Train and cable car questions

If you want to go to the town of Como on Lake Como, the simplest journey to head back to Luzern to catch the 12:18 EC 151 train that goes to Milan with a stop at Como. You can buy that ticket on either SBB (Swiss rail,site) or Trenitalia. Buy 2-3 months in advance to get a discounted ticket, and check the price on both websites. If you do have a Swiss pass or Half-Fare card valid for travel this day, the Swiss rail website will give you a chance to use the Pass and figure the discount.

Use Como San Giovanni as the station name.

Probably a Half Fare card will save the most. You can look the prices up at www.sbb.ch/en. They will show you the price assuming you have a Half Fare Card initially, you have to double that price.

You have about 182 CHF just for the Zurich Airport-Luzern-Muerren-Como S. Giovanni (Swiss portion). One round trip on The Schilthornbahn will put you over the 240 CHF breakeven point.

Trenitalia can only book trains that are direct to Italy, so you would have to buy Luzern to Como, and travel to Luzern from Muerren on Swiss tickets. This could be a savings if you can get that ticket from Trenitalia for less than 60 EUR. But SBB can sell you a ticket all the way from Muerren to Como.

There is no real reason to buy Swiss tickets in advance, as they are not generally reserved. You just show up and buy a ticket and get on the train and find a seat. Since there is a train at least every hour, they're usually not crowded. So you could just buy the pass or Half Fare card at Zurich Airport Train station when you arrive.

There are some deals called SuperSaver tickets that get you up to half off for taking a train specific booking. These tickets only go on sale starting 30 days before the train date and you have to travel on the exact trains on the ticket.

More on this.

I see you can buy a nonrefundable, non-changeable "Mini" fare from Luzern to Como S. Giovanni for 29 EUR per person at Trenitalia. These tickets go on sale 4 months before your travel date, and there are a limited number available, so you should buy as soon as they go on sale.

If you do this, and take 1 round trip on the Schilthornbahn to Piz Gloria from Muerren, you save the most money not getting a pass or HFC at all, just pay as you go. If you take more cable car or mountain railway rides than that, then a Half Fare card is you best savings. Nonetheless, you'll be spending between 251 and 277 CHF for all your travel, so you can see everything is within 10%. The Swiss Travel Pass is not indicated as it only gives a 50% discount on the Schilthornbahn, same as the Half Fare card. Whether an 8-day continuous pass or a 3 or 4-day flex pass, you'll pay a lot more. They are expensive.

Wow, that is great advice thank you so much!

Update from the Rick Steves web site: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/switzerland/guidebook-updates

Beginning January 1, 2018, the Swiss Travel Pass will cover the entire
cost of the whole journey between the valley and the Schilthorn
summit.

then back on the train to interlaken were I assume we have to take the
cable cars up to murren for 2 days? Then back down to interlaken to
get on the train

Just want to clear up your misunderstanding above:
You can't take a cable car up from Interlaken to reach Mürren -- Mürren's not above Interlaken. At Interlaken Ost you change trains to one that goes to Lauterbrunnen (in the Lauterbrunnen Valley). From Lauterbrunnen you get to Mürren one of two ways:
1. Take a cable car that's across the street from the Lauterbrunnen train station. The cable car takes you up the mountain to Grutschalp, where you transfer to a train that takes you to Mürren; or
2. Take a bus that's across the street from the Lauterbrunnen train station. The bus takes you to the Stechelberg cable car station, where you take a cable car up to Gimmelwald, and transfer to another cable car that takes you further up the mountain to Mürren.

Here's a map of that area to help you picture it:
http://www.regionalpass-berneroberland.ch/assets/karte-und-partner/Regionalpass-Panoramakarte-2017.pdf

I can’t buy my pass or train tickets for our trip until closer to our
June date?

You can buy a Swiss Travel Pass up to 6 months before use.

A new benefit of the Swiss Travel Pass.
But a 4-day flex pass is still 310 CHF, so it is more expensive. Then you could think of it as paying 10 CHF a day for the convenience of not having to buy tickets. You would have to buy a ticket to Como, as 15 CHF covers the Italian portion.

The answer would be easier if the Swiss Travel Pass offered a 5- or 6-day version, but they don't; they skip from 4 days to 8 days on both the flexi- and consecutive-day versions.