I thought I have seen other posters recommend to utilize SparPreis fares for point-to-point travel. However, when I went to book several of these tickets, I noticed the following conditions are listed on the DB site:
Savings fare 25, 50 (Sparpreis 25, 50)
Deutsche Bahn offers discounted fares on long-distance travel in Germany - providing the customer with huge savings that are simple and straightforward to follow.
There are two discount fare structures - Savings fare 25 and Savings fare 50, offering 25% and 50% off normal return fares provided
- passengers restrict themselves to a particular day and train and
- make a return journey to and from the same station.
To obtain the Savings fare 25 the ticket has to be bought at least three days in advance. It is only available for round trips. For Savings fare 50 additional weekend restricitions apply. The return trip cannot be any sooner than the following Sunday. If you travel on a Sunday you may already return that following Saturday. If you travel on Saturday or Sunday you may return that same day.
Of course, normal fare tickets which offer full flexibility on all DB long-distance trains are also available.
Savings fare tickets are subject to availability.
Is there any way around these restrictions? How have other travelers managed to get comparable rates without making a return journey?