Utrecht- Dusseldorf ICE travel with weekend vrij and bahncard50 at the same time

P.S. Of course I have OV card and BC50 fully available to check during my trip, as well as my ID. I don’t check in with OV chipcard in Utrecht, if I travel from Den Haag to Utrecht with OV chipcard I check out on the platform pole. 

Thanks for a quick reply! It’s exactly how I’m doing my booking. Then I’ll rightfully stand my ground.

My recent experience felt like I was being treated as if I had done something fraudulent, just for using two discounts — and this judgment came before controller even checked whether the discounts were valid. And it’s happening more often in the last months, I’m thinking of switching to driving if it remains so. 

Some of them are very rude. My wife and I traveled with a discount card for seniors. That is legal bur my wife does not dare to do this and uses Weekendvrij as well. I am a Dalvrijtraveller.

There ought to be no nerves and rudeness when people pass the frontier in a legal and allowed way.

When you get a fine it will be corrected by Customer Service. But it is always an unnecessary hassle.

Then I’ll rightfully stand my ground.

Definitely.

To save yourself any (unjustified) discussions, you might consider not checking out at the platform in Utrecht because on Saturdays and Sundays there should be no correction fees for a missed check-out with Weekend Vrij.

When travelling on a Friday, a check-in after 18:25 is desired (but not mandatory) to validate 100% free travel in NL.

At Friday: check in with Weekendvrij after 18.25, check out at the other side of the gate, but do not exit. This is a proof that you checked in at the proper time and do have the definite right to travel with 100 percent reduction - as you did not enter earlier - and it prevents discussion. Your Weekendvrij gives further on 100 percent reduction up to the border. Keep it at hand.

In this situation you will completely hold the reins yourself.

Do not travel with the possibility of discussion, good for your peace of mind.

Voor de meelezers: dit geldt uiteraard niet in het binnenlands verkeer. Het is dan geen geldige incheck, maar in het internationaal verkeer, waar de ov-chipcard met Weekendvrij een zichtbewijs is, mag en kan het wel. 

Het is ook verstandig bij de combinatie Weekendvrij-Interrail.

In addition to ​@Thom

When arriving in Utrecht (with a train before 18:25 from The Hague) on a Friday evening, check out at the platform, wait a few seconds, check in and then out again. This proves your international journey from Utrecht started in the ‘weekend’.

Even for Den Haag to Utrecht you don't need to check in/out. Depending on your subscription, checking in and out can even make you pay too much.

If any ticket inspector claims you need to be checked in, then show them this page:

https://www.nsinternational.com/en/buying-train-tickets/ns-subscriptions-and-international-travel

("Do you need to check in and out?” at the bottom)

If they still don't agree, then you can suggest they give you an "Uitstel van betaling” / "Fahrpreisnacherhebung”, so you don't need to pay anything in the train and can deal with customer service afterwards.

Unfortunately, even after more than 10 years of OV chipcard and unchanged rules for international travel (don't check in or out), this is still an issue, even with NS ticket inspectors. Consider submitting a complaint with NS and/or DB every time this happens.

You still won't have a check-in when checked on the train, so what difference would that make?

You can in fact book online with DB using this page (auch verfügbar auf deutsch). You can indicate the BC50 discount and then select the offer "Passzuschlag One Country Pass”:

That way you can also collect DB bonus points.

The "Passzuschlag One Country Pass” is valid for any ticket or subscription that covers (in this case) the entire Dutch route until the border.

When tickets are checked, always show the international ticket first and only present the chipcard (with subscription) on request.

It's a known problem that some staff on the NS/DB International trains can be poorly informed and rude. Don't engage them, simply ignore it as much as possible and report a complaint about them with every detail. I've had to do this several dozen times over the years, but these complaints are actually followed up on in many cases. I'm told the train staff may actually be contacted to explain their behaviour to a better informed superior.

rvdborgt schreef:

Thom schreef:

At Friday: check in with Weekendvrij after 18.25, check out at the other side of the gate, but do not exit. This is a proof that you checked in at the proper time and do have the definite right to travel with 100 percent reduction - as you did not enter earlier - and it prevents discussion.

You still won't have a check-in when checked on the train, so what difference would that make?

Thom schreef:

Book at NSInternational, not at de DB-site as the latter doesn't recognize a 100 percent reduction in the Netherlands.

You can in fact book online with DB using this page (auch verfügbar auf deutsch). You can indicate the BC50 discount and then select the offer "Passzuschlag One Country Pass”:

That way you can also collect DB bonus points.

The "Passzuschlag One Country Pass” is valid for any ticket or subscription that covers (in this case) the entire Dutch route until the border.

When tickets are checked, always show the international ticket first and only present the chipcard (with subscription) on request.

Thanks a lot! Didn’t know this!

I tried to submit my NSI bookings to collect DB bonuses, but it’s pending for very long time.

Is the One Country Pass something for Interrail pass holders? What was your experience with it? Did you have to show your OV-chipkaart when the conductor checked the discount?

I'm not even sure that will work...

I have no experience with using this, I just know it exists (until some years ago, you would get a ticket from/to the border tariff point). "One country pass” indeed looks like a reference to Interrail, and as such it is misleading here in my opinion, since that is just one of the passes that can be used with this fare. The DB conditions say:

(See this page and look for "Besondere Internationale Beförderungsbedingungen der DB AG”; the direct link changes with every update.)

This makes clear that you can use this fare with any network ticket that is valid until the border. The resulting ticket will probably just say "Passzuschlag 2” and “BC50”.