Bank of America Museums on Us Review (Free Dates) [2021]

For over 20 years Bank of America has offered special privileges for getting into museums across the country. The program is known as the “Museums on Us Program” and it allows you to get into museums all around the US for free.

In this article, I will tell you everything you need to know about the program, including which cards are eligible and which weekends are free. I also have a full list at the end of the article with every participating museum.

What is the Bank of America Museums on Us Program?

The Bank of America Museums on Us Program is a special program that allows Bank of America customers to visit museums all around the US free of charge on a select weekend each month. Keep reading below to see exactly which customers have access and what weekends are free. 

What Bank of America cards are eligible for the Museums on Us Program?

You can get free entry into select museums with the credit cards or debit cards from the following institutions: 

• Bank of America
• Merrill Lynch
• U.S. Trust

Note: (Business cards or personal cards should work).

You will also need to show a photo ID when you use your card to get in for free (although not always). Also, you can only get free entry for the cardholder — guests must pay separate entrance fees. If you add an authorized user they should be able to get in for free.

I’ve also seen parents add their kids to their checking accounts so they have their own debit cards but have read mixed reports with the success of doing that so be warned that it might not always work (even though it appears that it should). 

Bank of America has some pretty solid credit cards you might want to pick up like the co-branded Alaska Airlines credit card, Virgin Atlantic card, and Asiana card. (Since some of these cards are less common and don’t have the Bank of America logo on them in obvious fashion, you might have to take a little bit of extra time to show the museum that these cards are eligible.)

Here are a couple of their other cards you might be interested in:

Bank of America Premium Rewards

• Earn unlimited points – 2 points for every $1 spent on travel and dining purchases and 1.5 points per $1 on all other purchases Calculate Rewards
• 50,000 bonus points – a $500 value – after you make at least $3,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening
• Get up to $200 in combined Airline Incidental and TSA Pre-Check /Global Entry Statement Credits

The Bank of America Premium Rewards Credit Card comes with no annual fee so with a card like this you’re able to hold on to the museum benefit for free. Of course, since debit cards also work you might just stick with your debit card if you already have an account with Bank of America.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

Bank of America Cash Rewards

• Earn 3% cash back in the category of your choice: gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings 
• Plus, earn 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases Calculate rewards
• Earn 3% and 2% cash back on the first $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club purchases each quarter, then earn 1%

Before applying for these cards, just make sure you are aware of the credit card application rules.

What 2021 weekends are free? 

With the program, you can enjoy free admission on the first full weekend of every month. So the first Saturday and Sunday of a given month are eligible when both the Saturday and the Sunday fall in that month. Here’s a list of all of the free weekends for 2021 below.   

• January: 2 & 3
• February: 6 & 7
• March: 6 & 7
• April: 3 & 4
• May: 1 & 2
• June: 5 & 6
• July: 3 & 4
• August: 7 & 8
• September: 4 & 5
• October: 2 & 3
• November: 6 & 7
• December: 4 & 5

If you don’t want to keep track of which weekends are the free dates then you can sign up for email reminders. These should arrive in your inbox every month and you can sign up for them here.

There are some reports of people getting turned away when special events are taking place. These don’t appear to be that common but it’s something that you want to be on the lookout for when the special event doesn’t have an exclusive entrance. In those cases, you can try to reason with the ticket desk and just assure them you won’t be entering in the special exhibition but YMMV. 

Tip: Many museums offer free entry on certain days of the week/month/year so always be on the lookout. You can search for some free days here. Just be warned that free days at museums sometimes have ridiculously long lines so you might want to avoid them if you don’t like dealing with crowds. By the way, you might want to read my tips for visiting museums.

What type of admission do you get? 

The Museums on Us Program will grant you general admission into these museums. Thus, if there is a special exhibit which requires you to pay for entry, you likely won’t get free access to that exhibit. Also, some museums have fast-track lanes and you likely won’t get access to those either (though it never hurts to ask). 

The price of admission to these museums will vary but it’s not uncommon to get about $15 to $25 worth of value from a free general admission ticket. Some museums may try to up-sell you to more expensive tickets (at a discount) when you enter so be prepared for that. 

What type of museums participate?

I have a full list of all of the museums in the program below, but you can expect a wide variety of museums in this program. Some museums are very well known like the Art Institute of Chicago, the Met in New York, etc. 

However, you will also find a lot smaller museums that you probably have never heard of. The great thing about those museums is that even if you’re not in love with them when you visit, at least you can get into them for free. And without a doubt, some of them will be hidden gems with some interesting art and artifacts to check out. 

List of Bank of America free museums

Below is a list of all of the museums that participate in the program. Keep in mind that they are constantly adding new museums so you should always check to see what the latest museums are. I will try to keep this list as updated as possible but if you want to check your self you can do that here.

Update: It appears that Bank of America no longer publishes the entire list of eligible museums and you have to search for them individually based on your region. Still, the list below could be helpful in finding potential museums to visit –just be sure to verify that they are still in the program.

