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Hi, I am a German resident and I will travel to Netherlands during the end of this month. I ordered a personal OV chipkaart and subscribed to Weekend Vrij for my upcoming travel. However, I noticed that as a first time user, I need to activate my NS flex subscription and my OV chipkaart at a Dutch station, while I will only travel later. I want to book my intercity ticket from now to avoid higher prices later. How do I activate my subscription and OV chipkaart from abroad? Can I still book the intercity ticket that I want with the Weekend Vrij subscription if it is not activated yet?

Welcome to the NS Community!

So you ordered a personal card from Germany (without a subscription) and subscribed to NS Flex Weekend Voordeel afterwards?

Then you need to activate NS Flex at a machine upon arrival in the Netherlands, you have 1 year to do that.

To travel in NL, there is absolutely no need to order tickets. Just use the ov-chipkaart to tap in and out for train, bus, tram or metro. You will be billed monthly (with train travel free in weekends Fri 18.30 - Mon 04.00).

When travelling from Germany to Holland by IC (Berlin) or ICE, just book an international ticket to your destination and indicate you have 100% discount (like a Bahncard) in NL.

Welcome to the NS Community!

So you ordered a personal card from Germany (without a subscription) and subscribed to NS Flex Weekend Voordeel afterwards?

Then you need to activate NS Flex at a machine upon arrival in the Netherlands, you have 1 year to do that.

To travel in NL, there is absolutely no need to order tickets. Just use the ov-chipkaart to tap in and out for train, bus, tram or metro. You will be billed monthly (with train travel free in weekends Fri 18.30 - Mon 04.00).

When travelling from Germany to Holland by IC (Berlin) or ICE, just book an international ticket to your destination and indicate you have 100% discount (like a Bahncard) in NL.

Oh thank you so much for your quick answer! I will be travelling within this route: Amsterdam-Rotterdam (return), Amsterdam-The Hague, The Hague-Rotterdam, and Rotterdam-Brussels, all during the weekend. My only worry is that the price is going to be higher if I do not book it in advance from now, will that be the case?

Also, do you know if I need to activate the subscription first to give my friend a co-travel discount code? Will the new regulations regarding co-travel discount impact my travel plan in any way?

First of all, you will need to load the subscription on the personal card you already have. After that, just use the card to check in/out in all public transport.

For combined travel discount, you first need to generate a code (from the Mijn NS website or NS app), so your fellow travellers (without an ov-chipcard) can buy e-tickets with a discount. Or visit a service desk at one of the 18 train stations that still have a service desk.

See https://www.ns.nl/en/travel-information/traveling-with-the-ov-chipkaart/combined-travel-discount.html for details. 

For Rotterdam - Brussels, your subscription is not valid. You will need to order an international ticket (via www.bahn.de if you want) with 100% discount in NL. Friends pay full fare (no discount possible outside NL).

For Rotterdam - Brussels, your subscription is not valid.

That's not entirely correct, since it is still valid on the Dutch part of the route.

You will need to order an international ticket (via www.bahn.de if you want) with 100% discount in NL. Friends pay full fare (no discount possible outside NL).

Friends will have a 40% discount in the Netherlands.

bahn.de won't sell ticket from the Netherlands to Belgium.

Depending on what's available, it may be cheaper to book tickets to Noorderkempen via NS and Noorderkempen-Brussels via NMBS.

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