Half fare card question
 

Just wondering if my husband and I need to buy 2 separate Half Fare cards or if one card will do as we will be traveling together and purchasing tickets together. I recall seeing a discount for 2 people traveling together in Switzerland... does this figure into the half fare card at all?

Each needs his or her own because of the pricing.

The Swiss Card has your name and passport number on it. It provides the card holder with a free trip from the Swiss border, or airport, to the first destination and a free trip out when leaving. Inbetween, the card yields a 50% discount on all rail tickets and mountain lift tickets. For example, the Jungfraujoch ticket is 50% off the list price.

I am not sure about the Half Fare Card in terms of it having the holder's name and passport number because I never bought one. The Swiss Card gave me more for my money, namely a free trip in and back to the border (or airport) in addition to 50% off everything else with a few minor exceptions.

The essential difference in the two is that there is no built-in travel for entering and leaving Switzerland in the price of the half fare card.



The discount you refer to is for the Swiss Pass if two people are together. It is an entirely different animal that the half fare card or the Swiss Card.

There are so many different rail discount instruments that without precise terminology, the issue becomes confused. So double check what it is you want to know. The variety is bewildering otherwise.

I was fairly sure the half fare card was the best value but now I'm not so sure. Since my first and last trip in the country are short ones (Zurich to Lucerne and Montreux to Geneva)I'm not sure if the Swiss Card would be an added value. To confuse matters even more we are taking a side trip to Venice but ultimately returning to Switzerland for our flight home. Could we use the second free trip for our trip to Venice? Then pay full fare for our trip back to Montreux and finally the short train ride to Geneva to fly home. Any thoughts?

Hi erwench,

I think you could easily use one of the free trips on the Swiss Card for the run to Venice -- but remember that it won't take you all the way to Venice, just to the Swiss border.

I think you know that you'll forfeit the half-fare portion on the way back to Montreux because you'll have ended the Card's validation.

However, I suspect that the Swiss Card won't be that much of a value for your particular trip: from Zurich airport to Luzern (26 chf 2nd class), then to the border enroute to Venice.

I did this once, using the incoming portion of the Swiss Card to get to Gstaad, then the return portion to get to Zurich. But then I took a trip to Basel and also ran around the Lake Zurich area, all of which I had to pay full-fare. I was sorry I hadn't chosen the Half Fare Card.

If you think you'll be using some trains and ferries while in Montreux (you probably will --), I think you'll be better off with the Half Fare Card.

s

Yes, you both need to purchase half fare cards. As I recall, passport numbers are entered, along with name.

Your trips from Z to Luzern/M-G are too short to make your swiss card cost effective. The half fare card might be better. To find out, use Railsaver.com to gauge the cost of your various trips, then compare to the half fare card costs.

I believe the half fare card can be used to obtain a reduction in the Switzerland-any other country itinerary (I think 25% of non-swiss part). Not sure about the return. If you email sbb, you'll get a prompt, helpful answer.

Thank you all for the information. I agree, I think the half fare card is the way to go. I did email sbb and am expecting a reply. I want to reserve my overnight train rides to and from Venice before we leave the USA to ensure a first class sleeper car, does this mean I should purchase the half fare card at the same time to take advantage of the discount? I'll email sbb again.

Hi again,

No, you don't have to have the HFC when you purchase the tickets, only before you actually board the train.

s

I noted that the Swiss card has classes, but the half-fare card does not. Can the half-fare card be used on first-class tickets?

I think some clarification and definition of the term half fare card is needed here. Also some examination of costs and relative value of the various discount cards is in order. In addition some of the information given out above is not accurate.

The term "half fare card" is used by the Swiss National Railways in two ways.

First there is a half fare card that is valid for 1 year and is intended mainly for Swiss residents. Its cost is 150 chf per year. I presume someone from another country can buy one because purchase by a non Swiss person is not expressly prohibited, based on the facts I saw on the SBB web site.

The second type of half fare card is aimed at international guests. Swiss citizens and permanent residents of Switzerland and Liechtenstein are not eligible purchasers. It is this type of half fare card that is the subject of this discussion.

This tourist-oriented half fare card is valid for 1 month and costs 99 chf.

The "Swiss Half Fare Card" does not allow:

* the purchase of a "Monthly Pass in conjunction with the Half-Fare Card"
* the purchase of discounted international tickets
* the purchase of a Track 7 subscription
* discounts for group tickets

When you order the half fare card on line, there is a space for your passport number and your full name. I suppose that conductors check the passport number against the actual passport like they do with the Swiss Card.

