[Birivera]

26 October 2019 at 4:23:53 #824306

Hello;

I am planning my trip to Switzerland in two weeks and will be purchasing the half fare pass online from the U.S. I have been researching and comparing prices for the trips I’m planning and it seems that for some of the trips it will be cheaper to purchase the saver day pass for the specific day since I may not be traveling to a mountain that day. I want to purchase this ticket ahead of time to get a cheaper price if purchased further in advance, from what I gather. In order to get the cheaper price I have to purchase half-fare pass first and then get the day saver pass? When I purchase, is it going to request some reference number for my half fare card to give me discount price? It’s quite confusing and I don’t want to make mistakes in purchasing ticket in advance and doing it wrong…Please advise. Thanks.

Brenda

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[Anna]

26 October 2019 at 6:46:57 #924220

Hi Birivera,

Welcome to MySwissAlps!

You can buy the Saver Day Pass without the Swiss Half Fare Card, but with the Swiss Half Fare Card you can get it reasonably cheaper if you purchase in advance. The Saver Day Pass is only available online so you do need to download and install the SBB mobile on your smart device and set up an account. If you have a Swiss Half Fare Card you should include this during the set up.

Be sure to read the following links and click on the related tabs for explanations:

• Swiss Half Fare Card: http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isshalffarecard
• Saver Day Pass: http://www.myswissalps.com/sa verdaypass
• Download SBB Mobile: http://www.myswissalps.com/ab outswitzerland/practic al/websites
• Mobile internet: http://www.myswissalps.com/si mcard

Best regards,

Anna

[rockoyster]

26 October 2019 at 7:03:17 #924221

Hi Brenda,

You don’t need to have the Swiss Half Fare card in order to buy a Saver Day Pass. You just nominate you will be travelling at Half-fare, in the app that Anna mentioned, or here.

At time of travelling the inspector on the train will ask to see your Swiss Half-fare Card to prove you are eligible for a half-fare Saver Day Pass. That’s the only time the two things get tied together.

[Birivera]

26 October 2019 at 11:36:15 #924222

Dear Anna;

Got it, thanks. I’ve checked the links, my question is because if I have the half fare the price for day saver pass is cheaper. So I will be purchasing both in advance. Thanks much!

[Birivera]

26 October 2019 at 12:48:20 #924223

Dear Anna;

Another question, it seems that buying the day saver pass and the single mountain tickets with the half fare card discount will be cheaper than buying all my train tickets for the trips and the mountains using the half fare card…Does that sound about right?

[Birivera]

26 October 2019 at 12:49:40 #924224

Thank you Rockoyster!

[Anna]

26 October 2019 at 13:10:13 #924225

Hi Birivera,

Yes sometimes it does work out that way if you plan ahead and buy the tickets in advance 🙂 Just remember though, the Saver Day Pass is only valid on that selected day and is non-refundable and they do run out. Check out the link I provided earlier.

Regards,

Anna

[Birivera]

26 October 2019 at 13:25:08 #924226

Great, thanks. Yes I checked routes and plan to buy today! 👍🙂

[Annika]

26 October 2019 at 15:20:39 #924227

Hi Birivera! I don’t know if I understand your question correctly, but note that the Saver Day Pass doesn’t offer discounts for mountain trips. So a Saver Day Pass won’t help you to get more discounts on mountain tickets than the 50% discount provided by your Swiss Half Fare Card. Please compare http://www.myswissalps.com/sa verdaypass/validity and http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isshalffarecard/validi ty. For long and expensive train transfers, Saver Day Passes may indeed be cheaper than regular 50% discounted tickets. You can check regular (discounted) fares as explained at our timetable page (http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable), and compare those to Saver Day Pass prices for your selected dates.

[Birivera]

26 October 2019 at 17:02:58 #924228

Yes Annika that is exactly what I understood. What I mean is that when I checked prices it was cheaper to buy a day saver pass for my long train trip, for example, from Zurich to Interlaken, and then purchase the ticket to Jungfraujoch, than just buying the 50% half-fare discounted tickets for the whole trip from Zurich to Jungfraujoch… Does that sound right?

[Annika]

27 October 2019 at 8:27:18 #924229

Hi Birivera. Correct, that’s how it works. If you can secure a Saver Day Pass at a lower price than a regular 50% discounted train ticket for a specific travel date, that’s the right choice. You can then use the 50% discount provided by your Swiss Half Fare Card for mountain trips. For the Jungfraujoch trip, you could use a Saver Day Pass as far up as Wengen or Grindelwald as that’s still within the Saver Day Pass coverage area (https://www.myswissalp s.com/saverdaypass/val idity), and then get a 50% discounted ticket for the rest of the trip (https://www.myswissalp s.com/jungfraujoch/tic kets).

[Removed user]

27 October 2019 at 8:27:28 #924230

Hello Birivera,

Yes, you understood correctly. By purchasing the Saver Day Pass for the long haul train trips such as Zurich to Interlaken, and then purchase a ticket to Jungfraujoch with the Swiss Half Fare Card. You will save with the combination of the Saver Day Pass and the Swiss Half Fare Card. Versus if you just got the Swiss Half Fare Card for your journeys that day.

Best regards,

Suzanne

[Birivera]

27 October 2019 at 21:13:15 #924231

Thanks Annika. I’ve purchased my half fare pass and saver day passes already for the specific dates I need through the Happy Rail website.

1. Now, since I bought day saver passes for those days, I have to get the itineraries and routes to get there myself is using the Happy Trail timetable the way I would get that information, or can I get it from inquiring at the train station. What is best?

2. I have seen different routes to get to the same place if I look it up in different website. For example Lugano-Paradiso to Zermatt, and some take longer and make stops in Italy. Again, if using a day saver pass, how do I figure which trains/routes to take?. I want to take the shortest trip of course.

[rockoyster]

27 October 2019 at 21:19:06 #924232

By far the best way to check timetables, find fares* and buy tickets on-line if required is using the SBB Mobile app (bit.ly/2ICIUHi). In the unlikely event you don’t have a device capable of running the app then you can use the timetable on the SBB website (bit.ly/2HH1U7B). If you are not familiar with using the timetable it will pay to first read the instructions at http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable.

* The SBB website shows half-fare prices by default, the mobile app allows you to nominate whether to show full or half-fares (by editing the passenger details in settings) and is also smart enough to offer you the Saver Day Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/sa verdaypass) if that offers the best fare. The app also show a platform map (at least at the larger stations) to help you make conections.

You don’t want routes that go to Zermatt via Italy as the Italian part would not be covered by your SDP. The exception is going via Locarno and Domodossola (Centovalli Express) which is fully covered despite crossing Italy. The other option is to go via Andermatt.

[Birivera]

27 October 2019 at 21:42:28 #924233

Thanks!