Alaska

Anchorage

• Anchorage Museum

Arizona

Phoenix

• Heard Museum
• Phoenix Art Museum

Scottsdale

• Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West

Tucson

• Pima Air and Space Museum
• Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block

Arkansas

Little Rock

• Clinton Presidential Center
• Museum of Discovery

California

Bakersfield

• Bakersfield Museum of Art (Saturdays only)

Fresno

• Fresno Art Museum

Laguna Beach

• Laguna Art Museum

Long Beach

• Museum of Latin American Art (Saturdays only)

Los Angeles

• Autry Museum of the American West
• LACMA
• Skirball Cultural Center

Mountain View

• Computer History Museum

Oakland

• Oakland Museum of California

Orange County

• Discovery Science Center, DiscoveryCube OC (Sundays only)

Palm Desert

• The Living Desert

Palm Springs

• Palm Springs Art Museum

Redlands

• San Bernardino County Museum

Riverside

• Riverside Art Museum

Sacramento

• Crocker Art Museum
• The California Museum

San Diego

• Birch Aquarium at Scripps
• Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA)
• The San Diego Museum of Art

San Francisco

• Contemporary Jewish Museum
• Legion of Honor
• de Young Museum

San Jose

• San Jose Museum of Art
• The Tech Museum of Innovation

San Luis Obispo

• San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum (Saturdays only)

Santa Barbara

• Santa Barbara Museum of Art

Yountville

• Napa Valley Museum Yountville

Colorado

Denver

• Clyfford Still Museum
• Denver Art Museum (Sundays only)
• Denver Botanic Gardens

Connecticut

Fairfield

• Fairfield Museum and History Center

Greenwich

• Bruce Museum

Hartford

• Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

New Britain

• New Britain Museum of American Art

Waterbury

• Mattatuck Museum

Delaware

Wilmington

• Delaware Art Museum (Saturdays only)
• Delaware Museum of Natural History

District of Columbia

Washington

• National Museum of Women in the Arts

Florida

Bradenton

• The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature

Coral Gables

• Coral Gables Museum

Daytona Beach

• Museum of Arts and Sciences

Fort Lauderdale

• Museum of Discovery & Science
• NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale

Islamorada

• History of Diving Museum

Jacksonville

• Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens
• The Museum of Science and History (MOSH)

Jensen Beach

• The Children’s Museum of the Treasure Coast

Miami

• History Miami Museum
• Miami Children’s Museum
• Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
• Pérez Art Museum Miami

Miami Beach

• The Bass

Naples

• Naples Botanical Garden
• The Baker Museum / Artis Naples

Orlando

• Orange County Regional History Center
• Orlando Museum of Art
• Orlando Science Center
• The Mennello Museum of American Art

Sarasota

• Selby Gardens

St. Petersburg

• Florida Holocaust Museum
• Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg

Tallahassee

• Tallahassee Museum

Tampa

• Tampa Museum of Art
• The Florida Aquarium

Vero Beach

• Vero Beach Museum of Art

West Palm Beach

• Norton Museum of Art (Sundays only)
• South Florida Science Center and Aquarium

Georgia

Atlanta

• High Museum of Art

Augusta

• Morris Museum of Art

Cartersville

• Tellus Science Museum

Savannah

• Georgia State Railroad Museum
• Old Fort Jackson
• Pin Point Heritage Museum (Saturdays only)
• SCAD Museum of Art
• Savannah Children’s Museum
• Savannah History Museum

Idaho

Boise

• Boise Art Museum

Illinois

Chicago

• Adler Planetarium
• Art Institute of Chicago
• Chicago History Museum
• DuSable Museum of African American History
• Museum of Contemporary Art
• Shedd Aquarium (Sundays only)
• The National Hellenic Museum

Lisle

• The Morton Arboretum

Skokie

• Illinois Holocaust Museum & Educational Center

Indiana

Fishers

• Conner Prairie Museum

Indianapolis

• Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum

Yountville

• Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields

Iowa

Davenport

• Figge Art Museum

Des Moines

• Science Center of Iowa

Kansas

Wichita

• Botanica Wichita

Maine

Portland

• Portland Museum of Art

Rockland

• Farnsworth Art Museum

Maryland

Baltimore

• Maryland Science Center
• Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Cultur
• American History & Culture

Massachusetts

Boston

• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Concord

• Orchard House

Hyannis

• John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum

Lenox

• The Mount

Springfield

• Springfield Museums

Worcester

• EcoTarium

Michigan

Dearborn

• Arab American National Museum
• Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation

Detroit

• Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
• Michigan Science Center
• Motown Museum (subject to availability)

Flint

• Flint Institute of Arts

Grand Rapids

• Grand Rapids Art Museum
• Grand Rapids Public Museum

Minnesota

Minneapolis

• Mill City Museum

St. Paul

• Historic Fort Snelling
• James J. Hill House
• Minnesota History Center

Missouri

Kansas City

• National World War I Museum and Memorial
• Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
• Union Station’s Science Center, Science City

