BahnCard (German Bahn – Rail) is a discount subscription programme offered by Deutsche Bahn (DB), the German national railway company. Unlike airline loyalty programs, but similarly to the UK Railcard, the BahnCard entitles the passenger to a discount price and must be purchased prior to travel.
The BahnCard is offered in a non-business and a business version called BahnCard Business.
Non-business BahnCard contracts are automatically renewed each year, unless they are cancelled with sufficient notice.
Three variants of BahnCard are sold by Deutsche Bahn: The BahnCard 25, the BahnCard 50, and the BahnCard 100. The first two variants allow passengers to get 25% and 50% discount respectively on standard long-distance rail fares, while the Mobility BahnCard 100 is a type of annual ticket that allows free unlimited travel on most of the German railway network for a fixed price.
The (non-business) BahnCard 25/50 are valid for one year and can only be purchased by subscription. If they are not canceled no later than six weeks before the expiry date, their term is automatically extended by another year.
BahnCard Business 25/50 are also valid for one year but require no cancellation.
Unlike the personal BahnCard, BahnCard Business can be combined with the discount that is granted to large-volume business customers.
In 2007 there were 4.01 million BahnCard holders in Germany (≈5% of Germany's population).
More than half of the passenger revenue of DB Fernverkehr (long-distance) comes from tickets sold to BahnCard holders. Apart from entitling the holder to discounts, the BahnCard also functions as an ID card for the validation of online tickets and mobile phone tickets and for purchasing tickets from vending machines. BahnCard holders can also call a discounted hotline printed on the cards, and an optional travel insurance can be included.
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