Buying a Saver Day Pass on SBB

You can get a SwissPass login without an actual SwissPass. It is confusing however.
(whoever thought naming our transit pass "SwissPass" was not thinking straight")

Create a and account (a SwissPass login) but choose "without customer number", Then they just set up the account.

There is a good explanation here: https://community.sbb.ch/blog/35831-swiss-half-fare-card-how-to-buy-and-details

Note the Half Fare Card is for tourists, and it will cost 150,- CHF next year. The Half Fare Travelcard is for locals, and is valid for a year, and does require the actual "SwissPass" (not just the "SwissPass login"). They offer the same benefits though.

Thanks for your reply. I struggled to buy the saver day pass for days because it kept saying it cannot process my payment with Visa card until I finally figured out that it does not have any problem processing the transaction with my American Express! So now I know not to use the Visa card and changed payment method in the SBB mobile app to American Express.

SBB is notoriously picky about Credit Cards. Your card issues needs to follow the latest security standards, and there the US is sometimes still lagging Europe.
Make sure you have a PIN on your CC, as without it you may also run in to issues. In Europe nobody signs anymore.

Assuming the OP is from USA, credit cards generally do not have pins. Most credit card purchases are by swipe these days, so make sure it has a scannable chip (icon on the card). But you should not have any problem with person-to-person transactions with your card in Switzerland. My recent experience anyway.

On-line credit card transactions often require 3D verification, where during the transaction, your CC texts you a code you must enter to complete the transaction. American Express gets around this on a technicality. It is considered a "travel card", not a "bank card" like Visa or Mastercard, so SBB does not require 3D verification for Amex.

Yes, we are in the US. I finally figured out that I can purchase the Save Day Pass online with desktop with my Am Exp Card. I tried in with the SBB app and it still would not work. Perhaps the SBB app will not work with any card until I am in Switzerland? Since the saver day pass is cheapest when purchased early, I will have to do it on desktop. I was hoping that if I purchased it with the app, it would be stored in my phone to use when I am in Switzerland.

Someone else will know better how this works, but I just now opened my app, went to the shop icon, and a saver day pass came up as one of the choices. I chose it, then the date, and can buy using Apple Pay. I stopped - but I did follow through a couple of months ago. So I do have that saver day pass stored in my app. I don’t know if you have Apple Pay (or Google Wallet) set up but might be worth a try.

I’ve had my account for quite a number of years, used infrequently so I don’t know how I set it up originally (and don’t need a Half Fare card). So maybe none of that is helpful.

Just FYi for anyone. We just bought our Saver Day passes and you can use Apple Pay too to get around the credit card thing.

Make sure that when you buy a ticket or pass online that you do so while logged in, with the same account as you use for the app. Then the tickets will be visible in the app as well.

I bought the first Saver Day Pass online through desktop but I don't think I signed into the SBB account, so it does not show in my App account. After I figured out I can use the American Exp in the Apple Wallet to buy on the SBB mobile app, I bought the second Save Day Pass and that one is now on the App. Is it true that I cannot buy the Swiss Half Fare Card in the App?

I believe you cannot because the 30-day Half Fare Card is a tourist product for non-Swiss residents. Swiss residents actually have a much better deal.