Very few people own a Bahncard 100. It's only useful if you need it for your job/business, otherwise it probably won't pay for itself. Most people prefer the car or plane (if you frequent between big cities) anyway
I am a BC100 owner. Work pays for it in lieu of a company car, so I only have to pay taxes on it, which comes out to about 160 euros per month. Like you say, I'm in the "it doesn't pay for itself" camp, but like the thread starter says,
> It's a great peace of mind to just hop onto any bus/tram/train in the country and not have to worry about tickets
It's like with theme parks: I prefer paying one big sum at the start and then getting to enjoy myself for the whole day over being nickle-and-dimed at every ride.
I don't do it very often, but I've more than once visited other cities in the area on a whim because the marginal cost is zero. That specialty shop in another city 400 kilometers away? Suddenly within reach, if the only cost to get there is time. And being on a train instead of driving a car means I can work while getting there and back.
And then there's the other perks of the BC100 that make travelling generally more chilled: Large stations have frequent-travelers' lounges with free drinks and working spaces. On long-distance trains, there's a section of the train (usually a quarter of a railcar) that's reserved for frequent travellers and BC100 owners, so I don't have to worry about seat reservations even when the trains are crowded. The purchase price for a 2nd-class BC100 also gives enough bonus points for 8-9 free upgrades to First Class per year; I use those when I know I'll be going for a particularly long distance.
Internet connectivity is surprisingly poor on German trains. In 1st class, between Basel and Hanover, most of the time my phone (with Swisscom SIM) got better connectivity than the onboard wifi. Considering that this route connects Zurich and Frankfurt, you'd think there would be a smidgen more investment in bandwidth.
If there's one thing Germany is uniquely terrible at, it's internet connectivity. Absolutely mindblowingly bad, speaking as someone who grew up with Telkom monopoly in South Africa in the 90s.
100% agree. I was in Frankfurt last week for the first time in many years (I live in Asia now). Roamed in Germany's largest and most expensive cell phone network, Deutsche Telekom T-Mobile.
In the city centre near Goetheplatz I had... drumm roll. EDGE. 2.5G
In July 2023.
This is the home of DE-CIX, the European continents largest internet exchange.
The wifi on the trains comes from the cellular network, too. If you experienced cell phone working better than the on board wifi, that was almost certainly some other issue, the performances are very correlated. The problem is not so much with the trains, it's just that cellphone coverage is just terrible in Germany generally, especially compared to Switzerland.
There is also bahncard 25 and 50. It basically means how much of a percentage you get off the ticket price. Bahncard 50 first class is quite good if you travel a few times a month. Soon pays off and first class is usually not bad..
