Walkup/in-person purchase of a GA Travel Card -- steps? requirements?

Hi History Traveler,

I have never purchased this product, but have had a year long GA, and I assume that it is the same process.

Yes, I got my GA at the ticket counter of the train station here in Thun. Any manned station can do it for you.

Here, and at many locations, there is one of those little photo booths where you can put coins in, pull the curtain and take a series of four photos. That is how I got my photo.

The SwissPass is a red plastic card like a credit card, with the photo on it that you provided. This is your ‘hard copy’ of your GA. It can be scanned by the train conductor. I only have mine with me as a backup. I use the SBB app and have my SwissPass connected to that to show to the train conductor. I think Lola said she does too…maybe she has info about this that is relevant for someone outside of Switzerland.

I would suggest you do whatever you can online, can you set up a SwissPass? Then do that. Fill out any forms, etc. This will make it easier for you at the train station.

Correct - no free museums with the GA. You can travel by bus, boat, tram, train in the GA area of validity and it functions just like the half fare card giving 1/2 price on funiculars and cable cars…at least the yearly one does, so I assume the one month one is the same. Maybe check all their Q&A to see if there is any info on this.

Last year I had a Swiss museum pass. It includes entry into a lot of castles (like Chillon). I think I went to Ballenberg bout five times with it throughout the season 😁 Price per person is 177 CHF for the year.

https://www.museumspass.ch/en/offer/

I think that the ‘it’ you walk away with is a temporary pass, you will receive the credit card type on in the mail, they can’t make that for you right there.

Take a look at the official GA area map. Some lines, like in the Berner Oberland above Wengen and Grindelwald only give 25% discount.(but First and Maennlichen are 50%). There other lifts elsewhere that give no discount.

Thanks Maureen! This helps fill in some details. We do have the SBB app, so once we have a customer number tied to the purchase, we should be able to load it into the app. Obviously the biggest issue will be getting the physical red plastic cards, but I think we can work with our accommodations to see if we can get a mail delivery. Funny in this day and age it is still dependent on printing physical cards and sending them through the postal system, but I guess they view it as akin to passports. Still a great deal!

History Traveler..do post when you get it. I, too, had questions about it and one forum said not available to tourists. But could not find any evidence that is true. Not sure which museums you are visiting but some cities offer a "city pass" and i noticed museum entrance included..some discounted. Each city pass slightly different and cab be dependent on length of stay in hotels.

I guess the thing is that probably 90% of people getting a SwissPass live here. I have had my card for over six years now, it stays updated with whatever my current train pass is - right not just a yearly HFC.

Here is the link so you can take a look at it.

https://www.swisspass.ch/home?lang=en

I have to add that I actually don't know how it works for people outside of Switzerland. That is where others can help you out.

My understanding is that “SwissPass” is simply my online account with SBB, not any particular Travelcard or travel pass. I buy my traveler’s Half Fare Card, Swiss Travel Pass, Saver Day Pass, or tickets through my SwissPass account (online, not through the app) and put them in my Apple wallet.

One can also buy tickets, HFC’s, etc. as a “Guest”, but I prefer to have them attached to my SwissPass account so I can always access them there if I need to. Redundancy is good when traveling.

However, for the one-month GA card or other products aimed at Swiss residents, it appears one can only buy them through a SwissPass account, not as a guest. Then you have verified identity, a customer number, and probably a credit card stored in the system.

I found that when I tried to access certain informational areas on the one-month GA page***, I would get error messages. I assume this is because I am not currently in Switzerland. I did not re-try after logging in to my account, but maybe that would make a difference. For those who plan to purchase one of these GA cards in Switzerland, it might be worth creating your SwissPass account now, using the like Maureen provided.

*** https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/travelcards/ga-travelcard/ga-1-month.html

As an American you can actually get the Swiss Pass you’re talking about mailed to your address in the US before your trip. Just upload your photo and go through the process. We get the year long Half Fare Card designed for residents because we’re in Switzerland for 3 months every year and don’t want to buy 3 month long tourist HFC. To do the year one you need the little red card that you’re talking about. Just do it ahead of time so you don’t have to deal with finding an address in Europe during your trip.

