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The Key
Our contactless smartcard
You can order a Key card online here. Fill out a short form to register for a Southeastern account, requesting a Key, and it'll arrive at your home address within 4 working days. Alternatively, you can download our Southeastern app from the Apple Store or from Google Play to get started. You can also visit your local Southeastern ticket office to register and receive your new Key card immediately.
Once you have your Key, you can buy Single, Return and Season tickets and load them by simply tapping your card onto the back of your phone. This means your ticket should be available within the next 15 minutes. Please note that this function is only available on iPhone model 7 and above and Android phones with NFC functionality.
You can also load tickets at Ticket Vending Machines, or by holding your Key against a gateline reader - you will need to nominate a collection station when you buy the ticket. You’ll need to allow 2 hours between purchasing your ticket online and loading it onto The Key, this way.
Tickets for your Key can by bought online, at ticket offices, and at Ticket Vending Machines outside the London Zones.
You can use your Key anywhere on our network, including highspeed services. You're also able to buy tickets for other train companies across mainland Britain.
Tickets can be bought online, through the Southeastern app, at Southeastern ticket office or Ticket Vending Machines outside London.
You can buy Day Singles and Returns, Travelcards, and Season tickets, including Flexi Seasons, in advance on your Key card.
*Please note you cannot buy Advance tickets, Rovers, Anytime Open Returns and Off-Peak Open Returns onto The Key. PlusBus tickets are also not yet available on The Key.
You cannot buy Advance Singles or Open Returns (Anytime Return or Off-Peak Return) on the Key.
Rovers and PlusBus are also not available.
Rovers and PlusBus are also not available.
You can have up to 5 separate tickets on your Key card at a time, so you don't have to wait for existing tickets to expire before loading a new one.
These are tickets for the use of the registered Key card user only, though. If you're buying tickets for multiple people, they also need to have their own Key cards - these can be linked to your account, which allows you to select which ticket is sent to which Key at time of purchase. See our 'How do I link a Key Smartcard to my account' FAQ for more details.
Please note it’s not possible to buy more than one ticket for a single Key smartcard in one transaction. If you want to buy more than one ticket for a Key card, please buy them in separate transactions.
If you've already bought a paper Season ticket from Southeastern, but want to transfer it to The Key, you can request a paper ticket transfer while registering for a Key card.
Your new Key card will be delivered to your local station for collection and so the Clerk can complete the transfer process. You'll need to surrender your paper Season ticket at the same time.
Alternatively, you can visit your local Southeastern ticket office to transfer your paper Season ticket to a Key card you already own, or to register for a new one and go through the transfer.
Yes, there is a special Key card for children from ages 5-15. This is only available to order online. You'll need a passport-style photograph when registering for a child Key card.
Please note that your child will need their own online account with us, registered in their name, before you'll be able to order them a Key Card.
Please note that your child will need their own online account with us, registered in their name, before you'll be able to order them a Key Card.
Only child tickets can be added to child Key cards, and only adult tickets can be added to adult Key cards.
If you're purchasing a Groupsave discounted ticket, this can only be added to adult smartcards and therefore if a child is in the travelling group, it's recommended to choose the ticket to be fulfilled as a paper ticket.
If you're purchasing a Groupsave discounted ticket, this can only be added to adult smartcards and therefore if a child is in the travelling group, it's recommended to choose the ticket to be fulfilled as a paper ticket.
Yes, by selecting the Railcard option when purchasing a ticket on our website or app.
Please remember to take your Railcard with you when you travel.
If you have linked friends and family Key cards to your account, you can also purchase discounted tickets for others and benefit from GroupSave when travelling together. Just select the Key cards that the ticket should be sent to when choosing your collection option. See our 'How do I link a Key Smartcard to my account' FAQ for more details.
If your Key card has stopped working properly, or has been lost or stolen, we'll block it and replace it (with any valid tickets pre-loaded) for you for free.
Simply log in to your account and select 'The Key replacement' from the account menu – accessed via the three-bar button on the app, or the top-right menu on the website. Fill in the couple of questions, and we'll send you a new Key.
If you need to purchase tickets to travel while you wait for your new Key to arrive, please make sure you do so from Southeastern and then keep hold of them, as it may be possible to get a refund on any tickets that overlap. Please contact Customer Services if you need to claim one of these refunds. If you don't buy these extra tickets from Southeastern, we may not be able to refund them.
