Rail in Germany/Austria

I'm not sure what "senior discount card" you mean. In Germany there is the Bahn (discount) Card, and it costs less for a senior than regular price, but you don't have enough travel in Germany to warrant it. In Austria there is a card for €26,90/p that gives a 50% discount (so €53,80) is the breakeven point, so, as you will see, you wouldn't save much, if anything, and the trouble you'd go through to get it is probably not worth it. For Munich airport to Salzburg, express trains would save about ½ hr over regional trains, but two people can travel to Salzburg on regional trains for €29 total (€14,50/p) on regional trains with a Bayern-Ticket. For Salzburg to Hallstatt, Attnang-Puchheim to Hallstatt is only by regional train. Again, using express trains from Salzburg to Attnang-Puchheim will only save about ½ hr vs regional trains. Two of you can go the entire way with regional trains on an Einfach-Raus ticket for €28 (€14/p). Lastly, if you book well in advance, online, from Austrian Rail, you can get Hallstatt to Vienna for €19/p with a train specific SparSchiene ticket. So, just buy point-point discounted tickets (Bayern, Einfach-Raus, and SparSchiene tickets). For this route they would cost far less than rail passes, and Sr. cards would probably save about what they cost.

The only senior card that I AM AWARE OF is for Spain rails. The cost is 5E and gets you a 40% discount weekday and 25% weekend. It is available to anyone over 62. Many of the senior discounts in Europe are restricted to EU citizens.

Thank you! Much cheaper than we thought point to point. It was the Austrian senior discount we were thinking of.

Jim, the Bayern- and Einfach-Raus-tickets are always that price at automats at the stations. You can purchase them on the morning of travel. The Spar-Schiene tickets can be purchased online up to 92 days before travel. They are tiered, with a limited number of tickets at each price. When these tickets sell out, the next tickets are more (usually €10 more per person).