I guess this makes sense if you're visiting NY and you're only going to use the subway a few times. If you live in the city though you're probably just refilling the same card over and over. Then the logic of filling the card up doesn't hold up. you should go for the largest "bonus" you can get and try not to lose that card!
Putting money on the card barely makes sense at all if you use the subway frequently. My honeymoon was in Manhattan for a week, and we were out and about every day. For a $30/person flat rate, you can use the subway unlimited times for a week. Even if you only use it 2 times per day, that's $35 at $2.50 per ride. The $30 was a much better deal for us, as we used the subway many times every day to get to museums, food, etc. For a month, it's a $112 flat rate, which comes out to ~$25.85/week. That means if you use the subway more than 10 times a week, it's better to get the month flat rate.
This makes sense on the surface, but the confounding factor is that the NYC MTA cards are rather flimsy. Bend these cards just a little bit and they sometimes don't scan as smoothly. The trivial inconvenience of social pressure while attempting to swipe an inconsistent card with a bunch of other people behind you waiting to push through the turnstiles is enough to cause me to consider purchasing a new card.
Yes, most of the time we're just refilling the same card over and over, but these cards also have an expiry date of 1 year. This is still a good hack to keep in mind.
>This makes sense on the surface, but the confounding factor is that the NYC MTA cards are rather flimsy. Bend these cards just a little bit and they sometimes don't scan as smoothly.
I have plenty of criticisms about the Metrocard system, but I've had no problems keeping my cards operational until they expire. I keep the card in a regular card slot in my wallet, use it 2-4 times a day and refill it once a month. No issues in years.
Say what you will about the SF bay area's public transportation system (yeah, it's kinda bad), at least we have RFID cards that are actually sturdy (I've had my current card for over 3 years), there's an auto-refill system that you can set up online, and I don't even have to take it out of my wallet to use it.
When visiting NYC I found it insane that those flimsy cards are the normal monthly tickets. I'm comparing this with the Oyster card in London which is a normal RFID card – I've had one for 5 years and it still works perfectly.
If your card expired with balance still remaining, you can exchange it at the window for a new card, transferring the balance and not losing anything. Or you can do it by mail.
Provided the magnetic strip can be read. Usually the card is so beaten up from usage over the year that the magnetic stripe will become unreadable before the an unavailable balance is left to be transferred.
If you live in the city and use the subway often, it is easier to get a 30-day unlimited ride pass. Lots of employers will even provide monthly unlimited ride passes as a pre-tax benefit via TransitChek.
