Confused about Swiss Pass when leaving Switzerland

We do it all the time, booking on SBB.

Say you want to take the direct train from Zurich to Salzburg, via Buchs. Choose that option and hit “Book”..Then you either log in to your SwissPass account, or book as a Guest. If you do the latter, you will enter your email address, you name and birthday, and choose the reduction for whatever pass you have. If it is a Swiss Travel Pass for I’d for your date of travel, you select the GA Travelcard reduction for your class—First or 2d. You will then be charged only for the portion from Buchs to Salzburg.

If you book now for September travel, you should be able to get a “Saver” price on the cross-border ticket, which is lower. However, the Saver is non-refundable and cannot be changed, and the Saver Flex can be changed but is still non-refundable. So you are probably better off with the GA reduction. IN any case there is an extra 4 CHF for seat reservations on the Austrian portion of the trip.

I would just book Buchs - Salzburg on www.oebb.at, and then make a separate reservation for Zurich - Salzburg.

That way you will get the best price.

What is your travel date in September? I saw this note on the ŒBB website about the route via Buchs:

Due to construction work some long distance trains are redirected between Buchs SG and Sargans from 10/08/2024 through 09/09/2024. A rail replacement bus service is being arranged. The nighttrains are redirected. The nighttrains will be redirected. Due to the construction work, there may be some restrictions when booking seat reservations. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Lola - Ah, thank you! I saw the “GA Travelcard” option, but didn’t realize that was the right choice for the Swiss Pass. We will be travelling to Salzburg on the 13th, thank you for sharing the note about the Buchs construction.

WengenK - Thank you! Would I also be making the reservation through the ŒBB site as well or would that be through SBB?

Your Swiss pass is valid up to the last Swiss station where the train actual stops (not the last Swiss station).

You can make the reservations via www.oebb.at as well. And you can book a ticket Buchs - Salzburg and separately a reservation Zurich - Salzburg. But I would wait with the reservation till it is clear what the schedule will be. If you buy a ticket now you can take advantage of the advance purchase discount. If between now and your travel date the schedule changes your ticket automatically becomes valid for the alternative services.