Half Fare Travelcard PLUS is easy to misunderstand. It does not reduce a ticket below the normal Half Fare price, and it is not a substitute for the ordinary Half Fare Travelcard. It is a digital prepaid credit package: you deposit money, SBB adds bonus credit, and eligible personal tickets are paid from that balance.
It can provide a worthwhile bonus for somebody whose eligible travel spend is predictable. It can also lock up money unnecessarily if travel is uncertain. The decision depends on how much of the package you will use, when you will use it and what happens to the remaining balance.
Prices and terms were checked on 11 August 2026. Confirm the live product page and terms before purchase.
Current adult and youth packages
SBB currently advertises these annual packages:
| Package | You deposit | Available travel credit | Maximum bonus if fully used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult 1000 | CHF 800 | CHF 1,000 | CHF 200 |
| Adult 2000 | CHF 1,500 | CHF 2,000 | CHF 500 |
| Adult 3000 | CHF 2,100 | CHF 3,000 | CHF 900 |
| Youth 1000 | CHF 600 | CHF 1,000 | CHF 400 |
| Youth 2000 | CHF 1,125 | CHF 2,000 | CHF 875 |
| Youth 3000 | CHF 1,575 | CHF 3,000 | CHF 1,425 |
The youth product is for people aged at least 6 and under 25; the adult product is for those aged 25 or over. The applicable age is part of the current terms.
The headline bonus is realised only when enough eligible purchases consume the original deposit and then the bonus. It should not be treated as cash interest or a guaranteed refund.
How the balance is used
SBB's terms say the customer deposit is spent first and the bonus portion afterwards. The product is digital and tied to the individual. It can pay for personal first- or second-class tickets bought through supported digital self-service channels, including pre-purchase and post-payment channels.
This ordering matters. Consider Adult 2000:
- you pay CHF 1,500;
- the first CHF 1,500 of eligible tickets merely uses your own deposit;
- the next CHF 500 uses the bonus;
- if you spend only CHF 1,200 before ending the product, you have not captured any bonus.
SBB says the unused portion of the original deposit can be repaid under the current terms, while unused bonus expires. Read the refund and cancellation rules for timing and any exceptional cases.
The effective discount is not the headline percentage
If Adult 2000 is fully used, CHF 1,500 pays for CHF 2,000 of tickets. Relative to the ticket value, that is a 25% saving. Relative to the cash deposited, the bonus is 33.3%. Both figures describe the same package, but the 25% figure is more useful when comparing the final cost of travel.
| Package | Cash paid as share of fully used credit | Effective saving on ticket value |
|---|---|---|
| Adult 1000 | 80% | 20% |
| Adult 2000 | 75% | 25% |
| Adult 3000 | 70% | 30% |
| Youth 1000 | 60% | 40% |
| Youth 2000 | 56.25% | 43.75% |
| Youth 3000 | 52.5% | 47.5% |
These savings apply only to fully used eligible credit. They are not extra reductions to the fare displayed in the timetable. If the ticket costs CHF 40 with Half Fare, PLUS uses CHF 40 of travel credit.
Half Fare and PLUS are separate decisions
The ordinary Half Fare Travelcard currently costs CHF 190 for an adult's first year and CHF 170 on seamless renewal. It reduces many public-transport fares. PLUS is a funding method that adds credit.
Ask two questions in order:
- Does the ordinary Half Fare Travelcard save more than its annual fee on my routes?
- After choosing the right fares and passes, will I spend enough through eligible digital channels to use a PLUS package fully?
A person can have high public-transport spending that PLUS does not fit well, for example because an annual regional or Point-to-Point Travelcard is the cheaper product. Do the fare comparison before the credit comparison.
