beautifulplanet
Lead Service Attendant
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2014
- Messages
- 337
Hello everyone,
Germany's Deutsche Bahn has several rail discount cards, valid for a year: BahnCard 25 with 25% off of nearly all fares (62 Euro, approx. 85 USD), BahnCard 50 with 50% off of all standard fares (255 Euro, approx. 350 USD) or BahnCard 100 with 100% off of all fares (4090 Euro, approx. 5605 USD, network card, unlimited free rides on all trains for a year). So far, so good. Those are standard offers.
In January and up to February 7, there was a new special GOLD BahnCard 25 discount card for sale, costing only 25 Euro in 2nd class (approx. 35 USD) or 50 Euro in 1st class (approx. 68 USD), valid for 4 months only, instead of a whole year. Again, so far, so good - a cheaper, more time-limited entry into the world of discount rail travel.
The kicker: whenever the German Olympic Team wins gold, on the following day all long-distance trains inside of Germany can be used for free with the GOLD BahnCard 25.
So as Germany is currently leading the medal count, there were already a lot of free rides - last week, Monday to Friday, every day was a free travel day, through all of Germany, with the GOLD BahnCard 25. And today, Germany won Gold again, so tomorrow is another free ride day...
Some Germans I am in contact with actually made use of the offer. So f.e. for just 50 Euro (approx. 68 USD), they got to ride for free in 1st class, all over the country, Black Forest to the Baltic Sea, Bavaria to the North Sea, on all of those days - quite a bargain. In addition, on all other days that it's valid it can still be used to get 25% off of all fares, even dirt-cheap savings fares, and even those 1st class fares... Not bad, not bad...
All the things profitable state-owned rail companies do, facing competition from private long-distance rail operators, bus companies and low-fare airlines, to make people opt for rail travel...
Germany's Deutsche Bahn has several rail discount cards, valid for a year: BahnCard 25 with 25% off of nearly all fares (62 Euro, approx. 85 USD), BahnCard 50 with 50% off of all standard fares (255 Euro, approx. 350 USD) or BahnCard 100 with 100% off of all fares (4090 Euro, approx. 5605 USD, network card, unlimited free rides on all trains for a year). So far, so good. Those are standard offers.
In January and up to February 7, there was a new special GOLD BahnCard 25 discount card for sale, costing only 25 Euro in 2nd class (approx. 35 USD) or 50 Euro in 1st class (approx. 68 USD), valid for 4 months only, instead of a whole year. Again, so far, so good - a cheaper, more time-limited entry into the world of discount rail travel.
The kicker: whenever the German Olympic Team wins gold, on the following day all long-distance trains inside of Germany can be used for free with the GOLD BahnCard 25.
So as Germany is currently leading the medal count, there were already a lot of free rides - last week, Monday to Friday, every day was a free travel day, through all of Germany, with the GOLD BahnCard 25. And today, Germany won Gold again, so tomorrow is another free ride day...
Some Germans I am in contact with actually made use of the offer. So f.e. for just 50 Euro (approx. 68 USD), they got to ride for free in 1st class, all over the country, Black Forest to the Baltic Sea, Bavaria to the North Sea, on all of those days - quite a bargain. In addition, on all other days that it's valid it can still be used to get 25% off of all fares, even dirt-cheap savings fares, and even those 1st class fares... Not bad, not bad...
All the things profitable state-owned rail companies do, facing competition from private long-distance rail operators, bus companies and low-fare airlines, to make people opt for rail travel...
