Difference between revisions of "Reciprocal museum programs"

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{{seo|description=Which credit card is your best choice for earning the highest reward rate on your everyday spending: the Chase Freedom Unlimited, Citi DoubleCash, or some other card?}}
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'''This page is still under construction.'''
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If you are following our advice, you will eventually get a handful of credit cards for their travel benefits—such as one or more {{Link|premium cards|premium travel-oriented credit cards}}, an {{Link|Checked Bags|airline credit card for the airline you fly the most}}, and perhaps a couple of hotel credit cards. 
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You could use any of these credit cards to earn rewards on your purchases. But unfortunately, they probably don't offer the highest possible reward rate for your most of your spending. Since your goal is to earn as many points as you can, it is worthwhile to sign up for an additional credit card—one that is specifically chosen to earn the best possible reward rate on your everyday purchases.
 
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<blockquote>
 
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GET the cards that make sense for their travel benefits; but USE the card that earns the best rewards for your spending. And use it, instead of cash or checks, whenever you can.
 
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You'll slowly and surely earn enough points for free airplane tickets and hotel rooms. If you make the effort to use your card to pay for as many of your expenses as you can, you'll increase the amount of free travel that you earn.
 
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*[[#(Almost) never use cash—earn rewards instead|Use your card as often as you can]]
 
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*[[#The best general purpose reward card (for most people)|The best general purpose reward card (for most people)]]
 
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*[[#Who should get a different card?|Who should get a different card?]]
 
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*[[#The best alternative is a great cashback card (for most people)|The best alternative is a great cashback card]]
 
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*[[#Advanced options|Advanced options]]
 
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*[[#xxx|xxx]]
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{{Main|article}}
 
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=== <span id="Never Use Cash"> (Almost) never use cash—earn rewards instead </span> ===
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=== How reciprocal museum programs work ===
  
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Your goal is to collect as many miles or points (or as much cash back) as you can. That means that you should use your reward credit cards whenever possible, rather than paying with cash, a debit card, or a check. Start putting everything on your cards, and your rewards will build up quickly.
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When you become a member of any museum or attraction in the program, you get free access to all of the other participating locations. For example, if you join the Science Museum in your home town, you can freely visit dozens of science museums all around the country.  
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{{ImageX|LockedCash.jpg}}
 
  
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
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<li>'''Every time you use cash, a check, or your bank card (when you could have used your credit card), you are missing out on reward points'''. Each individual transaction may not seem like much, but it adds up over time.</li>
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<li>'''You usually are only entitled to "standard" admission'''. You usually need to pay extra for special exhibits, IMAX movies, and other valued-added attractions. Because these extras are often available as part of a discounted package, if you want the full experience, your discount might not amount to that much.</li>
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<li>'''Using a credit card, instead of cash, has some other benefits as well'''. You’ll have better records of your spending, build up your credit history, and make fewer trips to the ATM (paying less in ATM fees). In addition, your credit card will often give you some protection if something you buy breaks, is stolen, or even drops in price.</li>  
 
  
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<li>'''While we strongly recommend using your credit card for as much of your spending as possible, you don’t have to take it to an extreme'''. If you are making a small purchase, and paying cash will speed up the process for everyone, don’t worry about a few cents worth of points. If you are under the store’s minimum for taking credit cards, don’t make a fuss, just pay with cash.  And you usually don’t want to use your credit card with any business that will add on an extra fee.</li>  
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<li>'''Nearby museums are usually not included'''. With most programs, you WON'T get reciprocal access to any museums that are located close to your home museum. Sometimes "nearby" is defined by an official number of miles, other times it is any location in the same state, and sometimes it is ad-hoc. So, don't expect privileges with other museums in the same metropolitan area or state.</li>  
  
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<li>'''Many of the bills that you pay each month can be paid with a credit card, rather than with a check or automatic bank withdrawal'''. For example, pretty much every wireless and cable company accepts credit card payments, as do many utilities, insurance companies, and gyms. Go back over a few months of bank statements, and see who you are paying on a regular basis. Then check which of these companies you can switch over to a credit card.</li>
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<li>'''Joining an out-of-state museum can provide access to all the locations that are close to your home'''. If you want privileges at all the museums in your area, you can often join a museum in some other city, rather than your favorite nearby museum. While you'll be blocked at locations located nearby the institution you join, you won't be blocked at any of your local locations. There are some downsides to this approach. Your membership money will be supporting the museum you join, rather than the one in your area; and you won't be able to take advantage of many other membership benefits, such as access to special member's only visiting hours or events. With some programs, this approach isn't even possible, as you'll be blocked to local museums based on the address on your ID, rather than the address of the museum you belong to.</li>  
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</ul>
 
