I've read a lot about the passes, but I still have two questions:
1) Is there an advantage to buying the Half-Fare card online vs at the Zurich airport when we arrive? I feel like I read somewhere that if you buy it online you can both print and have it on your phone, but if you buy it at a train station you only get a physical card, but I'm not sure.
2) Can the BO pass be put on your phone, or is it only available as a physical card at the station or by printing-at-home online?
Thank you!
Buying the HFC online means you can access it via your SBB app. I don't know if you can do that with a purchase at the Zurich station. Establish an account at SBB and download the app. Sign in to the app using the account you created. Buy the HFC through this page https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/tickets/guests-abroad/swiss-halffare-card.html while logged in to your account. You can buy tickets through the app on-the-go as well. You will just show the train conductor the HFC on the app as well as any tickets you purchase.
The BO pass can be downloaded as a PDF. I keep ours in my "Files" folder on my phone.
Thank you, Laurel.
1) Not really. Buying it in person when you arrive means it’s comes in a plastic sleeve with a map of the whole country. You can still purchase half fare tickets in the SBB app. You just configure your profile in the app so it “knows” you have a HFC, then show the physical pass to the conductor.
I typically buy the physical card so I don’t have to rely on my iPhone battery, plus it’s a little keepsake.
2) Physical card or print-out only I think.
