I found this on the ZVV site
Can someone help me understand what this means:

City zones
The two city zones Zurich (Zone 110) and Winterthur (Zone 120) count as two zones, as the public traffic network is more dense here than elsewhere.


Here's my ultimate question:
* I will start my journey in Zurich and I want to go to Winterthur
* I have a half price card
* I have a daily 24hr tram pass in Zurich
* Using the APP (SBB mobile) on my phone it say's it will cost me about 6.50 each way to Winterthur.

I want to make sure I'm paying for something that I already have.

You buy your ticket to cover the stations in the zones which your existing ticket doesn't cover.
e.g. 1446 S12 Zürich HB - Zürich Stadelhofen - Stettbach - Winterthur HB
You'll need a ticket from Stettbach to Winterthur.

1455 S8 You'll need a ticket from Wallisellen.

Zurich to Winterthur is then 6 zones:
110 twice
121
122
120 twice

If you have a ticket for Zürich, then you'll be better off with a Zone Upgrade Ticket for four zones.

You can see the prices at the link that I sent you --> 4.40 for 2 hours, 8.80 for 24 hours with halftax.

thanks - this is helpful --- it appears that I should just purchase the ticket each way at 6.5.

I don't know how long I'll be there and 2hrs is cutting it too close.

Why pay CHF 13 (two regular tickets) when you can get the same for CHF 8.80 (24h 4 zone extension) ???

Because its 8.80 + the current ticket I have (which is a 24hr zurich) If memory is correct my current ticket is 6chf (I buy the 6x24hr tickets for something like 35chf) --- again this is from memory.

OK. in that case, you should have said:
It sounded like you had already punched it. Sorry for misunderstanding.

Unless you are sure you make it back in 2 hours (you can spend around 1h in Winterthur), get the regular 24 hour ticket to Winterthur.

Also, on the ZVV network you can ride back and forth, and round-a-round as long as the ticket is valid.

The zone extension can be used all around your home zone. You could use the extension ticket also for a boat ride to Wädenswil or Stäfa within the validity period of the extension and base ticket. That is a boat ride for just CHF 1.80

__________________
"Okay, I just hope we don't wake up on Mars or something surrounded by millions of little squashy guys."

The App only presents the full ticket in the first screen, you have to proceed further to see the options.
On the SBB App click on the red button "Tickets from 6.50" and then choose "ZVV extension ticket" which only covers the 4 zones you don't have for 4.40 CHF.

A non-App alternative is to buy an "Anschlussbillet" (extension or connection ticket) from a ZVV blue vending machine, selecting "4 zones", "1/2" and "24h". It will cost 8.80, exactly like 2 single extensions.

It covers everything travelling within zone 110, not just trams, including cablecars, boats from Burkliplatz to Zurichhorn and Intercity trains from Hauptbanhof to Oerlikon. If you have spare time you can have some fun

Beaten by aSwissInTheUS

In this case your math is correct. Sorry, I read it after I wrote my previous post.

Maybe I'm missing something -- let me re-ask this question.
I want to go from Zurich to Winterthur.
I'll be there for about 2hrs (lets assume 2 + hrs)
Then I'll return to Zurich
What would be the cheapest way to do this.

In my mind I have 2 options (please let me know if others exist)
1) Buy 1 way there, 1 way back == about 13chf
2) use my 110zone ticket and add some zones

What way can I get the price below 13chf. I may do this trip every so often and if I can save a chf here and there then I'll make it happen.

3) Buy a 24 hour ticked for there and back. Also about CHF 13 (actually exactly CHF 13, just like two single tickets).

Buying a single ZVV ticket only makes sense if you:
- do not know if you will get back with public transport.
- do not know if you will get back within 24 hours.
- could make it back within the validity of the single ticket.

And as said, you can travel as often as you like in the 24 hour period. And as venetian said:A ZVV ticket is valid for tram, train, bus, boats, even cable cars and a cogwheel train. (Seilbahn Rigiblick, Polybahn, Dolderbahn, and the Felsenegg cable).

Note: Other rules when you travel outside the ZVV network. Like on the Basel BVB network where a single ticket can only be used in one direction, or the Aargau A-Welle were a return ticket is only valid till the last run of the day (which can be as late as 3am) and not 24 hours.

__________________
"Okay, I just hope we don't wake up on Mars or something surrounded by millions of little squashy guys."

You've got a phone and are happy with apps, then I would suggest fairtiq. Tell it you have a ticket already for 110, half fare, etc.. checkin when you start you journey and checkout at the end. Let the app do the hard work of working out the optimal ticket for you. You can even save 3 chf on a journey with a referral if you want to penny pinch that hard.

If you are there for less than the 2 hours, it's an automatic win without the stress.

Alternatively the zvv app also does a checkin ticket that should have a similar approach. However I use fairtiq as it is valid for pretty much all of Switzerland and they have cumulative usage discounts available for certain journeys too.

I've lost count of the number of times I've come back from picking someone up at the airport to be surprised that I was able to get away with a 1 hour extension despite feeling like waiting ages for them in arrivals

Toastmaster beat me to it, Fairtiq is great, just launch the app and travel, it charges you the minimum possible fair at the end of the day for where you have travelled.

Does fairtiq now support 24 hours ZVV tickets properly? In the past this was an issue as they bill at the end of the day (around 3 am or so)

Considering the ZVV own CICO app cannot do it niether, I doubt fairtiq could do it.
https://www.zvv.ch/zvv/de/service/ap...ck-in-faq.html

Accordingly, in some cases a paper ticket is cheaper.

Its toastmonster btw....

And yes, there are situations where you can beat the app,

A 9 o'clock tageskarte for all zvv zones costs 13 chf with a half fare card. With a multi pack of six it costs 12.35 a day. A super saver ticket to bern will easily beat the app price, but you are limited to just that one train.

Fairtiq dont support 24 hour tickets as zvv will not offer them to it last time I read on the subject.

There is something nice about just being able to say sod it and get on and off the train/whatever knowing the you are still getting a 95% optimal fare and saving money on what would be the normal published fair for your journey.

And finally in this hyper hygiene aware world we are now in, not having to paw a ticket machine to get your tickets is a bonus