Build a twelve-month eligible-spend forecast
Use actual purchase history from SBB Mobile or swisspass.ch if available. Exclude spending that the current terms do not allow. For future journeys, use conservative estimates.
| Eligible purchase type | Last 12 months | Expected next 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Point-to-point and supersaver tickets | CHF ___ | CHF ___ |
| Saver Day Passes | CHF ___ | CHF ___ |
| EasyRide or supported regional tickets | CHF ___ | CHF ___ |
| Class upgrades | CHF ___ | CHF ___ |
| Purchases not eligible for PLUS | exclude | exclude |
Then add a margin for cancelled travel, holidays, home working and a possible move. If the cautious forecast is CHF 1,650, Adult 2000 is not automatically attractive. You need nearly the whole CHF 2,000 credit to capture most of its CHF 500 bonus. Adult 1000 may be a better fit even though its headline percentage is lower.
Worked adult examples
Reliable CHF 2,100 eligible spend
A traveller has two years of ticket history around CHF 2,100 and no planned lifestyle change. Adult 2000 is a plausible fit. If the full credit is used, CHF 2,000 of travel costs CHF 1,500, with the remaining CHF 100 bought normally. Compared with paying CHF 2,100 directly, the gross saving is CHF 500.
Uncertain CHF 1,300 to CHF 1,900 spend
Adult 2000 risks underusing the bonus. Adult 1000 locks up less cash and, if fully used, saves CHF 200 on the first CHF 1,000 of eligible tickets. The remaining travel can be bought normally. Paying more upfront for a larger theoretical bonus is not a saving if the bonus expires.
Regular commute moving to a route pass
A commuter buys CHF 2,400 of individual tickets, then discovers that a regional or route subscription would cost less. Choosing PLUS based on the old ticket spend could preserve an inefficient buying pattern. Compare the underlying travel product first.
Cash-flow and opportunity cost
Adult 3000 requires CHF 2,100 upfront. That can be attractive when the travel is certain, but it removes cash from an emergency fund until it is used or refundable under the terms. A household carrying credit-card debt should not lock up CHF 2,100 merely to chase a future transport bonus.
The return also arrives gradually. Because the deposit is used before the bonus, a traveller does not benefit from the bonus portion until later in the package. This makes forecasting more important than the attractive final percentage.
Cancellation and refund rules
The February 2026 terms allow cancellation with one travelcard month's notice to the end of a travelcard month. On cancellation, SBB says the remaining customer deposit, calculated as original deposit minus credit already used, is repaid; the bonus expires.
That wording creates a practical consequence. If CHF 900 has been spent from a CHF 1,500 Adult 2000 deposit, the remaining deposit is CHF 600. The unused bonus is not a cash asset. Always check the balance, current terms and effective end date before cancelling.
The product is personal and cannot be transferred. It therefore should not be bought on the assumption that another family member can finish the balance.
What to check before buying
- Confirm every planned ticket type and sales channel is eligible.
- Verify that the right age package applies for the full process.
- Download twelve months of purchase history.
- Compare individual tickets with route, regional and GA subscriptions.
- Choose the smallest package you can confidently use.
- Record the validity end and cancellation deadline.
- Review the balance quarterly rather than in the final week.
Who should consider it?
PLUS is most convincing for a traveller with stable, individually ticketed public-transport spending comfortably above one of the credit thresholds. It is less convincing for a new arrival without travel history, a remote worker with variable commuting, somebody planning to leave Switzerland, or a passenger whose best option is an annual subscription.
Final verdict
Half Fare PLUS can create a real saving, especially in the larger and youth packages, but only after the credit is used. The best package is not the one with the largest advertised bonus. It is the smallest package whose full credit fits a conservative twelve-month forecast after the correct underlying tickets and travelcards have been chosen.
Sources
- SBB, Half Fare Travelcard PLUS product page: https://www.sbb.ch/en/offers/half-fare-travelcard-plus
- SBB, PLUS worked examples: https://www.sbb.ch/en/offers/half-fare-travelcard-plus-examples
- SBB, February 2026 PLUS terms: https://www.sbb.ch/content/dam/internet/sbb/downloads/en/billette-angebote/abos/halbtax-plus/AGB-Halbtax-PLUS.pdf.sbbdownload.pdf?tracking-marketingurl=download-gtc-half-fare-travelcard-plus
- SBB, Half Fare Travelcard: https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/travelcards/half-fare-travelcard.html
- SBB, travelcard comparison guidance: https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/travelcards.html