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If you’re looking for free museums, one strategy that you will likely be able to take advantage is the Bank of America Museums on Us program.  Bank of America has partnered with hundreds of museums across the country to give free museum days throughout the year.  The Bank of America free museum days are on the first weekend of each month (both Saturday and Sunday).  Bank of America Museums on Us is a program that has been going on for several years and is very successful.bank-of-america-museums-on-us-2016-logo

How do Bank of America free museum days work?

Bank of America Museum on Us allows anyone that has a Merrill Lynch or Bank of America credit card or debit card to enter any of the associated museums for free.  The BoA museum program lets anyone with a valid Bank of America or Merrill Lynch credit or debit card to enter participating museums for free on select days.  You do also need to bring a photo ID, and my understanding is that anyone that does not have a valid debit or credit card and matching photo ID (including children) would need to get their own ticket

Who can use the Bank of America Museums on Us program?

Anyone that has a Merrill Lynch or Bank of America debit card or credit card can take advantage of the Bank of America museum benefits.  As I said before, all you need to do is show up to a participating museum on one of the Bank of America Museums on Us dates and show your card along with photo id.

Again, to get your Bank of America free museum admission, EVERY PERSON must have their own card and photo ID.  It doesn’t matter if your card is a primary card or an authorized user card, but if you don’t have a card, you won’t get free entrance to museums.  Children do have reduced admission at many museums, but check with the individual museum.

Want to visit free museums in Chicago, London, DC or NYC? The Bank of America Museums on Us program gives you a free museum day each month in these cities and more!!

Bank of America Free Museum days

The Bank of America free museum days are typically the first full weekend (Saturday and Sunday) of each month.  The Bank of America Museums on Us 2020 dates are:

  • January 4th and 5th, 2020
  • February 1st and 2nd, 2020
  • March 7th and 8th, 2020
  • April 4th and 5th, 2020
  • May 2nd and 3rd, 2020
  • June 6th and 7th, 2020
  • July 4th and 5th, 2020
  • August 1st and 2nd, 2020
  • September 5th and 6th, 2020
  • October 3rd and 4th, 2020
  • November 7th and 8th, 2020
  • December 5th and 6th, 2020

How to visit museums that are Bank of America free museums

Unfortunately, the Indianapolis Children's Museum isn't on the Bank of America Museums on Us list

Unfortunately, the Indianapolis Children’s Museum isn’t on the Bank of America Museums on Us list!

You can view the Bank of America free museum list at the BoA Museum on Us site here.  You can also search through the list of the 220 Bank of America free museums by state to find one close to you

One other thing to note is that if you visit during the Bank of America free museum day, the museum is likely to be VERY crowded!

The Indianapolis Children’s Museum is NOT on the Bank of America free museum list, and it USED to offer free admission on the first Thursday of each month but now offer $5 First Thursdays.  We’ve been there a couple of times when it was Free First Thursday and it gets SUPER crowded.  Same thing will apply for museums that participate in the Bank of America museum on us program.

Our trips to free museums on the Bank of America free museum list

Unfortunately, for us personally, the Bank of America free museum list isn’t super helpful, though it’s getting better!  It used to be that there were no participating museums in Kentucky or Indiana and only one Bank of America free museum in Ohio (the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, 4 hours away).  But Bank of America has consistently added new museums and now there is additionally the Dayton Art Institute in Dayton and the Conner Prairie Museum in Fishers (north of Indianapolis)

Of the museums on the Bank of America free museum list, we have been to the Chicago Art Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium in Chicago.

So if racking up miles and points weren’t reason enough to get a Bank of America card, now you can take advantage of Bank of America museum benefits as well!


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