4 Ways to Save Money on Your Next Trip to the Museum

Do you enjoy visiting museums? We love going to museums every time we travel. Museums can be really pricey, so it can be hard to go as a family. We have found 4 different ways for you to save money on your next trip to the museum. There are ways to get discounted admission rates and sometimes even FREE admission! We hope that these tips will allow you to visit more museums.

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1. Save Money on Your Next Trip to the Museum Using Your Credit Card

If you present your active Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, or U.S. Trust credit or debit card along with a photo I.D., you can gain one free general admission ticket to participating institutions.

This is the current list of participating institutions.

Free admission is on the 1st full weekend of every month. You can sign up for an email reminder for eligible weekends.

If you want more information, a list of eligible museums (plus other places!) can be found at their website.

Here is an example of the kinds of places you can visit for free:

In Chicago, you can visit Adler Planetarium, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago History Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, National Veterans Art Museum (Saturday only), Shedd Aquarium (Sunday only) and The National Hellenic Museum all for FREE!

Check ahead of time as there are certain blackout times for some museums.

2. Save Money on Your Next Trip to the Museum Using ASTC Travel Passport

If you purchase a membership to a museum that is part of the ASTC Travel Passport program, you can get into tons of other museums for FREE!

For example, if you purchase a family membership at the Michigan Science Center for $75, 2 adults plus your kids (under 18) can get into that museums plus hundreds of other museums in the United States and 48 other countries for FREE!

To see what museums are part of this program, you can view a list here.

This list gives information on the conditions for entrance to the museum. There are some exclusions so be sure to look ahead of time.

3. Save Money on Your Next Trip to the Museum Using AAA Membership

AAA members can receive discounts to museums and other institutions (like zoos).

Offers do change, so you should check ahead of time.

At the present time, some offers included:

Detroit Institute of Arts (Michigan): buy one general admission adult ticket ($14) and get one free!
Cernan Earth & Space Center (Illinois): buy one admission to the dome theater and get one free admission plus 10% off at the gift shop.
Sawmill Hall of Fame (Iowa): save $1 on regular price admission.
Mall of America (Minnesota): 50% discount off a Mall of America coupon book.

There are many more discounts in different states. You can look at them here.

Becoming a AAA member is a great deal. Besides all of the discounts you get (there are tons!), you also get benefits for your car. With the classic membership ($52), you get free towing (up to 5 miles), emergency starting, battery service, flat tire service, fuel delivery, plus so much more! You can check out their website to become a member. We highly recommend it!

If you sign up with our link, you can get $20 off your membership renewal! This is our link.

4. Save Money on Your Next Trip to the Museum Using CityPASS

CityPASS is a great way to save money on museums in big cities (especially if you are planning to visit other attractions in that city!).

Using CityPASS, you can save up to 50% on the admission to museums and other big city attractions. Plus, you usually get perks like free admission to special exhibits, less time waiting in lines, and more!

We wrote a whole blog post about CityPASS, so if you would like more information on it, check it out: Save Money on Museums and Other Big City Attractions

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