  
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=== The best general purpose reward card (for most people) ===
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<li>'''Reciprocal benefits are not available with many less expensive memberships'''. You'll need to join your local museum at a certain level. Each of the programs enforces a minimum membership cost to access reciprocal benefits. For example, no museum in the program can provide reciprocal benefits with any membership level that costs less than $100 per year.</li>
  
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Which general-purpose reward card is best?  For most people, the answer is clear...
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<li>'''You can often get a membership discount'''. The best place to check is Groupon, but other promotional codes are sometimes available.</li>
  
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<blockquote>
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<li>'''The number of guests depends on the type of membership you have'''. Typically, if you have an individual membership, you'll reciprocal benefits only apply to one person. If you have a family membership, you'll receive benefits based on the family membership of the museum you are visiting, not your home museum.</li>  
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You should get BOTH the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and the Freedom Unlimited card. The two cards work together to give you fantastic reward rates on your purchases.
 
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</blockquote>  
 
  
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The Freedom Unlimited card earns 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points on every purchase, which normally are worth 1 cent each towards travel purchases or gift cards.  
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<li>'''Memberships are NOT typically based on the calendar year'''. They usually last for one year after you join. With some museums and attractions, it can take some time for you to receive your membership card. So, you'll need to apply weeks before you you plan to take advantage of any reciprocal benefits.</li>
  
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However, if you also have the Chase Sapphire card, you can use these points to purchase travel, through the Chase website, at 1.5 cents each. This gives you a "cash" rewards rate of 2.25 cents per dollar, higher than most cash back cards.  
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<li>'''To get access, you'll need to carry your membership card'''. There is no way to look you up in some "member database". You'll need to have a valid membership card and photo ID.</li>
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</ul>
  
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Even better, these points are "transferable". You can convert your Ultimate Reward points to a number of different types of airline and hotel points, and then redeem them for frequent flyer tickets or free hotel nights. For example, you can convert your points to Hyatt points to book an award night, or to United miles to book a frequent flyer ticket.
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=== Major reciprocal museum programs ===
  
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At a "base value" of {{Value|UR}} cents per point, you'll be earning {{Value|UR|1.5}} cents per dollar, and you can earn even more with particularly good redemption opportunities.  
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While there are many smaller or more specialized reciprocal programs such as the Empire State Museums Reciprocal Program (mix of museums in New York state) or Connections (photography museums around the country), that may be interesting based on your location or interest, the following programs include the widest range of the most popular museums and attractions.  
  
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{|style="margin: auto;"
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==== Art Museums ====
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|style="width: 50%;"|{{Card|freedom|guide}}
 
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|<span style="font-size: 48pt;">+</span>
 
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|style="width: 50%;"|{{Card|sapphirereserve|guide}}
 
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|}
 
  
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<ul class="bulletlist">
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Unlike Science Museums, Zoos, and Children's Museums, Art Museum reciprocal programs are pretty fragmented. Some of the more significant programs include.  
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<li>'''For most people, earning Chase Ultimate Reward points is a better option than earning other types of credit card rewards'''. Not all points are equal—some points are worth more than others. For most people, Ultimate Rewards is the best credit card rewards program.  {{Link|transferable points}}.</li> 
 
  
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<ul>
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<ul class="checklist">
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<li>Unlike Amex's Membership Reward points and Citibank's ThankYou points, you can get good value from your Ultimate Reward points, without having to deal with the hassles  of frequent flyer miles. Truth be told, it is getting increasingly harder to find frequent flyer award space and get good value from your miles. Fortunately, Chase points can be used in much easier ways. When you use your Ultimate Reward points for hotel stays through Hyatt, you can usually get more than {{Value|Hyatt}} cents per point in value, and sometimes more than 2-3 cents per point. You can always use them, at a fixed value of 1.5 cents each, to make any travel purchase through the Chase website. And you can sometimes get a slightly higher rate when you use them to purchase Southwest Airlines or JetBlue tickets, without worrying about award availability.</li>  
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<li>'''[//www.metmuseum.org/join-and-give/membership/faqs Metropolitan Reciprocal Membership Program]'''. Includes 15 of the top art museums in the country, anchored by the Met in NYC.</li>
  
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<li>But, unlike the cash-like points you can earn from some other credit cards, you still have the upside of getting much more value from your reward points. When you do find an opportunity to use your Ultimate Reward points for frequent flyer tickets or to make a particularly valuable hotel redemption, they can be worth 2-5 cents per point (3-7.5% per dollar) or even more.</li>
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{{Image|MET.jpg}}
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<li>Accumulating Ultimate Reward points lets you try out a potentially extremely lucrative transferable reward program, while still giving you valuable ways to simply "cash-out" your points, if you find you can't ever use them effectively for frequent flyer tickets.</li>
 
