How do I upgrade my 4 days Swiss Travel Pass to 1st for one day?
A traveler is trying to upgrade their 4-day Swiss Travel Pass to 1st class for just one day but is facing difficulties with the online process. They are seeking advice on how to navigate this upgrade issue and whether it's possible to do so online.
- You generally need to upgrade your Swiss Travel Pass on a journey-by-journey basis rather than for a single day.
- If you have a 2nd class Swiss Travel Pass, you can purchase a Day Class Upgrade, but it may not always be clear on the SBB site.
- Choosing to upgrade on the fly can be cheaper, especially if certain parts of your journey are less crowded.
AI-generated summary-
Help, I can’t upgrade 4 day swiss pass to 1st class for 1 day online? It says something like purchase conditions not met…? Is there a way to upgrade my pass online? we only want 1 day 1st class upgrade. I can select all the options but it won’t let me purchase, that button is grayed out/not active
-
This is an ‘off the top of my head’ answer which may be wrong. With a Swiss TRAVEL pass I think you cannot upgrade ‘for one day’. You have to upgrade on a journey by journey basis.
See also a reply from Alpenrose 555 in another recent ‘thread’ regarding whether to buy a first class or a second class Swiss Travel Pass. They state:
‘My [Alpenros 555] personal approach is to buy a 2nd class pass and upgrade to 1st class for any trips when I am travelling any distance with luggage, or for special trips like one of the panoramic trains. Sometimes I wait to see how crowded the train will be before deciding.’ (I, Roger, would emphasize the last sentence.)
Alpenrose continues ‘If it’s crowded in second class, I simply buy a first-class upgrade on the spot via the SBB app in order to travel in a less crowded carriage, or on the top deck of a boat.’
Everything Alpenrose writes confirms my initial thought – that you upgrade on a journey-by-journey basis. That could be hassle – and expensive! I hasten to add that i never have this problem because I always buy a first class STP.
Hi rosen,
It is indeed possible to purchase a Day Class Upgrade for one day if you have a 2nd class Swiss Travel Pass. (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/).
It’s not entirely clear to me how you are trying to do that, so I will just say generally that if there is an option to select 2nd class GA Travelcard or Half Fare Card, as your existing ticket/discount, choose one of those options.
The SBB site is geared to residents, so the Swiss Travel Pass – as a tourist product – is often not included as an option in these sorts of situations. However, a 2nd class Swiss Travel Pass confers the same benefits as the 2nd class GA Travelcard or the Half Fare Card for the purposes of a class upgrade.
If this doesn’t solve your problem, please provide more information:
- Are you using the SBB website, some other website, or the SBB app to do this?
- If using the SBB website, are you doing it through the timetable or through the Class Upgrade page?
- If using a website other than the SBB timetable, please provide a link to the page.
In order to receive the best advice, please provide as much information as you can.
I hope this goes some way at least towards helping you get your Day Class Upgrade!
Alpenrose
Hi Roger,
>>> Everything Alpenrose writes confirms my initial thought – that you upgrade on a journey-by-journey basis.
The reason I sometimes upgrade on a journey-by-journey basis is because it is cheaper than a Day Class Upgrade, and not every sector of a journey from A to B is equally crowded.
As an example, I travelled one day from Meiringen to Saas-Fee:
- Meiringen to Interlaken Ost – crowded: cost of a class upgrade CHF 4.80
- Interlaken Ost to Spiez – virtually empty: no class upgrade needed
- Spiez to Brig via Kanderstag – crowded: cost of a class upgrade CHF 14.00
- Brig to Saas-Fee – Postbus, 1st class not available. As I boarded at the beginning of the route, I had plenty of seats to choose from.
- Cost of the actual class upgrades I bought for the day: CHF 18.80
- Cost if I had bought class upgrades for the whole trip Meiringen-Brig: CHF 20
- Cost of a Day Class Upgrade: CHF 50
Whether cost or convenience is more important is of course individual to each traveller, and even with any given traveller can vary depending on the circumstances on a given day or in a particular situation.
Hope this clarifies my choices about class upgrades!
Alpenrose
Hi Alpenrose. Very very many thanks for coming in to this discussion and using your tremendous expertise to help rosen. I learnt a lot too!
Hi rosen. Study carefully what Alpenrose is telling you. He/she knows FAR MORE about this than I do!
Best wishes
Roger
Hi Alpenrose,
Likewise, many thanks for sharing your ‘upgrade’ experiences. Solid advice for fellow travellers to Switzerland.
For those in reading, more on the difference between 1st and 2nd class here:
Kind regards,
Yolanda
- The thread ‘How do I upgrade my 4 days Swiss Travel Pass to 1st for one day?’ is closed to new replies.
