Roland Perry wrote on 30 Apr 2018 at 11:12 ...
In message , at 09:49:21 on Mon, 30
Apr 2018, Clive Page remarked:

It also says (a deal-breaker for me) that it you already have a
National Rail discount on your old card you will need to get it set up
again on the new one. That can take an awful lot of time as it's only
done by suitably clued-up member of their roving staff at an
underground station.

It's not *that* bad. After I eventually prised him away (which he
appeared to resent somewhat) from chatting idly to a colleague, a
"roving" chap at Kings Cross added my railcard in a minute or two.

My main question would be - how can I tell if my card is an "old" one?

Second-generation cards have a "D" before 'Mayor of London' on the back of the card. The "D" is white on a blue square. First-generation cards don't have a "D".
https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payment...n-oyster-cards

--
Richard J.
(to email me, swap 'uk' and 'yon' in address)