You must have a valid ticket before boarding a train, so you'll need to purchase an additional ticket to travel.
Where possible, please retain the additional ticket you’ve purchased and apply for a refund at your local Southeastern ticket office once you've retrieved your Key card. Alternatively, you can apply for your refund by contacting Customer Services.
On the first occasion, we’ll be happy to arrange a refund on the extra ticket.
On the second occasion, within 12 months, an administration fee of £5 will be charged.
Any further claims won’t be considered within a 12-month period.
Please note we can only refund any extra tickets if they were purchased from Southeastern, and if your Key card is registered with us.
Where possible, please retain the additional ticket you’ve purchased and apply for a refund at your local Southeastern ticket office once you've retrieved your Key card. Alternatively, you can apply for your refund by contacting Customer Services.
On the first occasion, we’ll be happy to arrange a refund on the extra ticket.
On the second occasion, within 12 months, an administration fee of £5 will be charged.
Any further claims won’t be considered within a 12-month period.
Please note we can only refund any extra tickets if they were purchased from Southeastern, and if your Key card is registered with us.
It’s possible the issues you’re experiencing are device or internet related. We would advise you to clear the cache, cookies and browsing history from the device you’re using. This is because stored data can interfere with some website functions.
Please make sure you’re using the latest version of our Southeastern App, which is available from the Apple Store, or from Google Play.
If this hasn’t resolved the issue, then please contact Customer Services.
Please make sure you’re using the latest version of our Southeastern App, which is available from the Apple Store, or from Google Play.
If this hasn’t resolved the issue, then please contact Customer Services.
Just log into your Southeastern account and go to the ‘The Key - Linked Accounts’ section in the account menu. You then just need to enter the full number on the front of the Key, or the email address of the Southeastern account you wish to link - as long as that account as a Key on it.
An email will be sent to the Key account holder to approve the request. Once they've confirmed, their Key details will display in the ‘Linked Accounts’ section of your account, and appear as a collection option under the Key Smartcard when you're buying future tickets.
Please note, only Southeastern Key cards can be linked to a Southeastern online account. An error will appear if the email address or smartcard number is not known to us, or if the account doesn’t have a smartcard.
Someone you know would like to link your Key to their online account so that they can buy Key tickets for you. Only once you've pressed ‘Approve’ in the email will they be able to buy tickets for you.
If you believe you received the email in error, press ‘Reject’.
The smartcard details will only appear once your friend or family member has approved the request. Ask them to check their emails (and their junk folder just in case) and to approve the request. If the email is lost, try sending the link request again through your Southeastern account.
During the purchasing process, you'll be asked which station to send the ticket to for collection, or informed to use the Southeastern app to load directly to the Key if the departure time is within two hours. It's not possible to send tickets to multiple stations for collection.
When you buy tickets for others, they'll also receive an email confirming that a ticket has been bought for them. The email will also state which station the ticket is available to collect from, or that they can use the Southeastern app.
No, it’s not necessary to have a Key yourself if you want to buy a smart ticket for other Southeastern Key card holders.
This error message can display if there more tickets in the basket than number of Key cards linked to your account. It's not possible to mix and match fulfilment methods if you don't have enough smartcards linked to your account (ie. some tickets issued to smartcards and others on paper).
You may also see the error if the type of smartcard doesn’t match the ticket you are purchasing (ie. a child ticket with no child Keys are linked to the account).
You can choose to have the tickets issued as paper or alternatively adjust the tickets in your basket to match the Key cards linked to your account.
You'll need to send your friend a new request to link their new Key card to your Southeastern account. This can easily be done through your account, as you did to set things up originally.
Once you've approved the linking of your Key to another person’s account, they'll be able to see the Key's registered name, smartcard number, whether it is an Adult or Child card, and the Key's status (Active, etc). No other information is made visible them.
They'll be able to see your registered account name, the email address associated to the account, and whether it's an Adult or Child account. This will only become visible to them once they've agreed to link their Key card to your account. They'll receive an email confirming that you've bought a ticket for them, but your payment details will not be shown.
If your question is about a ticket refund on your Key, please visit our Key refunds FAQs.