Bahn Card Inquiry

Please provide TRAVEL DATES for the best advice. If your trip is far off, you can probably pre-purchase advance-sale tickets from DB (German Railways) at a heavy disount for Berlin > Vienna and Vienna > Frankfurt. It all depends on the date you choose and how many tickets have been pre-sold by the time you make your purchase. Sample prices for these "saver fares"...

• Direct train, 7 hrs. 43 minutes, Berlin > Vienna 1/5 at 10:04 am: €239.80 for 2 adults
• Same train on 5/9: €99.80
• Same train on 6/5: €119.80

Direct link to DB itinerary search page:
https://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

German Rail Pass: not useful for travel outside Germany (to/from Vienna.)
Regional day passes: not useful for such long distances or for travel outside Germany.

FRA airport > Berlin: Problem is, flight delays happen... The saver fare isn't a good idea unless you incorporate a time cushion between arrival at FRA and your train departure. Saver fares are for a specific train at a specific time and will mean forfeiture if you fail to catch your train because of a flight delay or some other delay. If you were to give yourselves an overnight stay in Frankfurt or a cushion of 3 hours or so, you would enhance the chances of catching your train. A full-fare rail ticket for FRA > Berlin can be used at any hour on your choice of dates. But it will cost you €400 or more for two. Note that some airlines will sell you a discounted, time-flexible TRAIN ticket at a set price for situations like yours - you can check this option with the airlines that are available to you.

If that airline-sold train ticket is not an option... and if your final night in Frankfurt is just for catching a flight... (if Frankfurt is just an airport to you, in other words) then the most obvious advice is to fly into Berlin instead, thus eliminating the need for a rail ticket to Berlin in the first place, and to fly out of Vienna, which eliminates the need for a Vienna > Frankfurt ticket. Then you'd have only ONE saver fare train ticket to buy.

Hi so I was doing research and I found specific time slots where travel was cheaper if I took the ICE trains, but still wanted to know if it was better with the passes. Unfortunately I cannot fly out of Berlin which would have been ideal. Singapore Airlines has me flying into FRA.

Going to Berling from the airport 1/6, arriving around 10, assume will be ready by 11ish. The Frankfurt Airport train to Berlin has a time slot of 11:35 and arriving in Berlin HGF at 16:15 WIthout discount was 158 for two, with 118.

Going to Vienna 1/8. Was planning to take the 6 am slot, arrive there 14:42, was quoted at 119 without discount and 98 with 25%.

Leaving Vienna and going back to Frankurt Airport on 1/11. Realized not much to do in Frankfurt, so may just take the 10:13 train, arrive at 17:20 for 135 without discount and 115 with.

So basically that is the travel time

Also, can we buy the trial 25 bahn card at the station instead of online?