clearing Customs on arrival flight USA to Europe
 

I tried to search this as it must have been a question asked in the past

if I have flight on Swiss from Miami to Zurich with a connecting flight on Swiss to Amsterdam

do I need to clear Customs in Zurich?

I would love to skip the ZUR - AMS leg ;-)

You will not see your checked luggage in ZRH. It will go directly to your connecting flight if checked thru (assuming that was your question).

thanks, so I will need to clear Customs in Amsterdam

If what you refer to as Customs is actually passport control/immigration and customs which are two different things in Europe, you will go through passport control in ZRH to enter Schengen, customs for your hand luggage in ZRH (though almost non-existent) and customs in AMS.

SWISS lets you short-check your luggage to ZRH if that’s what you are asking. You can skip the ZRH-AMS leg provided it’s the last leg on your ticket. Don’t skip it if it’s not the last leg.

most importantly I would like to skip the last leg (ZUR - AMS), so thanks Newbie for answering what should have been my question ;-)

I am fairly new to Europe and not afraid to ask what some people might think is a dumb question

Actually, it's completely non-existent. @:-)

There is no special provision for hand luggage vs. checked luggage. You either pass through customs (on your way landside anywhere in Europe) or you head towards a connecting flight - in which case you don't.

As long as ZRH-AMS is the last flight on your ticket you should be ok. Otherwise they will cancel the rest of your ticket if you miss a segment.

By the way the airport code for Zurich is ZRH.