I did the process for the on-line SwissPass account, which wasn't difficult. I uploaded my passport photo along with a photo of myself.

All went perfectly until it came to entering my address, where I was informed that they will not post to any address outside of Switzerland. I emailed SBB and they told me that the one month GA card was not available for non-Swiss residents.

Today I read on a Facebook site how you could just walk in and get one on arrival at an SBB office. I decided to ask again so used Messenger to contact SBB. Again I was told that this pass was not for non-residents. Here is a copy and paste of their reply to me:

How do you do
I am pleased to hear that you will be spending your holiday in Switzerland. Unfortunately, you are not entitled to a GA Travelcard for your 19-day stay.
For your stay in Switzerland, I recommend that you consider the Swiss Travel Passes. The Swiss Travel Pass gives you unlimited travel on public transport (train, bus, boat) in Switzerland during a specified period. There are various options available depending on how many days you wish to travel.
You can purchase the Swiss Travel Pass online via the official website of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) or buy it at selected railway stations in Switzerland.
Have a nice day. Kind regards Giuseppe

Thanks Harbergers. That seems to agree with what i read on other forums. I think if it was more avail to tourists..we would see it mentioned more often. Would be nice if they offered something more than 15 days for stp. Oh well..it will all work out for our 3 week trip!

And we called the SBB number yesterday and talked to a customer service representative (in English). We confirmed we were American tourists, with American passports, and he said yes, we could purchase the 1-month GA Travelcard. Again, the sticking point was a Swiss address, but we are working on that with one of our accommodations for the 10-day window. But there was no indication that this was a problem on SBB's end. Also, the SBB site is clear that you can do both onsite:

You can buy the 1-month GA Travelcard including SwissPass at any point of sale for public transport. Please take official ID and a recent analogue or digital passport photo with you...Delivery of your 1-month GA Travelcard on the SwissPass takes approx. ten days by post. If you would like your 1-month GA Travelcard to be valid sooner, we will issue you with a temporary SwissPass.

We'll be putting all this to the test in just over two weeks. Stay tuned...!

Oh boy. Thanks history!! Im not going till end of sept. So will be very interested to hear your experience.

Another source weighing in. At the same time I posted here, I found the Community Forum for SBB and posted there in their "Guests from Abroad" Section. Got a reply today and will paste both here:

Original Question:

When we (US-based adult tourists) land in Geneva we want to each purchase a 1-month GA Travel Card, at the Geneva train station. I’m seeing references to needing to bring our passports (no problem), and an analog or digital passport photo (little confused by that). And then do you walk away with a physical pass? If you have the SBB app, do they load that somehow?

Here is the main area where I’m confused. From the SBB site: “Your
1-month GA Travelcard on the SwissPass will be delivered by post
within around ten days. If you would like your new 1-month GA
Travelcard to be valid earlier, we can provide a temporary SwissPass.
If you order online, you can print it out as a PDF. If you order at a
ticket counter, bring all your documents with you and you will receive
it there.”

So, when I walk away from the ticket counter, what is the “it” in that
last sentence? Is it a temporary SwissPass and we still need to
provide an address for delivery in about ten days? Or is it the
complete 1-month GA Travelcard? As tourists with a US-based address, I
can’t receive something physical in the mail. So how would this work?
Or can we walk away from the ticket counter with what we need for the
full 1-month GA Travel Card (either physical or digital)?

And response:

Thank you for your message.

You can buy the 1-month GA Travelcard including SwissPass at any point of sale for public transport. Please take official ID and a recent analogue or digital passport photo with you.

If you are staying in the same hotel or at a private address for a longer period during your stay in Switzerland, this address can be used to send the SwissPass. You will receive a temporary SwissPass for this period.

I already wish you a pleasant stay in Switzerland. Best regards FabianBl

Perfect! Looks like you are good to go!

You can get your SwissPass online by going to swisspass.ch, signing up and then verifying your identity online with a passport. They then mail you your card to your US address in around 10 days. From there you can load your 1 month GA travelcard onto it at your leisure. The card itself doesn't cost anything. It's true that the SwissPass, GA, etc. are designed for residents but there is not an actual rule that a non resident can't use it and in the drop down menu for selecting your address at swisspass.ch they have all the countries, including the US as an option. You don't need a Swiss address. They do make it a bit difficult to navigate the site, but if you make a login, then go to the upper right corner once you're logged in and select "Customer Data" and then under Personal Details select the gray "Change" box, it will begin the process with you of verifying your identity to get your Swiss Pass sent to you in the US (or whatever country).

