Personal OV - Chipcard

As a resident of The Netherlands you can apply for a personal OV - Chipcard. This is only applicable if you are living in the Netherlands and have a Dutch bank account and address. In order to get one of these cards you need to fill out an application form. If you are not computer savvy then I guess you will not be reading this - but in any case you can go to the station desk and ask for the application form. Once you have filled it in (and you have a photograph) they can help fill in the online details for you. For this pleasure they will charge you an extra €3 as well as the cost of the personal card €7.50. 

Remember that the personal OV-Chipcard these cards can ONLY be used by the person listed on the card (name and picture and DOB are on the card). If you lose your card and report it within 24 hours you can apply for a refund for the credit on your card. You can sync your personal chip card it to your back account so you never have to worry about running low on funds when at the train station you can simply check in and Rail the Trails. The main advantages of these cards are that you can purchase an ‘abonnment’ or subscription.   

• Off Peak Discount (Dal Voordeel): Cost: €56 per year. With this subscription you can get a 40% discount on your travels anytime expect during peak hours 06:30-09:00 and 16:00-18:30 during weekdays. The card holder still gets the discount anytime during weekends. Find more details here. 

• Discount at Anytime (Altijd Voordeel): Cost: €23-28 for a 1 month subscription. This gives a 20% discount off travel during peak hours (06:30-09:00 and 16:00-18:30) and a 40% discount at all other times. Find more details here.

• Free Weekend Travel (Weekend Vrij): Cost: €34 per month 2nd class and €40 per month 1st class. This subscription gives you free weekend (Friday 18:30 to Monday 04:00). During the off peak weekday travel you can get a 40% discount but there is no discount during the weekday peak hours. Read more about this subscribtion and all its benefits here. 

•  Off-peak free travel (Dal Vrij): Cost: €105 per month 2nd class /€133 per month 1st class. This deal allows free during off- peak hours. Read more about this subscription here. 

• Free Travel (Altijd Vrij): Costm varies on the payment frequency. In general €421 per month in second class. This allows totally unrestricted free travel for the holder. For more information see here.

• Kids Free (Kids Vrij): Free when travelling with an adult. All the cards I mention above allow to up to 3 kids free subscriptions which allow children aged 4-11 to travel free with the card holder by adding this subscription. More info here. 

Besides these 6 main subscriptions there are other offers such as senior and student discounts. The subscriptions can be bought online (if you use iDeal) by phone (via NS at 0900 202 1163) or at the ticket desk. If you already have a personal OV-chip card you can add some of the subscriptions mentioned above at the ticket machine or online via NS website

A more recent addition is the Flex Subscription which allows you to pick and choose which subscription you want on a month per month basis- great option if you are not consistently travelling.