this is the seat reservation i purchased over the phone for the correct train, arriving 7:54am in Copenhagen on 10/1 

I can’t seem to isolate this trip even if i make a direct search from Freiburg (Breisgau) to Hamburg… it adds even more transfers. My original itinerary only has 2 transfers 

The rail planner app only shows the NJ from Freiburg to Hamburg. You can either add that train in the app (that's no problem really) or enter IC 60400 manually (scroll down in the results and tap on "Add it manually”). The app won't book a seat so there's no danger that you pay anything. In fact, the app can't book anything.

On both the DB and ÖBB website, you ca use the "Seat only” option to book seats in trains with optional reservations.

Booking via Eurail is often more expensive because:

1. They have an extra 2€ booking fee per person and train.
2. Their seat reservations are the most expensive ones to begin with (6€ for many trains).

Together, this makes that Eurail wil charge 8€ per person and train for a seat, whereas DB charge €4.50 (€5.90 in 1st class) per person and journey or ÖBB/CD 3€ per person and train.

Reservation are totally separate from your mobile pass so you are free to make reservations wherever you like.

In the app, where you add the journeys to your Trip, you can't see the availability of seats.

Have you looked at the instructions for how to set up your mobile pass?

https://community.eurail.com/news-and-announcements-39/tutorial-how-to-setup-your-mobile-pass-5147

Here is some useful information from the experienced travellers in the Community regarding both planning, reservations and activation of pass and travel days. 

 Planning

The rail planner is normally not up to date, as it only is updated once a month, so to be sure of the time table you better check the timetable and availability on the websites of the national railways. The bigger national railways, like DB (Germany) SBB (Switzerland) and ÖBB (Austria) cover several countries. 

 Reservations 

Thank you so much @rvdborgt !!! This manual add-in was super helpful - just added it! 

So I’m curious... if the conductor scans my ticket and I had the NJ route, but was aboard the IC train, it would still be okay? I”m a little scarred from being fined in italy on buses LOL so thank you for explaining! 

Good to know about the extra Eurail charges!

Is my seat guaranteed if I book thrrough DB and OBB or other train sites? I Just heard so much about how there are a certain number of Eurail spaces allotted, so the seats will go to full paying individuals. 

NO-but the RES shows car+seat nr, so you cannot go wrong. In fact in the IC-part (which as I found cannot be RES via bahn-only via oebb as special) noone will be interested in the RES. In the NIghtJet part (which has the old style 6 seated compartments) they maybe will. On the platforms will be somewhere a poster showing all the cars+nrs-and it will also be on the screens-it happens often the train run ´reversed´ from plan.

Note that for SEATs this train has NO 1st cl-its only 2nd.

You will also need a new passday for next day onward to Danmark/CPH.

Quota for Passes in fact ONLY apply to FRance for its TGV and INTernat trains on the same pattern to/fro FR, not all on these (and I´ve done several till now on a 3 month pass).

Also be aware that IN the Schwarzwald=black forest , not just known for its delicious cakes and cuckoo clocks, most HTls will give you a KONUS card for free use of local train+Bus in the area-from arival till departure day.

You’ll be okay your QR code generated for that day is the same. You can always add a journey manually too if you want to be sure. Just scroll down entirely in the planner, and you’ll find a button to add a journey manually. You just need the departure time, arrival time and train number.

If you have a reservation via DB or OBB you’re seat is a guaranteed seat. The certain number of spaces alloted to Interrail/Eurail is only a rule that exists on certain trains, mostly in France like Eurostar, Thalys, some TGVs,…

Enjoy your trip!

We haven't seen any cases where the conductor found this a problem. The QR code would remain the same by the way. Only the train added to the pass would be different.

Of course it is. You can book seats anywhere you like and once you have a reservation, your seat is guaranteed. If anything, booking a reservation via a railway company is more direct because you're not going through an agent (which is what Eurail is).

This is mainly for high speed trains from/to France (and the EC services Switzerland - Italy). ÖBB and DB don't have limited seats in their trains - except in the high speed trains to France. That's why you can book seats with the "seat only” option. They don't know what kind of ticket you have.

Where have you heard this? It's totally nonsens. If you have made a seat reservation, then you have a seat.

There are a few routes where there is a limited number of pass holder seats, like the Eurostar and International Thalys and maybe some more. For other train with mandatory reservation, pass holder seats are available until the train is fully booked.

WOW thank you for all your help! @rvdborgt @mcadv @BrendanDB @AnnaB 

Final question (I hope).

So i may have waited a little toooooo long to reserve my next day (10/1) train from Hamburg to Denmark…  and I’d really like to get there as early as possible. I arrive with my current reservation to Hamburg at 7:54 am

So my best option is:

Train IC 396

Hamburg hbf 8:56 am 10/1 > Copenhagen 13:36 arrival

Just tried to make seat reservation through DSB and DB and it says it’s sold out ‍♀️

It’s still possible to buy a ticket at full price so it might be okay for me to grab an open seat?

Rail Planner says it’s not required to make a seat reservation, but recommended for this one…. so could I essentially just get on early and stand against a wall or sit in the snack bar (if they have one)? It’s a 4hr 40 min ride but I need to be in Copenhagen asap! 

SO much gratitude.

I was a little panicked that Eurail doesn’t have a customer service line, but clearly there is so much quick and helpful support in this community thanks to you all!

@AnnaB  quite a few youtube videos from research I did.. one girl said she paid for her reservation but was kicked out of the seat because a full paying client was reassigned the seat. I wasn’t sure if she just did it through the Eurail app and wasn’t able to receive paper tickets since she is using the mobile planner so it’s different? I have no clue! Thanks for easing my anxiety about that! 

