Purchasing a 1-month GA Travelcard without a SwissPass-ID

Ghoushaubie69

Dear SBB Team,

I am writing to inquire about purchasing a 1-month GA Travelcard.
As a visitor from abroad, I do not currently have a customer number (SwissPass), because I can not receive the SMS text.
Could you please clarify the process for a foreigner to obtain a 1-month GA Travelcard without having a customer number?
Thank you for your help in advance.

Krist

In this case I think the best thing you can do is go to a station. There you can order the Swiss Pass card, and the 1-Month GA travel card in person. You will get a temporary pass on the spot, so you can use it immediately, and will get the Swiss Pass Card sent to where you are staying.

Ghoushaubie69

Krist Hello Krist,
Thank you for the helpful advice!
Since we will be entering Switzerland from Italy, we would like to purchase our travelcards before our trip begins. This will allow us to cover our travel costs starting from Day 1🥲
Is there any way for us to complete the identity verification and obtain the travelcard online before we physically arrive in Switzerland?
Thank you again for your help!

RedBaron

Ghoushaubie69
Note that the 1-month GA travelcard (or other travelcards/subscriptions referenced to the SwissPass card) are not intended primarily for foreign visitors, rather for residents (as opposed to other ‘tourist only’ products like the Swiss Travel Pass, which is available online as e-Ticket).
This is due to the rather cumbersome process of having that SwissCard which includes the owner’s photo produced and then sent to his physical address, which takes more than a week. As you already found out, there are some issues trying it from abroad.

When entering Switzerland, you could e.g. plan an 1 hour stop in Chiasso (border station) and get your travelcards at the SBB counter there. Only get your italian railway ticket to Chiasso in advance, then continue your journey with the temporary GA paper pass issued on the spot at the station.

Ghoushaubie69

RedBaron Hello RedBaron,
Thank you so much for the information!
Given that we are a group of four people, and none of us currently have a SwissPass-ID, do you think one hour at the Tirano station would be sufficient to complete the registration and purchase our 1-month GA Travelcards at the counter?

We want to make sure we don’t miss our connecting train, so your insight on the processing time there would be greatly appreciated🙏

RedBaron

Ghoushaubie69
I see, you’re entering the country at Tirano using the Bernina Express, where you want to reserve seats in the panoramic cars, hmmm…

No own insights into the Tirano station, sorry, as I live in a different corner of the country and have never been there. The good news is that there is a ticket office as well, open daily:
https://sbb-tickets.cc/en/travel-information/stations/find-station/station.9369.tirano.html

Anyway, 1 hour should usually be more than sufficient even for 4 people, provided there are no huge queues in front of the counter.
Otherwise there are two Plan B’s:
Consider taking a regular train to St. Moritz (R19 or RE9) instead of the Bernina Express (no seat reservations, less crowded, cheaper, flexibility to hop off/on on the way, exactly the same views).
Or bite the bullet and get the GA travelcards e.g. in St, Moritz, when you have more time.

Also you should figure out a physical address where the SwissPass cards must be sent after they have been produced (e.g. accomodation, or poste restante if possible).

Ghoushaubie69

RedBaron Hello RedBaron,

Thank you so much for such a thorough and thoughtful response! We truly appreciate you taking the time to share those details and even providing those alternative Plan B options.
Also, thank you for the heads-up regarding the physical mailing address for the SwissPass cards! We are planning to use a P.O. Box in Luzern to collect them, and we hope that works out smoothly.

Your insights have definitely made our planning much easier. Many thanks again, and wishing you a wonderful day!😁😁

Best regards.

RolandP

Hello Ghoushaubie69

In order to use a P.O. Box, you must be a registered citizen with a Swiss address.

If the time permits, simply order the card to your home address. Hopefully the post service in your country is reliable to deliver it within days.

Kind regards,
Roland