One final thought for anyone else reading this thread.

There is the one month GA and also the year long GA. The year long one is the cheapest option, at only 355.00 CHF per month, but you must purchase it for a minimum of six months. Most people purchase it for the whole year.

You can pay it all up front, or get monthly bills. This product would not be able for tourists because, of course, any unscrupulous (non-RS) person could get it for the month or more that they are in Switzerland, and then return home and refuse to continue paying for the six month obligatory time frame.

It is pretty obvious, but just to be sure, if any SBB personnel says you can not get the GA Travelcard, be sure that they know you talking about the one month option.

Just received this email reply from the SBB help service:

Thank you for your query.
It is possible to buy a 1-month GA Travelcard if you do not live in Switzerland. Under the following link you can do an ID check, then you will receive a customer number, with which you can buy the 1-month GA Travelcard and then a Swisspass card will automatically be ordered for you and sent to your home. You can find the information under "Where can I buy the 1-month GA Travelcard if I do not yet have a SwissPass?"
I wish you a pleasant day.
Kind regards from Switzerland

Swiss Federal Railways SBB AG
Contact Center
Postoffice box
CH – 3900 Brig
www.sbb.ch/en

Yes, in our case, we stumbled into this option too late to safely and comfortably have the card mailed to our home in the US. So we're going the route detailed above of using a Swiss address on our trip. But with the gift of time, we definitely would have done it this way.

This one month GA Travelcard seems to be more confusing than any of the other myriad options that SBB has.

I already have an account, have been verified online and my photo uploaded but they will not send me a card, I have been told firstly that they only post within Switzerland and then again that only to other European countries. Yes some on here have had them sent to the US. I simply can't get one sent to Australia for love or money.

This is the latest reply that I got from SBB Messenger:

"Hi Deborah. SwissPass cards can be sent to all countries without an additional fee. However, experience has shown that the cards are often not delivered in the destination country. For this reason, we only send SwissPass cards within Europe. You will find information about the 1-month GA Travelcard here: https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/travelcards/ga-travelcard/ga-1-month.html

I wish you a nice day.

Kind regards, Nick"

Basically I have given up on it as I think for us a combination of Half Fare, Berner Oberland and Saver Day passes will be cheaper anyway, but it has been incredibly frustrating and I've wasted hours on it.

Debh..i hear ya. Seems like you get different answers depending on who responds. In the To FB forum, someonec9mmented that not all sbb agents are aware of this option and to download the info and show them when purchasing in person. My head hurts from figuring out swiss rail travel. Im sure it will make sense once i am there!

OK, I promised an update. IT CAN BE DONE!! We arrived in Geneva yesterday and purchased a 1-month GA Travel Card that became active today. A few details:

• We opted to go into the SBB ticket office right there in the Geneva Airport. It was very quiet, and there was a nice, helpful young women took care of all the details.
• For the photo, she sent us a text message with a link to take our photos on our phones. For whatever reason, that never arrived, so she just took our photos right on her own phone! Like I said, very helpful.
• We had worked with one of our accommodations to have the red cards delivered to that address in about 10 days. I'll give another update when those arrive.
• In the meantime, we have a temporary slip of paper with a QR code good for two weeks. It is about the size of a passport page, and since it is so valuable, it is paperclipped inside our passport to show on transit. We won't lose that paper!
• We have the SBB app on our phones, and created accounts using the Customer Number on our paperwork. That all worked, and it shows our one-month valid travelcard. Oddly, it does not generate a QR code for the one-monther. I wonder if that will happen after our travel cards are processed/created?
• Bottom line, this was a HUGE savings -- hundreds and hundreds of dollars -- over two 15-day passes. If you are planning long-term travel in Switzerland and don't mind losing the free museum component, go this route. IT CAN BE DONE!

Thanks for reporting back on the results. Happy travels.