 
   
 
   
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</ul>  
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<li>'''[//www.artic.edu/support-us/membership/member-faqs Art Museum Reciprocal Membership Program]'''. Includes 15 of the top art museums in the country, anchored by Art Institute of Chicago. A few museums belong to both this program and the Met's program. </li>  
  
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<li>'''The Freedom Unlimited card earns 1.5x Ultimate Reward points per dollar (valued at {{Value|UR|1.5}} cents per dollar) on every purchase'''—for most people, this is the highest possible reward rate for your everyday spending.</li>  
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<li>'''[//sites.google.com/view/marplist/participating-museums Museum Alliance Reciprocal Program]''' (MARP). Includes 32 major US art museums, but not quite at the same overall level as the Met and Art Institute programs.</li>  
  
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<li>'''In addition, the Sapphire Reserve card earns 3x Ultimate Rewards points (valued at {{Value|UR|3}} cents per dollar) on travel and restaurant spending'''. Chances are that you spend a significant amount of money on travel and restaurants. When you use the Sapphire Reserve card, you'll be earning great reward rates on these categories. Over time, you might choose to get additional cards (and pay additional annual fees) to get a higher reward rate on dining and airfare purchases. But, these other options aren't better for non-airfare travel, and are only better for airfare and dining if you you are committed to using your points for frequent flyer tickets.</li>
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{{Image|Guggenheim.jpg}}
  
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<li>'''You’ll start out with 50,000 points (valued at $900) from the Sapphire Reserve card, plus a $150 signup bonus from the Freedom Unlimited card'''. 50,000 points is two domestic tickets on United Airlines, or 5 nights in a very nice Hyatt hotel.</li>  
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<li>'''[//thewalters.org/support/membership/art-museum-reciprocal-network/ Art Museum Reciprocal Network]''' (AMRN). Similar to the MARP program, but a different cluster of major museums. </li>
  
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<li>'''You'll get some other attractive benefits with the Sapphire Reserve card'''. These include airport lounge access, primary rental car insurance, and top-of-the-line travel and shopping protections.</li>  
+
<li>'''[//whitney.org/Support/Membership/ReciprocalProgram The Whitney Reciprocal Program]'''. Unlike the other programs, this isn't a mutual alliance amongst a group of museums. Rather, joining the Whitney ($140/2) gives you access to 16 other museums in the US and Europe, and joining any of those museums gives you access to the Whitney. But the various partner museums don't necessarily have any reciprocal benefits between themselves.</li>  
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
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The Freedom Unlimited card has no annual fee. However, the Sapphire Reserve’s annual fee is a whopping $450, and you need to have it, in order to get good value from the points you earn with the Freedom Unlimited card.  
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==== Others ====
 +
<ul class="checklist">
 +
<li>'''[//www.astc.org/passport/ Association of Science and Technology Centers Travel Passport]''' (ASTC). Provides benefits at over 350 museums in North America, plus a smattering of museums elsewhere in the world. Includes almost every large science museum, with the notable exceptions of the Exploratarium and the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and the Academy of Natural Sciences in New York. You won't have privileges at museums that are within 90 miles of your home address or your membership museum. [//www.astc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/ASTCTravelPassport_6pt_Nov2018-Apr2019.pdf Participating Museums].</li>
  
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However, this isn’t as bad as it first appears. The Sapphire Reserve provides an automatic $300 travel credit. That means that the first $300 you spend on travel each year is automatically taken off your credit card bill.  So, the total out-of-pocket cost is $150 per year. For most of our readers, airport lounge access, high reward rates, and primary rental car insurance make this money well spent. 
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{{Image|BostonGenerator.jpg}}
  
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{{Box|Higher reward rates are possible with bonus categories}}
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<li>'''[//narmassociation.org/ North American Reciprocal Membership]''' (NARM). This is the largest reciprocal museum program, with over 1,000 participating art, history, and specialty museums, primarily in the United States. Most of the hightest-profile museums are not members, but you'll get free access to many excellent museums in every corner of the country. [https://a1pir3oc6nm1k9qfq28au9qx-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/NARM_Winter_2018-2019.pdf Participating Museums].</li>
  
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Before we discuss the best general-purpose reward cards, it helps to understand how “bonus categories” work.  
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Most '''[//sites.google.com/site/roammuseums/home Reciprocal Organization of Associated Museums]''' (ROAM) members are also part of the much larger NARM program. But, if your membership includes both, you'll have access to some additional museums that are members are ROAM, but not NARM.  [https://sites.google.com/site/roammuseums/home/list-of-roam-museums Participating Museums].
  
