yes, but what I’m looking forward to (and what experimentjon is talking about) is an auto reloading function/feature. Previously if you connect the commuter card to EasyPauXxpress metrocard it was automated. But I don’t think OMNY cards has auto reload feature yet?

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ShadownetZero t1_jb3yy53 wrote

I think they've always had them. At least since I got mine last year.

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archiotterpup t1_jardf87 wrote

I'm still so mad they're making us switch in what's a blatant cash grab which only hurts the working, daily commuter.

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Dranharelo t1_jargsjq wrote

OMNY is coming with fare capping which is a huge huge benefit to people without the funds to pay for an unlimited all at once. It's a big step towards fairness.

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ShadownetZero t1_jb3q000 wrote

Unlimited are objectively better value (if you're consistently hitting 11+ rides a week).

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Pandadora86 t1_jb0ihco wrote

I actually didn’t even know there were omny cards, I thought it was just the touchless phone uses….

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gl4ssm1nd t1_jb3ei8u wrote

One thing I wish the mass transit museum would highlight is OS 2, the operating system behind the subway system. I know it’s a niche nerd thing. But it deserves a mention in their fare collection section.

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ShadownetZero t1_jb3ph00 wrote

I still don't get how the MTA hasn't realized there's easy money to be made in selling OMNY cards with different designs. They should have been doing it with metrocards (and not the 2 random promos they just tossed in random machines).

Sell some cooler designs for an extra $5, and you'll have people collecting all of them.

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tommarshfield t1_jaq3s0i wrote

I thought the point of Omny was that it was on your phone, no?

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[deleted] t1_jaqylz7 wrote

Yes, and it's a card if you want that.

Edit: Why are you downvoting me? That's exactly what it is!

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SgtSlice t1_jarac2j wrote

OMNY is just the payment interface itself. You can literally just tap your credit card at any subway entrance, no phone involved. Or you can bring up Apple Pay and use that at an OMNY interface, or you can buy a physical OMNY card and load that with funds.

There is nothing to set up on your phone. This message wasn’t clearly communicated.

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sixgunbuddyguy t1_jatvuco wrote

I've tried explaining this to so many people convinced they need to buy a metrocard or download some app. you don't even need apple/android pay. LITERALLY ANY RFID/TAP ENABLED CARD WORKS.

I think the only real benefit to the physical card is if you need to pay for it a special way like with pre-tax benefits or other monetary assistance, and you don't want to rely on your phone battery never going dead. Outside of basically that one condition, you can either use the OMNY app and reload however you need to, or just use any tappable credit card and get the discount if you use it enough.

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SgtSlice t1_jau1nsl wrote

Yea I think the marketing and interface were confusing for a lot of people.

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MikeSpano t1_japhooi wrote

Who still pays to get on the subway?

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Titan_Astraeus t1_jappqg7 wrote

People who aren't scumbags unwilling to pay 2 dollars for the public service they are taking advantage of

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