There must be more behind this story. A seat is only booked once.

I repeat: the rail planner app cannot book seats. It only forwards you to some of the websites where you can book.

Booking reservations is the same for paper and mobile passes.

The train from Hamburg to Copenhagen is actually quite small and it has no bar or restaurant carriage. Make sure to bring something to eat It has only three carriages. Reservation is recommended, although it shouldn’t be that busy on a blue october monday.

There’s a bit of a capacity problem between those two countries.But a lot of work going on, and new trains are being ordered, so the quality should improve over the next couple of years.

Your earliest possible departure in Hamburg Hbf seems to be 8:56. You still should be able to reserve a seat on that one. Make sure you use the national rail planner apps or websites, like DB Navigator and DSB for correct timetables and real time information.

At which station in Hamburg will you be arriving exactly from the overnight train?

You can reserve your seat here: https://travel.b-europe.com/dsb-rail/en/reservation-only#TravelWish

If you would miss your connection in Hamburg, you can always travel to Flensburg with regional trains, take a train into Denmark and change at Kolding or Fredericia to Copenhagen. All of that can be done without reservation.

Interestingly, for the 8:56 departure:

• CD and DSB were showing availability in 2nd class but not in 1st a few minutes ago. But now not anymore.
• DB is showing availability in 1st class but not in 2nd (but when I continue with 1st class, it fails in a later stage).
• ÖBB isn't showing any availability.

I'd say try some more and book ASAP.

wow three carriages only?! Also pretty amazing that you know all of this off the top of your head Now i know why your last name is “DB” for Deutsche Bahn lol

OOoooh i think i might wanna try for this one @BrendanDB ! I tried looking for it on both DB and DSB and unfortunately can’t find that. Would you mind pointing me to how you found that for departure on 10/1? 

I’m going to look into this one as an alternative if i can’t get the one you mentioned up above! The only issue is my luggage - i have three bags and severely overpacked and hoping to offload in Copenhagen. 

But this is a good option! Thank you so much for finding this!!!

 EDIT: I found this one! Unfortunately it is sold out too It will only say sold out once i add them to the carts. otherwise even the original says it is only 30 Kr until i hit pay. :’( 

Y’all are so impressive… i wish the apps would give alternative station info like this! Thank you thank you! I’ll look this one up too as a backup. 

Crossing fingers that the 8:45 am from Hbf works out!

It seems I shouldn’t take the risk for the 8:56 am one since there are so few carriages. 

Actually 2 train sets with 6 carriages in total, but because there are only 2 doors per train set, shown as 2+2 carriages to passengers. But that's still too small.

Enter Flensburg as a stopover on DB.

EDIT: I searched with wrong dates. Correcting the information now.

In Hamburg Altona wait an hour (if your trainsruns on time) to catch the direct train to Copenhagen. Altona is an easier station for switching trains.

That's for 10 October. OP wants to travel on 1 October and that train then leaves from Hbf.

ÖBB and CD are cheaper :)

Yeah, I was a bit confused . Sorry about that! The American way of writing dates always confuses me. Please forget everything what I said about Hamburg Altona @nomnomnomasaurus.

I would take this as your back-up option @nomnomnomasaurus, perhaps even your main option. About two hours later from Hamburg Hbf, train heading to Aarhus. And it shouldn’t be fully booked. Knowing night trains in Europe, you’re  easily delayed an hour and your original itinerary might be a bit tight.

But don’t wait too long to book, you’re travelling soon. And actually you should be able to only book until Fredericia and hop on an ordinary DSB train without reservation.

True, they are a bit cheaper, but I like to reserve with the national operators. You usually get an update via mail or something else if something goes wrong ;)

Omg @rvdborgt !!!! This DID the trick! My life is changed. I hope one day i’m as familiar as y’all about what stations are nearby to type in so i get more travel options! 

I found this!!

But i also see @BrendanDB’s recommendation that night trains often run an hour late…. so i also found the same one Brendan did when continuing to use @rvdborgt’s trick of adding Flenburg as a stopover. 

Honestly at this point i’m so desperate i might just reserve seats on both trains . It would be nice to get there earlier, but the good news about the second train is there’s only one switch! 

Also I apologize confusing @BrendanDB … in my description i put 10/1… which is the AMerican way of writing october 1! Thanks so much @rvdborgt  for catching that. My brain was hurting trying to find the same itineraries! LOl 

Seriously, I can’t thank you all enough. Eurail should totally pay you guys i have been stressing and running simulations for three whole days! I really didn’t think a community site would be that helpful so I just kept trying by myself. Clearly….. not the best choice. 

SO MUCH GRATITUDE FOR YOU BOTH! 

Hahaha, thank you @nomnomnomasaurus. I just did (more or les) the same route a couple of times. Who knows that your suggestion to pay us get’s noted

We just like to travel by train here, and gladly help others. It can be a mess sometimes! I as well sometimes book two reservations, I prefer being safe than sorry.

Enjoy your trip, it’s a nice route with a couple of big, spectacular bridges!

I am booked for both! 🥳

i almost had a heart attack… went to use the bathroom super quick then came back and forgot which app I was using… so I started my search on the OBB website and then…………………… it said no services available (for seat reservations)…. for BOTH!!!!!

omg i panicked so hard again then realized i was using the DBB app earlier and it went through fine! WHEW…! Thanks to you guys, I can rest easier now. This was the hardest part for me to book (and the first) so i’m so relieved it’s over! 

I wish I could tag Eurail on my comment to pay you guys LOL but i just checked and they’re not on here. I honestly couldn’t have done this without your help. Thanks again for all the time you all put into helping me and everyone on here!