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<ul class="bulletlist">
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<li>'''[//www.aza.org/reciprocity Association of Zoos and Aquariums]''' (AZA). Provides reciprocal benefits at over 150 North American zoos and aquariums. It includes most major zoos, but a few of the most significant zoos (including the San Diego Zoo Bronx Zoo, and Brookfield Zoo) don't participate, and it doesn't provide benefits at most major aquariums.  [//www.aza.org/assets/2332/reciprocitychart.pdf Participating locations].</li>  
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<li>'''Many reward credit cards offer higher-than-normal rewards on spending within certain categories'''. For example, one card may give bonus rewards for purchases from gas stations and supermarkets, while another card may give bonuses on travel and restaurants.</li>  
 
  
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<li>'''Chances are, that as part of building out your core credit card collection, you will naturally wind up with a card that earns bonus reward rates on travel, restaurants, and some other purchases'''. Eventually, you may even choose to expand your credit card collection to specifically include cards just for their bonus rewards. {{Link|optimize rewards}}.</li>
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Unlike most of the other major programs, you usually only receive a 50% discount, rather than free admission. However, memberships with a smaller set of participating zoos and aquariums will give you free admission with that same set of locations (and 50% off everywhere else).
  
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<li>'''Regardless, you always want to get one general-purpose card that earns a good reward rate, whenever you use it, and not just on specific categories'''. This will be your “fall back” card for any purchase where you don’t have a card that earns bonus points, or when you just want to keep things simple, and put all your charges on a single card.  It is sometimes called your card for “everyday spending”. But, we call it your “general-purpose” reward card.</li>
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{{Image|KansasCityZoo.png}}
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</ul>
 
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{{/Box}}
 
  
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=== Who should get a different card? ===
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<li>'''[//findachildrensmuseum.org/reciprocal-network/  Association of Children's Museums]''' (ACM). Provides benefits at around 200 different children's museums. Like the Zoo program, and unlike the other programs, you'll only receive 50% off the regular admission. Nearly every US children's museum participates, admission is good for up to six people, and the conveniently don't block privileges at nearby museums.  [http://childrensmuseums.org/images/Reciprocal-Brochure_1.17.19.pdf Participating Museums].</li>
  
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While the Freedom Unlimited / Sapphire Reserve combination is the right solution for most people, it isn't for everyone.
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<li>'''[http://timetravelers.mohistory.org/ Time Travelers]'''. Provides benefits at more than 300 historical sites and museums throughout the United State. [//csv.mohistory.org/static/pdf/institutions.pdf Participating Locations].</li>
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</ul>
  
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<ul class="bulletlist">
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=== Access multiple programs with a single membership ===
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<li>'''You might not be able to get the Freedom Unlimited and Sapphire Reserve card, due to the Chase 5/24 rule'''. Chase limits access to the Sapphire Reserve and Freedom Unlimited cards to people who have signed up for fewer than five new credit cards in the past two years. This is called the “Chase 5/24” rule, and they count every new credit card you’ve gotten, regardless of whether it came from Chase, or from another bank, and even if you are just an authorized card holder.</li>
 
  
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If you’ve signed up for more than three credit cards in the last two years, you won’t be able to sign up for both these cards, regardless of your income and credit score. You can either hold off getting any new credit cards, until you are under the limit; or you can choose an alternative general-purpose reward credit card.  
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Many museums belong to multiple reciprocal programs. Becoming a member one of these museums lets you enjoy the benefits of multiple programs for a single membership fee.  
  
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<li>'''You might get even more value from one of the advanced credit card options'''. There are some other cards that can earn even more valuable rewards than the Freedom Unlimited / Sapphire Reserve combination. But, they each have restrictions, caveats, or complexities that make them hard to broadly recommend. Depending on your circumstances, one of these advanced options (see below) might be for you. </li>
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==== Art Museums ====
  
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<li>'''You may not spend enough money to justify the Sapphire Reserve's annual fee'''.
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<ul class="checklist">
−
If you expect to spend less than about $15,000 per year on your general-purpose reward card (and on travel and restaurant charges), the extra reward points you earn from the Freedom Unlimited / Sapphire Reserve combination may be smaller than the $150 effective annual fee. </li>  
 
  
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If you don't get much value from the airport lounge benefit, and don't expect to use your points for premium-cabin frequent flyer tickets, you are probably better off with a cashback card instead. Keep in mind, that even if you are interested in free airport lounge access, you can receive that benefit, for years to come, by spreading out your premium credit card applications (and collecting the signup bonuses) over time.  
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<li>'''Both the Met and Art Institute Programs'''. A few museums belong to both of the most prestigious art museum programs.</li>
  
