When visiting Brisbane, how can you work out if you should get a GoCard, or the new SEEQ one?

Question

The last time I was in Brisbane, the standing advice was to get a GoCard to use on Buses / Trains / Ferries, as it was quick to get and the savings over paper tickets quickly made it worth while. You can even get the $5 deposit back at the end of your trip, so there's nothing to lose!

I've noticed that since my last trip, they've introduced a new visitor focused card, the SEEQ card. There seems to be lots of advertising for it, suggesting to visitors that it's the best thing to get, but without a lot to explain why.

Is there any easy way to decide if, as a visitor, you're best off getting a regular GoCard, or if you should go for a SEEQ one?

(I still have my GoCard from last time, but some people staying here don't have either yet and are unsure of which to opt for)

Answer 1

The SEEQ cards cost either $79 (3 days) or $129 (5 days), and they basically offer 3 things :

1. 2 one-way trips on the Airtrain
2. 3-5 days of unlimited travel on other TransLink services
3. Discounts at various retailers

Realistically, most of the "discounts" listed appear to be things that you'd expect to find in the free tourist guides/maps/etc available at the airport or tourist information centers - so the real value there is probably minimal.

The value of the 3-5 days of unlimited travel will obviously depend on how much you intent to use public transport, but I suspect you'd have trouble running up a transit bill of ~$25 per day every day, unless you intend to use a LOT of public transport!

The Airtrain component is the interesting part here. Presuming you are intending to use AirTrain both to and from the airport, then this alone could save you anywhere between $26 (pre-paid AirTrain return to/from the Brisbane CBD) and $68 (return to/from Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast).

So clearly there's no single answer as to whether it's worth the money or not - it will depend entirely on your expected travel on TransLink services. If you're planning to catch the Airtrain, AND have at least one/two longer train trips (such as down to the Gold Coast stations) then it may be worth the money. If you're just intending a few short trips around Brisbane itself - even if you're also planning on catching the AirTrain - then it's probably not worth the asking price.