Vorteilscard by Austrian Railways or OBB

Just price it out. I have taken trains in several countries in Europe and OBB is my favourtie especially if taking business class.

What I normally do is I price out regular, 1st and business for all the trips vs. The card. I would also price out the trains from all 3 countries you are visiting as I found some cheaper than others. The longer the ride, the more likely for me to splurge on business.

The cheapest way is definitely to reserve early and reserve non refundable.

The discounts provided by a Vorteilscard apply to regular tckets only. If you buy a bargain ticket (Sparschiene), no further discounts are deducted. If you buy a bargain ticket and upgrade to first class, I don't know whether the upgrade price is subject to a discount.

Unfortunately it is very difficult to calculate prices in beforehand (having no Vorteilscard yet) since OeBB has changed the rules about one year ago, meaning that you need to enter a valid number of a Senior Vorteilscard to get the resulting price displayed.

• Do remember that when you get to Budapest all public transportation is free for 65 and older. So are trains within the country. No tickets required. Just show and ID with your birth date on it if asked.
• Do download the APP from what ever carrier you purchase the tickets from. Much easier than paper tickets when validating on the train.

Vorteilscard

I have no idea if the card is worth it. You will need to check all of your routes with the operator at both ends of the trip. The quotes below are from: https://www.oebb.at/en/tickets-kundenkarten/kundenkarten/vorteilscard

• 50% discount on ÖBB standard single tickets for travellers when
purchasing tickets on any sales channels

“standard” is apparently the key word.
Vienna to Budapest EC145, 16 April

• Purchasing the ticket from OBB: Standard Ticket 52.90€ in 2nd or apparently 26.45€ with the card (86.60€ in 1st or 43.30€ with the card).
• Purchasing the ticket from MAV: 21€ in 2nd (30€ in 1st) (MAV is the Hungarian rail company. All the national trains are jointly operated by the countries they pass through. So same train different price: https://jegy.mav.hu/)

If you book in advance there is a chance you will find discounted tickets on OBB as well. If they are discounted more than 50% then they are cheaper without the card.

• Discount on private railways: on most Austrian private railways,
Vorteilscard holders pay up to half less for a ticket. The exception
is the Vorteilscard Family, which is only recognised on the
Raab-Oedenburg-Ebenfurter railway, the Mariazellerbahn and the
Citybahn Waidhofen.

RegioJet between Vienna and Budapest is cheaper than MAV or OBB. Not sure if the card will work on RegioJet. 17.90€ 2nd and 29.90€ for 1st class. But I am not a big fan of the station RegioJet uses in Budapest for the savings you get. But nice trains.

• 50% discount on national & international seat reservations on
daytime services (only with Vorteilscard Comfort)

Not sure what Vorteilscard Comfort is? But seat reservations are 2€ to 6€ generally.