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<li>'''You may prefer to earn points that can be used for an even wider variety of travel purchases'''. You can use your Ultimate Reward points to pay for hotels, airfare, and other travel expenses through the Chase website (as well as for frequent flyer tickets and award nights). But, you can't use them to purchase hotels on other websites (where you might find lower rates), on AirBnBs, or on admissions and activities. If you earn cash-like points, you can use your points for any of things (or often anything else).</li>
+
<ul>
 +
<li>Qualifying membership at [//www.philamuseum.org/membership/?page=2 Philadelphia Museum of Art] costs $250 and also includes a membership in AMRN.</li>
  
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For most people, earning Ultimate Rewards points is the better option. They can easily use up all the points they earn on worthwhile redemptions, and will generally get more value from their Ultimate Reward points, than they could earn from a cashback card. But, if you don't expect to easily use up all your Ultimate Reward points on worthwhile purchases, because you don't expect to spend enough on airfares and hotels, or because you are earning tons of points in other ways, you may want to just earn cash, or cash-like points, from your purchases.  
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<li>The [//www.lacma.org/membership/join/levels/friend Los Angeles County Museum of Art] (LACMA) costs $250 and also includes reciprocal benefits with the Whitney.</li>
  
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<li>'''You might want to use an everyday card that includes price and return protection'''. Some credit cards provide "price protection", which will refund the difference, if something you bought drops in price during the first few months; and "return protection", which will let you return an item to the credit card company, for a refund, if the store won't accept a return. The Chase Unlimited card does not provide either of these benefits. If price and/or return protection are important to you, you'll want to use another card, either for all of your non-bonus-category purchases, or for purchases where you are more likely to take advantage of these benefits. {{Link|purchase protections}}.</li>  
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<li>The [//www.dma.org/support-partners/dma-members Dallas Museum of Art] costs $250 and also includes a membership in the Western Reciprocal Museum Program and ROAM.</li>
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
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=== The best alternative is a great cashback card (for most people) ===
+
<li>'''One of the Met or Art Institute plus more'''. A few museums belong to either the Met program or the Art Institute and one of the next tier programs (MARP or AMRN).</li>
  
−
There are several credit cards which give you 2% back on every purchase, and you may be able to get a card that earns even more. Other than the Chase Freedom Unlimited combo, there is no other simple solution that routinely provides more value than 2% cash back. 
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{{Table|Basic}}
 +
!Museum
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!style="width: .5in;"|Fee
 +
!style="width: .5in;"|Met
 +
!style="width: .5in;"|Chicago
 +
!style="width: .5in;"|MARP
 +
!style="width: .5in;"|AMRN
 +
!style="width: .5in;"|WRMP
 +
!style="width: .5in;"|NARM
 +
!style="width: .5in;"|ROAM
 +
!style="width: 1in;"|Other
 +
|-
 +
|[//denverartmuseum.org/membership-support/membership-details-benefits Denver Art Museum]
 +
|$150||y|| || ||y|| || || ||[//museumswest.org/ Museums West]
 +
|-
 +
|[//discovernewfields.org/give-and-join/become-member Newfields] (Indianapolis Art Museum)
 +
|$250||y|| ||y|| || ||y||y||[//ahsgardening.org/gardening-programs/rap/find/statebystate AHS]
 +
|-
 +
|[//www.clevelandart.org/join-and-give/membership-and-circles/about-membership Cleveland Museum of Art]
 +
|$250|| ||y||y||y|| || || ||
 +
|-
 +
|[//www.mfah.org/membership/levels/ Museum of Fine Arts] (Houston)
 +
|$185|| ||y||y|| || || || ||
 +
|-
 +
|[//walkerart.org/support/membership/ Walker Art Center] (Minneapolis)
 +
|$125|| ||y||y|| || || || ||Whitney
 +
|-
 +
|[//nelson-atkins.org/join/member-benefits/reciprocal-membership-programs/ Nelson Atkins Museum] (Kansas City)
 +
|$250|| ||y|| ||y|| ||y||y||
 +
{{/Table|Basic}}
  
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<blockquote>
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</ul>
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For most people, the next best option, after the Freedom Unlimited card, is a great cash-back card.
 
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</blockquote>  
 
  
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Each alternative option involves extra time, effort, and/or fees, special relationships with banks; or only works for people who highly-value premium-cabin award redemptions, and can earn enough points to make those a reality. These cards can make sense for many people.  But we can’t recommend them to most people who want to keep things simple and flexible.
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==== Others ====
  
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{{ImageX|FlyingCash.jpg|600}}
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<ul class="checklist">
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<li>'''Science museums and zoos'''. A handful of places are members of both the Science Museum and Zoo programs.</li>
  
