Swiss Half Fare Card question
 

Can a non-resident of Switzerland purchase a Half Fare Card with a one year validity?

If so, is the process the same as purchasing a 30 day Half Fare Card?

Hi Melnq8,

Yup! I bought my first year-long HFC when I still lived in the US, and I purchased 2 or 3 more (updated/re-loaded the card) from living here in Germany.

You need to have a photo, so it's a little different from the 1-month HFC. I did my first year-long one in person, then afterward updated/re-loaded the card online. Of course, you need to have an SBB account to do that.

These past few years, I've only been in Switzerland for one trip a year or even skipping it some years, so I've stopped purchasing the HFC. I'm afraid that I don't know how it's done these days... you may be able to get a photo, upload it online, and then get the whole thing online. I think you're in Switzerland right now... yes? If so, just get it now.

Hope it all works out!

s

I also had one in earlier years. A friend of mine who worked at SBB in costumer service managed the purchase for me. I had to send him a passport picture per email and gave him the credit card info, about two weeks later I received the Halbtax at home in Germany.

It's different now. You get a plastic card, the Swiss Pass, on which the Halbtax is loaded. Of course you need a passport picture also. They need your payment info - could be credit card, which is probably best for you. For all this an account at www.swisspass.ch is required.

If I got that right - a major difference is that the validity extends automatically for another year if you don't give them a notice a certain time before the last day of validity. Same as with Bahncard of Deutsche Bahn.

See also:
https://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-an...swisspass.html

Ditto to Ingo about the new version of the card. My friends living in Alsace all have them. It's an easy process. And yes, you need a passport sized photo, as is the norm for Switzerland. On any given day, I'm carrying at least four forms of ID with a photo.

Thank you all.

Swandav - I'm back home, but because we were in Switzerland twice this year, we'd wished we'd bought the year long card. I may well do that before our next trip (whenever that may be).