Trains in Germany for €6.99?
How Deutsche Bahn's new offer works
Hi Leute, welcome to a new episode of Germany Explained.
This week’s topics are:
🚉 Deutsche Bahn's "Last-Minute" tickets
🏡 What Recht & Heim insurance covers
At the end you’ll find our tips 😎
🚉 Deutsche Bahn’s “Last-Minute” tickets
Starting May 9th, the German railway company launched a new offer designed to fill less crowded trains and provide a more accessible mobility option.
The goal? To attract those who don’t usually travel by train and those with a bit of schedule flexibility.
Let’s have a look together how the new offer works.
The promotion is already active and will last until September 13, 2026 (with the possibility of an extension if it proves successful).
The unique feature is the purchase window:
You can buy these discounted tickets exclusively on Saturdays and Sundays.
The tickets are valid for travel from Monday to Sunday of the immediately following week.
You buy them normally on the bahn.de website or via the app. You will recognize them immediately because they are marked with a crown icon and the word “Aktion”.
Details you need to know:
Fares for high-speed (ICE) and long-distance (IC/EC) trains start from just €6.99.
If you have a BahnCard, you can apply your additional 25% discount to this fare too!
The offer is valid for long-distance trains within Germany (ICE, IC, EC). You can also include regional trains or S-Bahns, as long as you select them when booking.
Children up to 5 years old always travel for free and do not need to be added during booking.
Children from 6 to 14 years old travel for free, provided they are accompanied by someone at least 15 years old. They must be indicated when purchasing the ticket.
Pay attention because the tickets are limited in quota. This means you will only find them on trains that still have many free seats.
DB makes no exceptions to the rules. Last-Minute tickets can neither be exchanged nor refunded in case of unforeseen events.
The idea of traveling in the summer at bargain prices is tempting, but we need to be realistic.
DB is using this move to optimize empty trains. This means that the €6.99 tickets will be much more available on less popular routes and at slightly inconvenient times. On the most popular routes or during peak hours, it will be hard to find these tickets available.
If you are planning a trip or have a few flexible vacation days, remember to check the DB app during the weekend: the ICE journey could cost you less than a Kebab!
Sources: Tagesschau, Finanztip
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🏡 What Recht & Heim insurance covers
If you’ve been living in Germany for a while, you’ll have noticed one thing: Germans love insurances.
And to be honest, in a country where lawsuits are commonplace and compensation claims can be astronomical, they aren’t entirely wrong.
To live with peace of mind, there are three insurances that every international resident should have:
Haftpflichtversicherung: Private liability insurance (if you break someone else’s property or accidentally cause damage).
Hausratversicherung: Household insurance (against theft, fire, or flooding).
Rechtsschutzversicherung: Legal protection insurance (essential to cover the very high costs of lawyers in case of disputes with landlords, employers, or neighbors).
The problem? Bureaucracy, of course. Having three insurances usually means having to manage three different contracts, perhaps with three different companies, staggered deadlines, and a mountain of paperwork to decipher in German legalese.
There is a very smart solution offered by ARAG, one of the insurance giants in Germany. They have created a package called “Recht & Heim” (Law & Home) that combines exactly these three fundamental policies into a single contract.
Why do we recommend it? In addition to the obvious advantage of having only one file to manage, the ARAG package offers some important benefits for us expats:
Immediate 20% discount: If you are new customers and haven’t had any claims in the last 5 years, they immediately cut the price by 20% upon signing (and the discount can reach up to 50% over the years if you remain claim-free).
ARAG JuraTel (24/7): You will have access to a 24-hour hotline to get immediate initial telephone advice from a lawyer. Crucial if you suddenly face a legal problem in Germany and don’t know who to ask.
Easy switch: Do you already have an active insurance but want to switch to the all-in-one package? They take care of everything, and thanks to the “Differenzdeckung” (difference coverage), they cover you immediately with their higher limits without making you pay twice until the old contract expires.
👉 Take a look at ARAG’s Recht & Heim package
Our tips 😎
In this section, we recommend our own services or products, or those from other companies. The links we share are affiliate links. This means that if you purchase through these links, we receive a commission.
This helps us enormously to fund ourselves, keep this project going, and continue producing useful, high-quality content!
💼 Is German tax bureaucracy stealing your time and sleep?
💳 Tired of hidden fees from German banks?
🐶 Did you know that veterinary expenses in Germany can cost you thousands of euros?
👨🏼⚖️ Legal problems in Germany?
🏥 Do you earn more than €77,400 gross? Stop giving away money to public health insurance.
🚀 Is inflation devouring the savings in your bank account?
📉 Do you want to recover an average of €1,000 from German taxes without losing your mind over the language?
See you next week!
Cheers,
Gëzim & Fisnik