Adding Swiss Half Fare Card and Berner Oberland Pass to SBB app
Turgon is planning a 10-day trip to Murren in September and is looking for advice on buying train passes through the SBB app for himself and a co-passenger. He is considering a Half Fare Card and a Berner Oberland pass, but wants to know the best way to manage the passes, especially in case of issues with phone signals.
- Buy two Half Fare Cards and two Berner Oberland passes online for the best deal.
- Keep PDF copies of your passes on your phone or print them out for easy access, even without signal.
- Consider organizing your QR codes in an album for quick access during your travels.
AI-generated summary-
Hello everyone. A question about buying train passes in the SBB app for myself and a co-passenger, as the app calls it. We will be in Murren for 10 days in Sept (a returning trip, we did the same 2 years ago). While the vast majority of the travels we’re planning so far are in the BO area, we might decide to do a day trip to somewhere out of the area. Hence I’m planning on a Half Fare Card and a BO pass for each of us. Additionally I plan on printing out the passes, just in case there are issues with phone signals.
So what would work best for me? Buying 2 HF Card and 2 BO passes online? I’m led to believe I’ll get a PDF copy of each pass in the mail, so I can print it out. But how do I get both in the app, if I decide to use the app and not the printout?
Personally, I think it’s probably just easiest to use the printout, especially if you keep it in a plastic sleeves (you can easily buy 4×8 in/10×20 cm plastic lanyard sleeves to protect the folded pass). But I’m curious as to my options.
Thanks!
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Hi Turgon,
There’s no need to add passes to the SBB app or any other app/wallet. Just keep the PDF files on your phone, like you would for any other PDF download. That will also let you access them without a phone signal. This is the recommended way to keep your passes. I do it too; it’s quick and easy. A printout is always a good backup.
You’ll find places to buy here:
- Swiss Half Fare Card: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-half-fare-card/#tickets. Scroll down to “How does the Swiss Half Fare Card work?” for more details on the PDF file and how to use it.
- Berner Oberland Pass: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/berner-oberland-pass/#tickets. You can scroll down here too for the same info.
Enjoy the Bernese Oberland, and the rest!
Three of us just returned from Wengen. I had printed out multiple copies of both the Half Fare Card and the BO Pass. I never used them once!!
I found the easiest way (for me) to quickly access all 6 total passes I needed to show the ticket person was to have them all in their own album in my photos app. I just took screenshots of each QR code ticket and made my album!
My daughter also had them on her phone so we knew we would be covered just in case…!
Have a great trip!
Rosemary
Hi Arno and Turgon.
I am a lone traveller. I would do exactly what Turgon is saying in his last sentence.
Sorry Arno, but whenever I buy high value Tickets on line (Public Transport or Theatre) I always print them out. Two reasons. Fear of an electronic disaster such as forgetting to recharge my phone, or doing something silly like deleting the relevant file. See the recent thread started by ‘Paul John’.
I find my print out Swiss Travel Pass is WELCOMED by train conductors, bus drivers and ship’s crew. They are so much easier to deal with, and immediately identify the passenger as a tourist who might need help. Similarly my print-out tickets have been WELCOMED by front of house staff at the Zurich Tonhalle, the Zurich Opera House and the Lucerne KKL Concert Hall right next to the station. I attended a sell-out concert at the KKL on April 28. Many of my fellow concert-goers (mostly local people speaking Schwizzerdeutsch) had print out tickets. (The packed house enjoyed a fantastic concert, especially the ‘local girl made good’ soprano soloist Regula Mühlemann.)
Hi everyone.
I have been visiting Switzerland most years since 1971. I discovered MySwissAlps about 15 days ago. Through this site I discovered (90 minutes ago) Kim Hawley’s guide to the Jungfrau region. Kim’s guide is brilliant for visitors focusing on that area. She is clearly ‘tech savvy’ as to apps cell phones etc. Yet twice she recommends printing out travel passes.
As an attorney would say at the end of their arguments etc., ‘I rest my case’.
Best wishes
Roger Serxton
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