T-money: the card that gets you on every bus, train and taxi

Three card types, one decision

T-money comes in flavours and the choice confuses people more than it should. 일반 티머니 is the plain stored-value card: load money, spend it, top up again. 마일리지 티머니 is the same card plus points that accumulate with each ride and can be redeemed for discounts and small gifts — worth taking if you ride daily, pointless if you ride twice a month. 캐시비 is the cashbee version, which links to your bank account and auto-tops-up when the balance falls below a threshold you set.

For a visitor who rides the subway a handful of times, a plain card from a convenience store is enough. For someone commuting every day, 마일리지 plus 본인인증 (identity verification) is the version that actually pays you back.

The discount most people never claim

Every time you tap a T-money card on a subway gate in Seoul, Incheon or Gyeonggi, the fare is discounted by 900 won off the standard fare. This is not a promotion and it does not expire — it is automatic, and it applies to the ordinary card too.

There is a second layer: if you complete 본인인증 through the app or a participating convenience store, an 추가 할인 kicks in that can take the total discount up to 3,500 won depending on how much you spend in a month. That version requires a Korean phone number and an ID verification, so it is realistically for residents rather than short-term visitors.

Getting one and loading money

Convenience stores (CU, GS25, 7-Eleven and others) stock plain T-money cards on the shelf, and the cashier will activate it for you. Subway and train station counters also sell them. The 카카오T app can do the whole thing on your phone without a physical card, which is the easiest option if you already use KakaoTalk.

Loading money is the same everywhere: find a 충전소 (top-up machine), insert the card, choose the amount, and pay cash or by card. Amounts are usually sold in round amounts. Keep an eye on the balance — unlike a debit card, a transit card does not go negative, and a card that hits zero simply stops working at the gate.

Using it outside the subway

The subway and buses are the obvious use. Beyond that, a T-money card pays at convenience stores (CU, GS25 and most 7-Eleven branches), at unmanned ordering kiosks and lockers, at coin laundry, and — importantly — in taxis, where you can have the driver charge the fare directly to the card rather than paying cash.

Two practical warnings. Not every taxi and every small shop takes it, and if a payment fails you will need cash — carry some won. And when you are done, ask for the 잔액 (remaining balance) refund; you do not get it automatically, and the receipt you get at a counter is what you need to claim it.

Phrases you will actually say

• 티머니 충전해 주세요

  timeoni chungjeonhae juseyo

  🔈

  Please top up my T-money.

• 잔액이 얼마예요?

  janengi eolmayeyo?

  🔈

  How much is left on the card?

• 이 카드로 버스도 탈 수 있어요?

  i kadeuro beoseudo tal su isseoyo?

  🔈

  Can I use this card on the bus too?

• 교통카드 할인이 돼요?

  gyotongkadeu harini dwaeyo?

  🔈

  Does the transit discount apply?

• 잔액은 환불해 주세요

  janengeun hwanbuhae juseyo

  🔈

  Please refund the remaining balance.

• 지하철 매표소가 어디예요?

  jihacheol maepyoga eodiyeyo?

  🔈

  Where is the subway ticket office?

Questions people actually ask

Keep going

• KTX trains →
• Luggage storage →
• The T-money lesson →
• Korean numbers (for fares and platform numbers) →