Adding Value & Auto-Reload
To add value to your Clipper card, open your mobile wallet on your phone. Your mobile wallet will display purchase options for your selected Clipper card. Select your Clipper card and then choose an amount to add to your Clipper card, then select 'Add.' You can also add value through the Clipper app.
Follow these step-by-step instructions on how to add value to Clipper in Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Log in to your account and select a card. To the right of the card's value is an option to set up Auto-Reload. You can set up Auto-Reload to happen when your balance falls below $10 or on a weekly or monthly basis. If you are setting up a weekly or monthly Auto-Reload, you will be asked to designate the day of the week or the date in the month, and then you will be asked how much you want to add. You can set up Auto-Reload on the website or the mobile app.
Many transit agencies offer some type of 31-day pass for your convenience. Your 31-day pass becomes active the first time you use it to pay a fare.
It depends on how you buy your pass. If you buy a new 31-day pass in person at a retailer, ticket office or self-service machine while the previous pass is still active on your card, Clipper will simply extend the expiration date of your current pass by 31 days, with no gap in between. Once you have an active 31-day pass on your card, you can add up to three more passes to your card.
If you want a gap in between your old pass expiring and the new one becoming active, purchase your new pass in person only after the old one expires, and the new pass will be activated the first time you use it.
If you are signed up for Auto-Reload or if you order your pass online or by phone, Clipper will automatically add the new pass to your Clipper card the next time you tag, after the original pass has expired. For example, if you have an AC Transit 31-day pass that expires on May 12, the new pass will not become active until the first time the card is tagged AFTER May 12. If you do not tag your card again until May 24, the new pass will be activated with a start date of May 24 and an expiration date 31 days from the start date. This happens automatically, with no disruption in your ability to use Clipper.
You can have up to $400 in cash value (unrestricted) on a Clipper card, and you can have transit benefit value (restricted) value of up to $799.
If your next order will cause your Clipper card to exceed the $799 maximum balance, Clipper cannot load the funds to your card. You have up to 6 months to spend down your balance, so you can load the funds. If you haven't reduced your balance by that time, the order will expire, and Clipper will return the value to your transit benefit provider.
You can use cash value on all transit systems that accept Clipper. Load cash value at self-serve machines (including BART ticket machines), retailers, transit agency ticket offices and Clipper Customer Service Centers or online, by phone or through your transit benefit program.
BART's HVD tickets, which are good only for BART trips, give you a 6.25% discount: You pay $45 for $48 in value or pay $60 and receive $64 in value. You can get BART HVD tickets only by setting up Auto-Reload or purchasing them through your transit benefit program.
Learn more about discounts.
Paper Clipper tickets can only be used for one-way and round trips on Golden Gate Ferry and Muni and provide no transfer discounts.
You can use Clipper cards on all Bay Area transit agencies. You can use them to add cash value and passes and take advantage of any available transfers.
Golden Gate Ferry and Muni ticket machines only sell adult Clipper cards (in addition to paper tickets). You must apply for a Youth, Senior or Clipper Access cards to receive applicable discounts on fares. Limited-use tickets are not available on phones.
Yes, you can use cash value to purchase a transit pass, but you cannot convert a transit pass to cash value.
You can set up Auto-Reload when you initially order a card and add value online. When adding cash value and/or passes, you will be asked if you want to set up Auto-Reload.
If you already have a card, you can choose to set up Auto-Reload when you add value online. However, you will need to register your card as part of the process, if you have not already done so.
Value will be available as soon as you place your order.
If you set up Auto-Reload for a Caltrain, Muni, VTA or SamTrans monthly pass, we can only automatically reload your new pass from the date your old pass expires to the end of the sales window for that pass. After the end of the sales window, be prepared to pay your fares with cash value.
Yes, you can set up your Clipper card to automatically reload cash value, multiple passes or any combination of cash value and passes. And you can do it anytime. You could choose to set up Auto-Reload for a pass and go back later to set up cash value, too.
If you set up Auto-Reload for cash value on a weekly or monthly basis, Clipper will automatically reload on the day or date specified. Otherwise, Clipper will reload your card when your balance falls below $10. If you set it up for a pass, Clipper will automatically reload a new pass on your card when the old one expires. You can only order a BART high-value discount ticket by setting it up for automatic reloading, and again, Clipper will reload the ticket you order after the balance falls below $10.
You will be charged when you place your order, and your value will be available immediately.
If your order does not show up in your online account, please call 877.878.8883 or TDD/TTY 711 or 800.735.2929. You can also email custserv@clippercard.com . You can use our website to chat with a customer service representative.
This means we could not process your payment for automatic reloading. If your credit/debit card or bank account is declined:
- We will automatically send a declined payment notice to the email address in your Clipper account.
- We must collect payment before midnight on the day we send you the declined payment notice if you want to keep using your card without interruption. If we cannot collect payment before midnight, we may block your pass/ticket or, in the case of cash value, your entire Clipper card.
- To provide payment, log in to your Clipper account and edit the payment information in My Profile. Even if you plan to use a credit card that is already associated with your account, you need to re-enter your card's security code and select Save. We will send an email to confirm that you have updated information in your account. This is separate from confirmation of payment.
- After we collect payment, we will send you an email confirming this. Credit card charges are processed immediately. If you choose to provide bank account information, it may take up to 10 business days for Clipper to collect payment.
You will not be able to make other changes to your Auto-Reload settings until we are able to successfully charge your payment source and remove the block.
If you did not receive email notifications, we may not have the correct email address for you, or our email may have been blocked by a spam filter. Log in to your Cilpper account with the email address we have on file and provide an updated email address. You will need to use this new email address the next time you log in to your online account. Update your spam filter by adding custserv@clippercard.com to your list of approved email addresses.
You can avoid blocked cards by adding a Backup Payment method (credit/debit card) for Auto-Reload purchases. So if your primary funding source is declined, your order will be charged to your backup card. Log in to your account to add a Backup Payment method.
We notify customers 30 and 60 days before the expiration date of their payment card on file. Make sure you always have a current email address on file. Update your spam filter by adding custserv@clippercard.com to your list of approved email addresses.
You can add a backup credit card for Auto-Reload purchases, so if your primary funding source is declined, your order will be charged to your backup card. Log in to your Clipper account to add backup payment.
Log into your Clipper account. Find your card and select "Manage Auto-Reload" from the "More Options" menu. Select the option to disable Auto-Reload. Your Auto-Reload is cancelled immediately.
Yes you can add value on your phone at a transit agency ticket office.
If you want to use cash add value to your plastic Clipper card, you can:
- Use a BART, Muni, Golden Gate Ferry or SMART ticket machines or select Caltrain ticket machines
- Visit a Clipper in-person customer service center in the Embarcadero BART/Muni station
- Visit a transit agency ticket office or find a retailer near you