Now, is the Swiss Card better or worse cost wise than the Half Fare card? The Swiss Card costs 174 chf, or 75 chf more than the half fare card.

The equality point is reached if the half fare card holder buys tickets to enter and leave Switzerland that are equal to or more than 75 chf. If the half fare card holder spends more than 75 chf on tickets to and from the border or point of entry, e.g. Zürich Airport, he or she has lost money relative to the Swiss Card.

A single trip from the Zurich airport Wengen is about half of the break even point because the point to point ticket is about half of 75 chf. A holder of the half fare card would then be right at the break even point if he or she returned to the Zürich airport.

A more costly exit trip would tip the cost factor in favor of the Swiss Card. .

Also, note that neither the Swiss Card nor the half fare card is valid internationally.

I am making one presumption: That the holder of a Swiss Card can select his or her entry AND exit points. Last year I entered Switzerland from Munich and left on a train to Stuttgart. The trip to and from the border in both cases was included in the cost of the Swiss Card.

I hope that practice is still in effect!!

We purchased our Swiss Cards recently for travel next month. You DO choose your entry and exit points and they do not need to be the same route.

Also, when assessing the merits of half card vs. Swiss card as Bob has suggested, use $130 (2nd class) for the Swiss card, not $174 CH as Bob has quoted (1st or 2nd class??) As I discovered on a Fodor's thread, US travelers can save by buying the Swiss Card before traveling. I bought ours from Rick Steves last month.

For us, the cost difference between the Half fare and Swiss Cards, with all the probable train travel considered, was very small. The convenience of having the Swiss Card ahead of time was important. We will be traveling into Switzerland on the train from Germany. I wanted to be able to have the tickets issued in Germany all the way through to our first Swiss destination. Without purchasing the Swiss Card here in US, I imagine we would have had to be ticketed in Germany to the first Swiss train station, disembark there, buy the Half fare cards and tickets for the remainder of the travel to our first destination. With the Swiss Card in hand, I am told our German ticket agent can ticket us all the way into Switzerland, charging us for only the German portion of the travel. The trip into Switzerland from the German border is free with the Swiss Card.

Hope this helps.

Some more points:

Bob, yes, the Swiss Half Fare Card for one year can be purchased by international guests (I have one for two years).

The Swiss Half Fare Card can be used for discounted international tickets. If you travel from/to Germany into/out Switzerland you get a reduction on the fare in Switzerland of 50% (as usual) AND a reduction of 25% on the fare in Germany. I did this a couple of times.

DeeDee, Bob quoted the price for the Swiss Card in Swiss Francs, not in USD - that's why the difference. In your case it is indeed better to purchase it in advance. Please note what I wrote above about travelling from Germany to Switzerland (reduction in Germany).

Ingo

Oops, I forgot: yes, the Half Fare Card can be used for 1st class tickets too.

Thanks, Ingo, for the info on German discount with the Swiss card! We will definitely take advantage of that!

My point on the USD $130 cost was to show that buying the pass ahead in the US saved money. Bob used 174 chf as the cost of the Swiss Card, that is, to buy it in Switzerland. That amount converts to approximately $144 USD. Our passes cost $130 USD (2nd class), a savings of $14 each. Something else to consider when trying to calculate the best option on Swiss train travel.

Ingo, the Swiss web site clearly said the card could not be used for international travel. Is that another of the glitches I am finding in the new version of the web site. Part of my posting was a direct cut from the SBB.CH web site. It says, and I paste,

The half fare card cannot be used for:

* the purchase of a "Monthly Pass in conjunction with the Half-Fare Card"
* the purchase of discounted international tickets
* the purchase of a Track 7 subscription
* discounts for group tickets

So what gives here?? They say one thing and do another?

DeeDee, I was confused with the exchange rates. Yes, it is indeed cheaper to buy in the US.

Make sure to buy your ticket from Germany to the first station in Switzerland, it is required to get the discount of 25% (in your case probably Basel SBB - NOT Basel Badischer Bhf.).

Bob, it seems this is another of the glitches in the new English version of the SBB site. I checked it on the German version and they write you DO GET the reduction on internation fares (but only to Germany and Austria, if you stay at least one night to Saturday and/or Sunday also for tickets to the Netherlands, Denmark and Czech Republic).

My Half Fare Card expires in June and I received post from the SBB. They offered to give me a bonus of 20 SFr. if I buy a new one. My knowledge about the advantages of the Half Fare Card comes from the attached SBB brochure ;-)

Ingo

Thanks, Ingo, for clarifying this. I will show the Swiss Card in Germany when purchasing tickets to the border and see if I can get a discount.