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<ul class="bulletlist">
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<ul>
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<li>'''If you are going to spend MORE than $12,000 per year on your general-purpose reward card you should try to get the Alliant Cashback Visa card'''. It earns 2.5% cash back with a $59 annual fee, and earns 3% cash back during the first year. Getting this card isn’t completely straightforward. If you aren’t already an Alliant credit union member, you need to make a $10 donation to Foster Care for Success to join. And if you’ve opened too many credit cards (which hopefully isn’t a problem), they may deny your application.</li>
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<li>Qualifying membership at the [//www.boonshoftmuseum.org/membership/ Boonshoft Museum of Discovery] (Dayton, Ohio) costs $115 for a family, but provides the option to join at a $145 level and also qualify for the Children's Museum program. Both include free admission, rather than 50% off, at a subset of the participating Zoos.</li>  
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{{Card|alliant|guide}}
 
  
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<li>'''If you are going to spend LESS than $12,000 on your general-purpose reward card, you should get the PayPal Cashback card'''. It gives you 2% cash back, with no annual fee, and no foreign transaction fees. If you are only spending this much, it isn’t worth the $59 per year, to earn the extra .5% in rewards from the Alliant card. In addition, the PayPal cards comes with price and return protection, which isn't available on the Alliant card. Just make sure you’re the type of person who will make the extra effort to take advantage of these protection benefits, before you give up higher up-front rewards, to get this card instead. {{Link|purchase protections}}.</li>
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{{Image|BoonshoftMembershipLevels.png}}
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{{Card|Paypal|guide}}
 
  
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The other good no-annual-fee options are the {{Card|DoubleCash|only}} and the {{Card|Fidelity|only}}. The reason that we recommend the PayPal card is that it doesn't have a foreign transaction fee, and both of these cards do. Some people might prefer the Double Cash card, because it comes with slightly better extended warranty and price protection benefits, and they don't expect to use the card very often for overseas purchases. The Fidelity card only has a 1% foreign transaction fee (versus the Double Cash's 3% fee), but it comes with weaker purchase protections.  
+
<li>Qualifying Membership at the [//wildwnc.org/membership Western North Carolina Nature Center] (Asheville, NC) is only $34 for one person, $49 for two, and $69 for a family, and your membership entitles you to free admission, rather than 50% off at a subset of participating Zoos. At the [//www.lszooduluth.org/visit/membership/ Lake Superior Zoo] (Duluth, Minnesota), qualifying family membership is only $75.</li>
  
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<li>'''Be careful when you predict how much money you will spend per year'''. If you take our advice, and take advantage of credit card signup bonuses, to earn lots of points, much of your credit card spending will be focused on meeting the initial spending requirements on your new cards. If you acquire cards that earn bonus rewards on other categories, there will be fewer purchases left over, where you use your general-purpose card. You might find yourself spending less than you expected, and be better off with a no-annual-fee card.</li>
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<li>Other options are he [//curiodyssey.org/membership/reciprocal-program/ CuriOdyssey] (San Mateo, California), [//www.mos.org/membership Museum of Science] (Boston, Massachusetts), [//www.greensboroscience.org/get-involved/membership/index.html Greensboro Science Center] (Greensboro, NC), and [//www.lifeandscience.org/benefits Museum of Life and Science] (Durham, NC).</li>
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<li>'''If you highly value international business and first-class tickets, you are always better off with a transferable points card'''. No cash-back or fixed-value card can provide as much value as you can get from redeeming your points for business and first-class frequent flyer tickets. You may not always be able to find award space, and it will require a lot of points for each ticket, but you’ll eventually be able to redeem your points for massive value per point. {{Link|Transferable Points}}.</li>
 
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If you can't get the Freedom Unlimited card, get one of the advanced options that earns Membership Reward points.
 
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Just be sure that you really value the free tickets at close to their regular cost. If you don’t place as high a premium on these seats, the value you’re really receiving can be much closer to the normal 2.5-3 cents per point. 
 
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<li>'''While these are the best combinations of cash-back rate and annual fees for most people, you may be able to do even better with one of our advanced options'''.
 
 
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=== Advanced options ===
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<li>'''Science, Art, History, and Specialty museums'''. A handful of museums are members of both the Science Museum program and of the North American Reciprocal Museum program. You'll need to pay at least $100 for any membership that includes NARM privelges. If you aren't interested, there are some Science Museum only options that are as low as $50/family, such as the [//www.eaa.org/shop/Membership/Join.aspx Experimental Aircraft Association].</li>
  
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For most people, the best options are to earn 1.5x Ultimate Reward points with the Freedom Unlimited combo, 2.5% cash-back with the Alliant Card, or 2% cash-back with one of the no-annual fee options.  
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<li>The [//kerncountymuseum.org/membership-1/ Kern County Museum] (Bakersfield, CA) also includes benefits in ROAM and at Children's Museums. Qualifying membership is $125/family, and also includes benefits at a hundreds of historical sites through the [//timetravelers.mohistory.org/ Time Travelers] program.</li>
  
