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Eurail Global Pass using 2 passes, 1 itinerary, 2 devices

  • June 13, 2025
  • 5 replies
  • 80 views
A

Hello!  My husband and I are travelling through Germany and Switzerland, and have purchased the 22 day continuous first class global passes.  I want to make sure I don’t make mistakes here and have tried to find my answers on various videos on the internet but I am still unsure.  Here are my questions:

  1. Can I have both passes on both our phones? Or can they only be active on one phone? 
  2. I would like to pre-plan our train rides (as much as possible) and so making a ‘trip’ in the app would be ideal but I am worried that this activates our passes - we don’t leave until the first week of September
  3. Would it be a good idea to make reservations this soon in advance or wait?  
  4. I have heard/read that making reservations in the Eurail app isn’t the best idea….is this true?  We both won’t have our phones connected while there the entire time unless there is free wifi available...(which I also read to have screen shots of the ticket QR codes for this reason)

Thanks so much for the help - I bet all this information is somewhere very accessible and I scrolled over it lol.  ;D

Best answer by rvdborgt

  1. A pass can only be active on 1 device.
  2. You can plan and save journeys without activating a pass. Even without having a pass. However, the Rail Planner app or the Eurail website are not reliable enough for planning purposes. The operators’ own planners are much more reliable; for international journeys, bahn.com and sbb.ch are good choices.
  3. That depends on route, date and departure time. Within Switzerland though, reservations are a waste of money.
  4. The Rail Planner app can't book anything; it just forwards to some of the websites where you can book, but not always the best one. For the best ways to book reservations, see:
    https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm
  5. Please remember that a screenshot is not a valid ticket. It's best to activate the first journey of the day with good internet; for the rest of the day, you then don't need internet anymore.

5 replies

R
Railmaster
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  • rvdborgt
  • Railmaster
  • Answer
  • June 16, 2025
  1. A pass can only be active on 1 device.
  2. You can plan and save journeys without activating a pass. Even without having a pass. However, the Rail Planner app or the Eurail website are not reliable enough for planning purposes. The operators’ own planners are much more reliable; for international journeys, bahn.com and sbb.ch are good choices.
  3. That depends on route, date and departure time. Within Switzerland though, reservations are a waste of money.
  4. The Rail Planner app can't book anything; it just forwards to some of the websites where you can book, but not always the best one. For the best ways to book reservations, see:
    https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm
  5. Please remember that a screenshot is not a valid ticket. It's best to activate the first journey of the day with good internet; for the rest of the day, you then don't need internet anymore.
Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
A
  • anniebanannie
  • Author
  • Rail rookie
  • June 16, 2025

Hi!  Thank you for the information.  So to summarize this, the rail planner app shouldn’t be used to actually book any trains or reservations….?! and I should use the actual train company website?  How do I link the booking with my global eurrail pass if I do this?

R
Railmaster
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  • rvdborgt
  • Railmaster
  • June 16, 2025

How do I link the booking with my global eurrail pass if I do this?

You don't. Reservations and pass are completely separate.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
A
  • anniebanannie
  • Author
  • Rail rookie
  • June 16, 2025

ok I’m getting the two confused I think.  So I book tickets through the rail planner app THEN I use the external sites to book seat reservations which are separate from the actual tickets themselves?  Basically I would like to try and book tickets, seat reservations if required and have everything all in one safe spot and it seems like the global pass with the app is not as accommodating as I thought lol.

 

R
Railmaster
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  • rvdborgt
  • Railmaster
  • June 16, 2025

ok I’m getting the two confused I think.  So I book tickets through the rail planner app THEN I use the external sites to book seat reservations which are separate from the actual tickets themselves?  Basically I would like to try and book tickets, seat reservations if required and have everything all in one safe spot and it seems like the global pass with the app is not as accommodating as I thought lol.

The pass is your ticket. You only need to add a train before you board it.

You can buy reservations wherever you like. You can book many of them via Eurail but that's more expensive (€2 booking fee per person and train) and it has a number of limitations, such as no seat selection and sometimes strange errors.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
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