Every first full weekend of the month, Bank of America unlocks the doors of hundreds of American cultural institutions for its cardholders. The program is called Museums on Us, and the next eligible weekend lands on Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8, 2026.
If you hold a Bank of America, Merrill, or Bank of America Private Bank credit or debit card, you can walk into a participating museum and claim one free general admission ticket in person - no coupon, no promo code, no app required. The catch is that the freebie covers only the cardholder, so plus-ones still pay full price.
Since July 2026 the network has expanded to 250 nonprofit cultural institutions across 43 states and 158 cities, up from the long-standing 225-museum roster, as part of BofA's America 250 anniversary push.
Whether you are in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle, or a smaller city in between, there is very likely a participating museum within driving distance.
This guide walks through exactly what the November weekend covers, how to claim it in person, which museums you can visit, and the fine print that trips people up on arrival.
Quick Summary: Museums on Us November 2026 at a Glance
What | One free general admission ticket per eligible cardholder |
|---|---|
Who | BofA, Merrill, or Private Bank credit/debit cardholders |
Where | 250 institutions in 43 states, 158 U.S. cities |
When | Sat-Sun, Nov 7-8, 2026, during each museum's local hours |
How | Show valid card + government photo ID at the ticket window |
Limit | 1 ticket per card, for the cardholder only |
Worth | Roughly $15-$35 saved per person, per museum, per visit |
What Is the Deal, Exactly?
Museums on Us is a cardholder benefit, not a public coupon sale. On the first full weekend of every month, any consumer or business credit or debit card issued by Bank of America, Merrill, or Bank of America Private Bank (formerly U.S. Trust) qualifies the named cardholder for a single complimentary general-admission ticket at any participating institution.
The benefit is delivered at the front desk, not online. You present your physical or digital card (the one stored in the BofA mobile wallet works) alongside a government-issued photo ID such as a driver's license, state ID, or passport book. The attendant verifies the name on the card matches the ID, prints or hands over a general-admission ticket, and you are in.
There is no promo code, no barcode emailed in advance, and no minimum purchase. The same card works at every participating institution across the country on the same weekend - so a BofA debit card issued in Boston gets you into a San Diego museum on the Sunday of the November weekend, provided you are physically there during open hours.
What's Free (or Discounted)
The free component is general admission - the permanent collections and any included self-guided galleries that a standard adult ticket would unlock. For example, a cardholder in New York can walk into The Met Fifth Avenue for free general entry, and a cardholder in Chicago can use the benefit at the Art Institute of Chicago.
The roster also covers the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and LACMA in Los Angeles. Smaller cities are on the list too, so check the map before you assume a major-metro trip is required.
To put the savings in dollars: an adult general ticket at a major U.S. art or science museum typically runs $15 to $35. A family with two BofA cardholders who visit one museum each on Saturday and a second museum on Sunday could walk away with $60 to $140 in avoided gate fees over the weekend - no other coupon stacking required.
What is not free: special ticketed exhibitions, IMAX or planetarium add-ons, guided tours, speaker events, holiday galas, and any fundraising event the museum is hosting. Those require a separately purchased ticket even on Museums on Us weekend.
Some institutions also reserve timed-entry slots for cardholders and require you to book online in advance, selecting the "Bank of America Cardholder" option at checkout. More on that in the fine-print section.
How to Claim It Step by Step
Open the participating institutions map and search your city or ZIP code to confirm the museum you want is on the November 2026 list.
Check that museum's own website or map-page note to see whether walk-ups are welcome or whether timed online reservation is required.
If online reservation is required, book a timed slot for Nov 7 or Nov 8 and choose "Bank of America Cardholder" as the ticket type during checkout.
On the day of your visit, bring the physical BofA/Merrill/Private Bank credit or debit card (or the digital card in your mobile wallet) and a government-issued photo ID.
At the ticket window, hand over both items; the attendant verifies names and issues one general-admission ticket in your name.
Walk in and enjoy the permanent collections. Pay separately for any special exhibition, IMAX, or guided tour you want to add.
Who Is Eligible?
Eligibility is tied to the card, not to a specific product tier. Any consumer, small-business, or corporate credit or debit card branded with Bank of America, Merrill, or Bank of America Private Bank qualifies, provided the card is open, in good standing, and physically held by the person presenting it. Authorized users on someone else's account are not automatically eligible unless their name appears on the card.
The named cardholder must be present. A partner, child, parent, or friend cannot borrow your card and ID to claim a ticket - the benefit is non-transferable, and museum attendants are instructed to match the name on the ID to the name on the card. Children under the age the museum defines as "adult" may already get in free under that institution's normal kid policy; check the museum's own site for age cutoffs.
Cards issued outside the United States, prepaid debit cards, and cards from other banks that happen to be co-branded with a BofA merchant agreement generally do not qualify. If you are unsure, the safest check is whether the card itself carries the Bank of America, Merrill, or Private Bank logo on the front.