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'''However, some people can earn even more valuable rewards with other general-purpose cards.'''
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<li>The [//www.cmog.org/get-involved/membership Corning Museum of Glass] (Corning, NY) and [//www.burkemuseum.org/membership Burke Museum] (Seattle, WA) also include benefits in ROAM, but memberships are more expensive. </li>
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<li>The [//greatex.org/memberships/ Great Explorations Children's Museum] (Saint Petersburg, FL) and [//www.theclaycenter.org/join/membership/ Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences] (Charleston, WV) also include benefits at Children's Museums. Qualifying memberships are $150 per family.</li>
  
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<li>A qualifying membership at the [//evansvillemuseum.org/product/patron-membership/ Evansville Museum of Art, History, and Science] (Evansville, IN) only costs $100, and includes the [//timetravelers.mohistory.org/ Time Travelers] program as well as NARM and ASTC.</li>  
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<li>'''If you are eligible for a business card, comfortable to use it for your personal purchases, and willing to redeem all your points for frequent flyer tickets, the most valuable general-purpose reward card is almost certainly the Amex Blue for Business Card'''. If you are committed to using your points for frequent flyer tickets, earning 2x Membership Reward points is better than earning 1.5x Ultimate Reward points. Just remember, that with Membership Reward points, you don't typically have good options for other types of redemptions.</li>
 
  
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<li>A qualifying membership [//minnetrista.net/home/about-minnetrista/get-involved/membership/ Minnestrista] (Muncie, IN) costs $125/family and also includes reciprocal benefits at [//ahsgardening.org/gardening-programs/rap/find/statebystate American Horticultural Society] members.</li>
  
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<li>'''If you are eligible for a business card, comfortable to use it for your personal purchases, and want to avoid being locked into frequent flyer redemptions, you can get the Ink Unlimited card, instead of the Freedom Unlimited card'''. Both cards earn the same 1.5x Ultimate Reward points on every purchase, but the Ink Unlimited card has a better signup bonus, and some extra benefits.  
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<li>Other options include the Powerhouse Science Center (Sacramento, CA), Yale Peabody Museum (New Haven, CT), Delaware Museum of Natural History (Wilmington, DE), Hagley Museum (Wilmington, DE), Museum of Arts and Sciences (Daytona Beach, FL), South Florida Museum (Bradenton, FL), Peoria Riverfront Museum (Peoria, IL), Indiana State Museum (Indianapolis, IN), Grout Museum District (Waterloo, IA), Berkshire Museum (Pittsfield, MA), Springfield Museums (Springfield, MA), Air Zoo (Portage, MI), Farmington Museum (Farmington, NM), Cape Fear Museum of History & Science (Wilmington, NC), The Works (Newark, OH), University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History (Eugene, OR), Reading Public Museum (Reading, PA), McDonald Observatory (Fort Davis, TX), The Reach (Richland, WA), and Wenatchee Valley Museum (Wenatchee, WA).</li>
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<li>'''Science and Children's Museums'''. There is a lot of overlap between the Science Museum and Children's Museum programs. Many museums belong to both. As listed above, the Boonshoft museum also includes membership in both programs plus the the Zoo program, the Kern Museum in both programs plus NARM and ROAM, and the Great Explorations and Clay Center in both programs plus NARM.</li>  
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<li>'''If you highly value premium-cabin award tickets, can earn enough points to redeem for them, and have the patience to find award space, you are always better off earning transferable points, rather than cash back'''. If you can't get the Sapphire Reserve / Unlimited combo, or use the Blue for Business Card, you should probably use the Amex EveryDay Preferred card. </li>  
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In order to earn enough points to make this card worthwhile, you'll need to make sure to use it for more than 30 purchases every month. If that doesn't seem likely, we've got some tricks that can help. {{Link|30 charges}}.
 
  
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<li>'''If you have $100,000 in investment or retirement assets that you would be willing to manage through Merrill Lynch, you can earn 2.625% cash back with the Bank of America Travel and Premium credit cards'''. That level of assets qualifies you for Bank of America "Platinum Honors" status, which gives you a 75% bonus for the rewards you earn from some Bank of America cards. The bonus boosts the earning rate from the Travel Rewards and Premium Rewards card from 1.5 cents per dollar to 2.625 cents per dollar (which is the highest long-term cash back rate available from any card). If you have assets at another broker, you can usually transfer them to a Merrill Edge account, and manage them there (at little or no additional costs), to qualify for the higher reward rate.</li>
 
  
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<li>'''If you are willing to signup for a new account each year, you can 3% cash back with the Discover Miles card'''. It earns 1.5% cash back, but gives you double the points at the end of your first year. The catch is that you'll have to get a new card ever year (and use up an credit card application slot) to maintain access to this effective 3% rate.</li>
 
  
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How reciprocal museum programs work

When you become a member of any museum or attraction in the program, you get free access to all of the other participating locations. For example, if you join the Science Museum in your home town, you can freely visit dozens of science museums all around the country.

