German rail operator Deutsche Bahn will roll out a new fare option for business travellers in 2025 that provides greater flexibility.
The Business Saver fare – or ‘Sparpreis Business’ – will be available to all bahn.business customers from 1 January, 2025.
The same discounts currently available on ‘Super Saver’ fares will apply. This includes a 25 per cent discount for BahnCard Business holders on all fares, except the ‘City-Ticket’, which includes a multimodal component that allows for travel to or from the station by bus, S-Bahn, underground and tram in 130 cities.
According to DB, the new fare will offer business travellers an alternative to the ‘Flexpreis Business’ fare, with prices starting from €27.99.
The biggest differentiator to existing fares, however, is the ability to cancel the ticket up to a day prior to travel and receive a full cash refund. Although, a fee of €10 applies.
DB executive board member, Stefanie Berk, said: "Business trips are a high-cost factor for many companies. At the same time, the pandemic has shown that a video call often cannot replace a personal meeting. Therefore, especially in the current tense economic situation, we would like to make companies an offer that combines inexpensive and climate-friendly business trips."
Full refunds will also be issued free of charge if cancellations are made within three hours of booking.
Bookings can be made up to 12 months in advance, however, the new fare type will, for the time being, only be available for travel between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025, according to the DB website.