Nevada

Las Vegas

• DISCOVERY Children’s Museum
• Las Vegas Natural History Museum
• Springs Preserve

Reno

• Nevada Museum of Art

New Hampshire

Manchester

• Currier Museum of Art

New Jersey

Cherry Hill

• Garden State Discovery Museum

Clinton

• Hunterdon Art Museum

Millville

• WheatonArts and Cultural Center

Montclair

• Montclair Art Museum

Morristown

• Morris Museum

Newark

• Newark Museum

New Mexico

Albuquerque

• Albuquerque Museum
• National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Santa Fe

• Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

New York

Albany

• Albany Institute of History & Art

Brooklyn

• New York Transit Museum

Buffalo

• The Burchfield Penney Art Center at SUNY Buffalo State

Centerport

• Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium

Garden City

• Cradle of Aviation Museum and Education Center
• Long Island Children’s Museum

Huntington

• The Heckscher Museum of Art

Kingston

• Hudson Valley Maritime Museum

New York

• El Museo del Barrio
• Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
• New-York Historical Society
• Rubin Museum of Art
• Staten Island Children’s Museum
• Staten Island Zoological Society
• The Jewish Museum
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art – The Met Breuer
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art – The Met Cloisters
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art – The Met Fifth Avenue
• The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

Riverhead

• Long Island Aquarium

Rochester

• Rochester Museum & Science Center

Roslyn Harbor

• Nassau County Museum of Art

Stony Brook

• The Long Island Museum

Syracuse

• Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology (MOST)

Yonkers

• Hudson River Museum

North Carolina

Asheville

• Asheville Art Museum (opening early summer 2019)

Charlotte

• Bechtler Museum of Modern Art
• Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture
• Levine Museum of the New South
• Mint Museum Randolph
• Mint Museum Uptown

Greensboro

• Greensboro Children’s Museum

Raleigh

• Marbles Kids Museum

Wilmington

• Cameron Art Museum

Winston-Salem

• Reynolda House Museum of American Art

Ohio

Cincinnati

• Cincinnati Museum Center

Cleveland

• Great Lakes Science Center

Columbus

• COSI – Center of Science and Industry

Dayton

• The Dayton Art Institute

Oklahoma

Bartlesville

• Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve

Oklahoma City

• National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
• Oklahoma City Museum of Art

Tulsa

• Gilcrease Museum
• Philbrook Museum of Art

Oregon

Eugene

• Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

Portland

• Portland Art Museum
• Portland Children’s Museum
• Portland Japanese Garden

Pennsylvania

Chadds Ford

• Brandywine River Museum of Art

Doylestown

• James A. Michener Art Museum

Philadelphia

• African American Museum in Philadelphia
• Museum of the American Revolution
• National Museum of American Jewish History
• Philadelphia Museum of Art

Pittsburgh

• Carnegie Museum of Art
• The Andy Warhol Museum

Rhode Island

Newport

• International Tennis Hall of Fame

Providence

• Providence Children’s Museum
• RISD Museum

South Carolina

Charleston

• Gibbes Museum of Art

Columbia

• EdVenture Children’s Museum

Greenville

• The Children’s Museum of the Upstate (Greenville)
• Upcountry History Museum

Tennessee

Memphis

• Dixon Gallery and Gardens
• National Civil Rights Museum (Sundays only)

Nashville

• Frist Art Museum

Texas

Austin

• Bullock Texas State History Museum
• The Contemporary Austin (Laguna Gloria)
• The Contemporary Austin (The Jones Center)
• The Thinkery (at the Meredith Learning Lab)

Canyon

• Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum (September through May: Saturdays only)

Dallas

• Dallas Holocaust Museum / Center for Education and Tolerance

El Paso

• Magoffin Home Historic Site

Fort Worth

• Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

Houston

• The Children’s Museum of Houston
• The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

San Antonio

• Briscoe Western Art Museum
• McNay Art Museum
• San Antonio Museum of Art
• The DoSeum: San Antonio’s Museum for Kids
• Witte Museum

Virginia

Charlottesville

• Virginia Discovery Museum (Saturdays only)

Portsmouth

• Children’s Museum of Virginia

Richmond

• Children’s Museum of Richmond

Washington

Bellevue

• Bellevue Arts Museum

Seattle

• Northwest African American Museum
• Seattle Art Museum
• Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience

Spokane

• Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture

Tacoma

• Tacoma Art Museum

Bank of America Art Conservation Project

Bank of America also oversees an art conservation project. They provide grants to nonprofit museums to conserve historically or culturally significant works of art that are in danger of degeneration, including works that have been designated as national treasures. Each year they take new grant submissions so if you think you might qualify you should look into it.

Final word

Getting a free general admission ticket to museums every month is a great perk. The only drawback I see is that you don’t get access to the special exhibitions and you might have to forgo other passes like FastTrack. But it doesn’t get much easier than just showing your card to get free access so I am a big fan of this program.