Exchange rate followed by Swiss Railways

Hello everyone,

I was hoping to know what is the exchange rate followed by the Swiss Railways online site. Is there a lag in the way they track it, or is it linked to our Indian bank's exchange rate for the day...? I could not find any link on their site on the same, the way it is mentioned on say, Amazon.

I am guessing it won't be exactly be as updated as Reuters or Bloomberg exchange rates?

Any help from Indian users or the moderators who might know would be great.

Thanks

Hi esskay8,

They certainly don't update the exchange rate very frequently. From my experience it's best to just pay in Swiss francs (CHF) and let your bank do the conversion. Paying in other currencies is likely more expensive. Please find prices on their website: www.swissrailways.com/ en. You can change the currency to EUR, USD and GBP in the top of their page.

Thanks Arno,

Will check with the bank first before the transacting, then.

Best wishes

Just to update with my experience. The bank charged Rs (INR) 72 for 1 CHF, when the rate for the day was Rs 69.9 for 1 CHF.

This will change every day, of course, but this is just to give an idea of the difference from the daily rate and what banks charge when someone is buying their own tickets in foreign currency, in this case, in Swiss francs.

Yes, that's my experience as well (EUR versus CHF). The bank needs to make money and prevent the risk of loosing money on foreign currency exchanges. Still, in my case, it's often best to pay in the currency of the company you are buying from (so CHF in this case), as they often charge an even exchange higher rate than banks. It might be different for India, so it's wise of you to check.

Paying in EUR, USD or GBP would only make it more expensive for you I would guess. You do have one other option: buy your pass from a local company offering payment in your own currency. In your case you can check www.raileurope.co.in/p ass/swiss-travel-pass-82. Of course they also take an exchange rate risk as they need to pay in CHF for their passes too, and charge you in INR. So you need to check their prices and see what's best for you. At least your bank won't charge you in this case.

Yes, it seems I paid INR 1,500 more on Swissrail compared to Raileurope, but in CHF terms, the Swissrail site showed a lower rate. Raileurope showed a higher price. Guess it is a chance one has to take...but others could go for Raileurope in the future if they want to.

But no regrets, and better than going through a travel agent who was charging even higher. And, the experience was also seamless, with us getting the e-tickets in two days, all ready to be printed out.