how to buy the Swiss half fare card online

https://www.sbb.ch/en/ticketshop/b2c/adw.do?5936

Tim's link above goes to a 1-year half-fare card. Cost is 165CHF. They also have a 30-day half-fare card for 110CHF. I have not seen this one for sale online but it may be. I would like to find the link. If not, you can buy one at any staffed Swiss train station.

Switzerland has had a change to on train purchase rules. It used to be that tickets could be bought from the Conductor except those trains with the yellow eye sign, for a fee. That is no longer true. Tickets may no longer be purchased from the Conductor on any train. There is a very large fine for not having a ticket on the train. Where is your 5 minute connection? If it is from platforms 30-36, the SNCF station for Regional trains from France at Basel into the SBB platforms at Basel I would be surprised if 5 minutes is enough.

http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/produkttexte.php?passid=6 That should take you straight to the "book now" page for the one-month Half Fare card (110 CHF). I had no trouble going as far as the credit card entry page. I hope that works as well for you.

Thanks Lola. That link works for the 30-day card. Plus, if you order this one online, you can also request the free family card. The family card works the same way that the Junior card works. If you can request it online, you can avoid the 30CHF when you get to Switzerland.

Hi Larry--- what is interesting is that it appears they do not charge for shipping the passes, even to the US. But I did not try entering address, etc. To see if they added anything for that.

As soon as you select "USA" as your country of residence in the address section, the screen is updated showing DHL overnight shipping to the US for 23CHF.

23chf is a small price for peace of mind and tix in hand!

Thanks Lola - you have been such a great help to me over the last few months :) The ticket would be Arth-Goldau to Lauterbrunnen - it does go through Luzerne, but at that point there are two different routes - one goes east (and more directly to Interlaken) while the other goes roundabout through Bern and Spiez....if I miss the 5 minute connection, it takes the Bern route. Would this matter? The train I want to take is the 18.14 out of Arth-Goldau, but since I am coming in from Milan (18.09) I am worried it will be delayed at the border - does that happen a lot?

Thank you, thank you, thank you - that link works perfect! My 5 minute transfer is in Arth-Goldau - I checked the station map and it looks doable (platforms are next to eachother), but not sure if I will have time to buy tickets :( There is another train in an hour, but it is turning into a looong train ride from Venice and I was hoping to make the 5 minute transfer....oh well...we shall try....just hoping the family isn't to cranky by then :) Thanks for all the help!
Donna

One more question....if I prepurchase the train tickets online can I use them for the next train if I don't make the 5 minute transfer? I have tried "mock purchasing" and can't really figure it out - it doesn't really say they are only good for that specific train, but I don't want to be stuck with them....grrrr...what to do.....what to do????

Donna, I haven't purchased online tickets for travel within Switzerland, but I read through the conditions of purchase for a ticket from Arth-Goldau to Luzern. For that ticket, the online ticket is good for that day, not for a specific train. So you could take a later train if necessary. But that may not answer your question if you are going someplace else, so it would be helpful to know that. Five minutes is plenty of time to transfer at Arth-Goldau, assuming your inbound train is on time (and this is Switzerland so it should be). But You wouldn't have time to buy tickets, so it is good to get this figured out and buy them online.

OK, I see what you are doing. When we took that train from MIlan back to Switzerland, it left on time and stayed on time. Unless there is some unusual delay, it should be on time. But you can't absolutely count on that. The SBB website isn't functioning for price checks right now, so I can't confirm, but generally the Bern route is slightly more expensive than the shorter (and more scenic) route over Brunig Pass. However, my experience with the Swiss rail system and personnel tells me that if you bought tickets on the 18:14 train online, and happened to miss the connection at Arth-Goldau, you could take the next train and they would adjust the price. You could do that at the station window, if anyone is still there, or on the train. You'll have your Half-Fare cards and a ticket to show, and you can just explain that the inbound train was late. We have revised our plans on board a train in Switzerland before, and the conductor just charged us the difference, no problem. (This was the cogwheel train out of Arth-Goldau, that goes up to the top of Rigi.)

Thanks Lola - that is what I will do :) I am not going to worry - just buy the ticket online and hope I make it or they let me on the next....Thanks for you advice! Donna