[Removed user]

24 July 2018 at 8:58:24 #817443

Hi!

I travel to Switzerland a couple of times in a year and would like to apply for a Half Fare Travelcard at a price of 185CHF which allows to buy tickets reduced by 50%:

http://www.sbb.ch/en/travelca rds-and-tickets/railpasses/hal f-fare-travelcard.html

I tried to buy a card over the internet but couldn’t finish the procedure due to an error saying that my country is not boarding Switzerland.

How can I buy this card? Is it possible to buy it at train station e.g. in Zurich or at the airport?

Which documents are required to apply for a card? I read that a photo is required and also I need to have ID/Passport with me. Could you, please, confirm that?

Best regards!

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[mestettler]

24 July 2018 at 11:38:19 #892294

Hello Lyllianna,

Since I do not live in Switzerland, I was not able to purchase the Half-Fare Card on-line.

I purchased my Half-Fare Card at the SBB office in the train station my second day in Switzerland. It was easy to do with the help of the SBB customer service representative. My Swiss-German is OK, and her English was terrific, so we got it done in about 10 minutes.

I received a paper copy to use until my card was mailed to my cousin’s address here in Switzerland.

What I am not clear about is whether I can renew it on-line or whether I have to be in Switzerland to renew it.

Myriam

[Removed user]

24 July 2018 at 18:33:58 #892295

Hi Lyllianna and welcome to MySwissAlps!

Yes, that was the case previously, that you must live in a country bordering Switzerland t be able to buy it.

You will need a SwissPass account a well.

This webpage at SBB should explain everything: https://www.sbb.ch/en/ travelcards-and-tickets/railpasses/hal f-fare-travelcard.html You need to set up a Swiss Pass as well so be sure to click on that tab for more details.

[Momo]

25 July 2018 at 2:29:04 #892296

We just were in Switzerland 2 weeks ago, and I purchased the half-fare passes for myself and my husband at the train station at Interlaken. My German is abysmal, but the lady at the ticket counter spoke excellent English. We had to show our passports. Perhaps I had a different half-fare pass, because ours were paper; they didn’t come as a hard card, and were temporary.

[Removed user]

25 July 2018 at 5:54:06 #892297

There are two similar products:

Swiss Half Fare Card for tourists (last 30 days) https://www.myswissalp s.com/swisshalffarecar d

and the Half Fare TravelCard which can be bought by anyone but is intended for use by Swiss residents (valid for a year). Some tourists who travel to Switzerland frequently sometimes get this product. It is more hassle but can be worth it for frequent visitors.

[Removed user]

26 July 2018 at 0:38:59 #892298

Suggest you buy it at the SBB office in Zürich airport.

Once you have one, it is easy to renew each year.