The Swiss Half Fare Card costs CHF 150 (2026), lasts one month and halves the price of train, bus, boat and most mountain railway tickets including panoramic trains like the Glacier Express and Bernina Express. It does not discount seat reservations.
As a rule of thumb, it pays off if you would otherwise spend more than CHF 300 on full-fare tickets in a month. If you will be on a train almost every day, the Swiss Travel Pass is usually the better deal.
The Swiss Half Fare Card looks like a no-brainer. It is not always one. Scenic trains charge two separate things — the ticket and the seat reservation — and the card only discounts the first.
Below you will find what the card covers, what it actually saves on the trains and excursions this blog is about, and exactly when the Swiss Travel Pass wins instead. Prices were checked on official sources in October 2026.
Swiss Half Fare Card 2026: price, coverage and how it works
What you get
- Price: CHF 150 for adults in 2026, the same for 1st and 2nd class.
- Validity: one month.
- Discount: up to 50% on train, bus and boat tickets, panoramic trains, mountain railways and gondolas, plus local public transport in more than 90 Swiss towns and cities.
- Saver Day Passes: also sold at a reduced price to card holders, which can make long scenic days cheaper still.
- Children: under 6 travel free. Children aged 6 to 15 travel free with a parent if you add them as a Swiss Family Card when you buy.
- Who can buy it: only visitors whose permanent residence is outside Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Residents need the one-year Half Fare Travelcard instead.
How to buy and use it
- Buy it on SBB.ch up to 11 months before your trip, or at a staffed ticket counter in Switzerland.
- Show it in the SBB Mobile app — but only if you bought it online while logged in to your SBB account.
- Carry your original passport or ID card. It is checked together with the card, and copies or phone photos are not accepted.
- Select it at checkout every time you buy a ticket, otherwise you pay full fare. In the Glacier Express shop, for example, you choose it under “Discount card”.
What the card does not cover
- Seat reservations and supplements. The Glacier Express states that its mandatory reservation is an extra charge not covered by travel cards. The same principle applies to the Bernina Express and the GoldenPass Express.
- Free travel. It is a discount, not a pass: you still pay half of every ticket.
- Every mountain railway at 50%. Discounts differ by operator, so confirm on the railway’s own website before you count on half price.
Is the Swiss Half Fare Card worth it for scenic trains? 2026 examples
The card only makes sense if the tickets it discounts add up to something big. Here is what it does on the routes covered on this blog (2nd class, adult).
| Experience | Full fare | With Half Fare Card | Seat reservation (not discounted) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glacier Express, St. Moritz – Zermatt | CHF 166 | CHF 83 | CHF 54 |
| Bernina Express, St. Moritz – Tirano | about CHF 33 | about CHF 16.50 | CHF 32 |
| GoldenPass Express, Interlaken – Montreux | CHF 53 | CHF 26.50 | CHF 20 (optional) |
| Mount Pilatus Golden Round Trip | CHF 119.80 | CHF 59.90 | small fee, see operator |
| Jungfraujoch return from Interlaken Ost (high season) | about CHF 260–270 | about CHF 130–135 | small fee, see operator |
Glacier Express and Pilatus prices come from the operators’ official price pages. Bernina Express, GoldenPass Express and Jungfraujoch are current published fares — check the operator’s website before booking, as prices change with the December timetable.
The CHF 300 rule
The card costs CHF 150 and saves half of every ticket it applies to. It therefore breaks even when you would otherwise pay CHF 300 in full-fare tickets and excursions within one month. Everything above that is profit.
- Jungfraujoch + Pilatus: you save roughly CHF 130 on Jungfraujoch and CHF 60 on the Pilatus Golden Round Trip, about CHF 190 in total. That already beats the CHF 150 price of the card.
- Glacier Express alone: you save CHF 83 — not enough on its own. Add the Bernina Express and one mountain excursion and the card starts paying off.
A scenic-heavy trip, with and without the card
| Without the card | With the card | |
|---|---|---|
| Five tickets: Glacier Express, Bernina Express, GoldenPass Express, Pilatus, Jungfraujoch (using CHF 265) | about CHF 637 | about CHF 318 |
| Seat reservations on the three panoramic trains (54 + 32 + 20) | CHF 106 | CHF 106 |
| Swiss Half Fare Card | — | CHF 150 |
| Total | about CHF 743 | about CHF 574 |
That is a saving of roughly CHF 170 — before counting the connecting trains between those sights, which are also half price with the card.
A 1st class bonus
The card costs the same whether you travel 1st or 2nd class, and the discount applies to both. On the Glacier Express, a 1st class ticket costs CHF 284 at full fare, so CHF 142 with the card. That is less than a full-fare 2nd class ticket (CHF 166). The CHF 54 reservation still applies on top.
👉 Get the Swiss Half Fare Card on GetYourGuide
Swiss Half Fare Card vs Swiss Travel Pass: which one should you choose?
The two cards work in opposite ways. The Half Fare Card halves each ticket you buy. The Swiss Travel Pass makes most tickets free on the days it is valid. Here is how they compare in 2026.
| Swiss Half Fare Card | Swiss Travel Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Price (2nd class) | CHF 150 for one month | CHF 254 (3 days), CHF 309 (4), CHF 399 (6), CHF 439 (8), CHF 499 (15) |
| How it works | 50% off each ticket | Unlimited travel on consecutive days |
| Panoramic trains | Ticket half price, reservation extra | Ticket free, reservation extra |
| Jungfraujoch | 50% off | 25% off |
| Pilatus | 50% off mountain sections | 50% off mountain sections, boat and bus free |
| Rigi, Stanserhorn, Stoos | Reduced fare | Free |
| Museums | Not included | Free entry to 500+ museums |
| Children 6–15 | Free with Swiss Family Card | Free with Swiss Family Card |
Choose the Half Fare Card if you plan two or three big paid excursions (Jungfraujoch, Pilatus, a panoramic train) and travel by train only on some days of your trip.
Choose the Swiss Travel Pass if you will use trains, boats or buses on most days of a 4 to 8 day trip, or want Rigi and museums included. My detailed breakdown is in Is the Swiss Travel Pass worth it for scenic trains?
Choose neither if your full-fare tickets add up to less than CHF 300. Buy point-to-point tickets or Saver Day Passes instead — this guide explains how.
Combine it with Saver Day Passes. Card holders pay a reduced price for them, so a long travel day between two sights can cost very little.