Thank you History for your update. We arrive after the SBB office closes at Geneva and I already decided to just skip the GA pass, but I do think your info will greatly help others as this one seems to not be as well known, at least what I read on the forums as well as a lot of different information given out. I hope you have a wonderful trip and report back on your experiences as well! Enjoy

Just to keep the information flowing, since this is such a below-the-radar product (from what I've seen anyway!) As mentioned in my last update, we have the SBB app on our phones, and created accounts using the Customer Number on our paperwork. About 72 hours later, those accounts populated with our photos (terrible, btw!) and the QR code for our one-month pass. So while we still expect to see the plastic red cards at our next accommodations, we actually have the passes on our phones already. Also, it turns out the GA travel card has savings that even the Swiss Travel Pass does not. For example, we expected to pay 50% for the top half of the cogwheel rail line to Rochers-de-Naye, as is the case for STP holders. Turns out with the GA travel card, it is included. Hoping to find more gems like that in the weeks to come!

For example, we expected to pay 50% for the top half of the cogwheel
rail line to Rochers-de-Naye, as is the case for STP holders. Turns
out with the GA travel card, it is included.

There’s a map on this page that shows what is covered.

https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/travelcards/ga-travelcard/ga-travelcard-area-validity.html

If you zoom in, you can see Montreux to Rochers-de-Naye is covered at 100%.

History Traveler...You are correct it is under the radar which is too bad. I am on several different forums and the info about it is so vague.If you have the red card on your app with all the other info, is that good enough without the physical card that you are waiting for at next accommodation? Now I am considering it, but I would need all done online and not sure if that is possible. One of the forums indicated that they received response from SBB that unless you live in Switzerland and adjoining countries, you must apply for the GA card in person. Thanks again and enjoy.

I did all my on line application correctly and have a customer number. The problem came when they went to mail my card and my address is in Australia.

I was emailed by them to state that they wouldn't mail cards out of the country and that in reality the one month GA card was for residents and not tourists.

I do still have an account and a customer number which I am currently using to buy Saver Day Passes.

I would have kept pushing, but using my massive trusty spreadsheet, even the GA one month pass worked out more expensive than the Half Fare Card, a six day Berner Oberland Pass and three Saver Day Passes. Not a huge amount but a couple of hundred CHF, which is a lot of AUD.

So, here's the part I don't understand, and maybe our Swiss peers on the Forum can help. Like I said, it took about 48-72 hours for the GA Travel Passes to populate our SBB app account. That account had been set up with the customer number given to us at purchase. What populated included our photos and the QR code we'll use for the month. So why does SBB also need to mail a physical card? I get that not everyone has a smartphone, so yes, they need the physical red plastic card. But why can't you opt out and say, I have the app, I'll use that. The only thing I'm guessing is that they want a zero excuse scenario, so if your phone is dead or breaks, you can still show the physical card. But the extra step of printing and mailing a card (and the inconsistency of WHERE they will mail a card) seems to suggest that an "opt out" (I.e. I'll go all-digital) option might be popular.

History...I wonder if it is because you did it in person? I did not look back at all posts so cant remember if you also signed up with an account prior or not. Oh well, I am back to STP pass. Regarding museums, I did read that most museums are not that pricey and not sure of your age, but some have senior pass discounts. And some of the cities have a free travel pass. which will give discounts on some museums. You can also purchase a museum pass...dont know all the details or prices but you might want to check if you are visiting all the museums. We are getting STP FLex for our trip. I know if is more expensive than half fare, but I like the ease. I know most of my days I need to choose and the off days, I will use my city pass. Enjoy and love your posts.

The only thing I'm guessing is that they want a zero excuse scenario, so if your phone is dead or breaks, you can still show the physical card.

Correct! It also allows you to travel without your phone...although not sure that anyone does that these days. My husband has had a GA for several years now and was just commenting that he has actually never once needed to use his card, the app has always worked, but he always has the card with him anyway, just incase.

I think that this product, although extremely helpful for visitors to Switzerland who are staying long enough and traveling around enough to make it worth while, is actually something more marketed to residents who might want to do a bit of extra train travel in a certain month, vs all year long, and therefore have a permanent Swiss address for mailing purposes.