Important Fine Print to Know
First, one ticket per card, for the cardholder only. You cannot bring a plus-one for free, and a single card cannot be used twice at the same museum on the same day. If your household has two adults with separate BofA cards, each can claim their own ticket; that is the maximum "group discount" the program offers.
Second, special exhibitions are excluded. A touring blockbuster show sold as a separate timed ticket will cost you extra even on Museums on Us weekend. If a blockbuster is the reason you want to visit, price out the special-exhibition add-on before you go.
Third, entry is not guaranteed. The program waives the gate fee; it does not waive capacity limits. Popular institutions such as The Met, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Houston Museum of Natural Science can sell out timed slots on a free weekend. Booking online early is the single best way to avoid a long line at the door.
Fourth, hours follow each museum's local clock. A 10 a.m. Saturday opening in Honolulu is 3 p.m. Eastern; a 5 p.m. closing in Boston is 2 p.m. Pacific. The benefit runs during each institution's normal posted hours on Nov 7 and Nov 8, in whatever time zone that institution sits.
Fifth, the old bankofamerica.com/arts page sometimes shows a stale "next weekend" date. Treat the about.bankofamerica.com activity page as the source of truth: November 2026 is Nov 7-8.
Finally, the program launched in 2013 and was expanded in July 2026 from 225 to 250 institutions as part of the America 250 semiquincentennial. If a friend tells you the list used to be shorter, they are remembering the pre-expansion roster.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a promo code or coupon to get in?
No. There is no code to enter at the door, and no digital coupon to print. The benefit is triggered entirely by presenting a valid BofA, Merrill, or Private Bank credit or debit card plus a government photo ID at the ticket window.
A small number of museums do require you to book a timed slot online in advance and select the "Bank of America Cardholder" option at checkout - but even then, no code is entered; you are simply choosing the cardholder ticket tier.
See the official activity page for the general rules and the map page for institution-specific booking notes.
Can I bring a friend or my kids for free on my card?
No. The official wording is one general admission per eligible cardholder, and that ticket is issued in the cardholder's own name. A spouse, parent, roommate, or friend cannot walk in on your card, even if you are standing next to them.
Children's rules are set by each museum separately: many participating institutions such as The Met already admit kids under 18 for free under normal operations, so check the museum's own ticketing page before you assume you will pay for the whole family.
What museums are participating in November 2026?
The full roster lives on the by-state partner list.
Well-known names on the November 2026 list include The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago and Adler Planetarium in Chicago, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, LACMA and the de Young Museum in California, the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, and the Seattle Art Museum. The current network covers 250 institutions in 43 states and 158 cities.
What if I am not a Bank of America cardholder? Are there other free museum days?
You still have options. The Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. are free to the public every day, no card required. Many major museums also run their own community free days - for example, weekly pay-what-you-wish windows for certain ZIP codes or target-day freebies.
If a BofA cardholder in your household wants to add you as an authorized user on their credit card, that is worth discussing, but note that the Museums on Us benefit follows the named card on the account, not every authorized-user card.
What time zone does the November 7-8 weekend follow?
There is no single time zone. The benefit runs during each participating institution's local posted hours on Saturday Nov 7 and Sunday Nov 8, 2026. A museum in Honolulu runs on Hawaii-Aleutian Time; a museum in Boston runs on Eastern Time.
If you are booking a timed slot online, the museum's own booking page will display its local time. The map page lists each institution's city, which is enough to infer the correct zone.
Do I still pay for special exhibitions or IMAX?
Yes. General admission is the only waived component. Special ticketed exhibitions, IMAX films, planetarium shows, guided tours, maker workshops, and fundraising events all require a separately purchased ticket, even if you are using the Museums on Us benefit to get through the front door. If a blockbuster show is the main reason for your visit, check the museum's ticketing page and budget the add-on before you arrive.
Similar Deals Worth Checking Out
If you are building a cheap-culture November weekend, pair Museums on Us with these other active freebies:
Home Depot's free kids workshop to build a dump truck on Nov 7 runs the same Saturday as the museum weekend - a good morning activity before an afternoon museum visit.
Cabela's Santa's Wonderland launches on Nov 7 with a free 4x6 photo with Santa and a mini reindeer plush while supplies last.
Michaels and Hallmark's free Unplugged holiday crafts run through November and December for family craft time.
Lowe's free holiday-engine kids workshop on Nov 14 extends the free-build fun into the following weekend.
Target's free beauty gem stickers and holiday bear keychain is a quick in-store freebie to stack onto any shopping trip.
About Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the largest U.S. banks by assets, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and operating consumer, commercial, and wealth-management banking across all 50 states.
Its Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank units serve wealth-management and private-banking clients. Museums on Us sits inside the company's broader arts-and-culture community-improvement program, which also funds museum endowments, public art commissions, and local-arts grants.
The program began in 2013 with a handful of partner museums in major metro areas. It has grown steadily since, and in June 2026 BofA announced the expansion to 250 institutions across 43 states and 158 cities as a centerpiece of its America 250 support. It is funded directly by the bank, not by the museums, which means participating institutions keep their normal ticketing revenue from non-cardholder visitors.