  • You usually are only entitled to "standard" admission. You usually need to pay extra for special exhibits, IMAX movies, and other valued-added attractions. Because these extras are often available as part of a discounted package, if you want the full experience, your discount might not amount to that much.
  • Nearby museums are usually not included. With most programs, you WON'T get reciprocal access to any museums that are located close to your home museum. Sometimes "nearby" is defined by an official number of miles, other times it is any location in the same state, and sometimes it is ad-hoc. So, don't expect privileges with other museums in the same metropolitan area or state.
  • Joining an out-of-state museum can provide access to all the locations that are close to your home. If you want privileges at all the museums in your area, you can often join a museum in some other city, rather than your favorite nearby museum. While you'll be blocked at locations located nearby the institution you join, you won't be blocked at any of your local locations. There are some downsides to this approach. Your membership money will be supporting the museum you join, rather than the one in your area; and you won't be able to take advantage of many other membership benefits, such as access to special member's only visiting hours or events. With some programs, this approach isn't even possible, as you'll be blocked to local museums based on the address on your ID, rather than the address of the museum you belong to.
  • Reciprocal benefits are not available with many less expensive memberships. You'll need to join your local museum at a certain level. Each of the programs enforces a minimum membership cost to access reciprocal benefits. For example, no museum in the program can provide reciprocal benefits with any membership level that costs less than $100 per year.
  • You can often get a membership discount. The best place to check is Groupon, but other promotional codes are sometimes available.
  • The number of guests depends on the type of membership you have. Typically, if you have an individual membership, you'll reciprocal benefits only apply to one person. If you have a family membership, you'll receive benefits based on the family membership of the museum you are visiting, not your home museum.
  • Memberships are NOT typically based on the calendar year. They usually last for one year after you join. With some museums and attractions, it can take some time for you to receive your membership card. So, you'll need to apply weeks before you you plan to take advantage of any reciprocal benefits.
  • To get access, you'll need to carry your membership card. There is no way to look you up in some "member database". You'll need to have a valid membership card and photo ID.

Major reciprocal museum programs

While there are many smaller or more specialized reciprocal programs such as the Empire State Museums Reciprocal Program (mix of museums in New York state) or Connections (photography museums around the country), that may be interesting based on your location or interest, the following programs include the widest range of the most popular museums and attractions.

Art Museums

Unlike Science Museums, Zoos, and Children's Museums, Art Museum reciprocal programs are pretty fragmented. Some of the more significant programs include.

  • Metropolitan Reciprocal Membership Program. Includes 15 of the top art museums in the country, anchored by the Met in NYC.
    • MET.jpg
  • Art Museum Reciprocal Membership Program. Includes 15 of the top art museums in the country, anchored by Art Institute of Chicago. A few museums belong to both this program and the Met's program.
  • Museum Alliance Reciprocal Program (MARP). Includes 32 major US art museums, but not quite at the same overall level as the Met and Art Institute programs.
    • Guggenheim.jpg
  • Art Museum Reciprocal Network (AMRN). Similar to the MARP program, but a different cluster of major museums.
  • The Whitney Reciprocal Program. Unlike the other programs, this isn't a mutual alliance amongst a group of museums. Rather, joining the Whitney ($140/2) gives you access to 16 other museums in the US and Europe, and joining any of those museums gives you access to the Whitney. But the various partner museums don't necessarily have any reciprocal benefits between themselves.

Others

  • Association of Science and Technology Centers Travel Passport (ASTC). Provides benefits at over 350 museums in North America, plus a smattering of museums elsewhere in the world. Includes almost every large science museum, with the notable exceptions of the Exploratarium and the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and the Academy of Natural Sciences in New York. You won't have privileges at museums that are within 90 miles of your home address or your membership museum. Participating Museums.
    • BostonGenerator.jpg
  • North American Reciprocal Membership (NARM). This is the largest reciprocal museum program, with over 1,000 participating art, history, and specialty museums, primarily in the United States. Most of the hightest-profile museums are not members, but you'll get free access to many excellent museums in every corner of the country. Participating Museums.

    • Most Reciprocal Organization of Associated Museums (ROAM) members are also part of the much larger NARM program. But, if your membership includes both, you'll have access to some additional museums that are members are ROAM, but not NARM. Participating Museums.

  • Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Provides reciprocal benefits at over 150 North American zoos and aquariums. It includes most major zoos, but a few of the most significant zoos (including the San Diego Zoo Bronx Zoo, and Brookfield Zoo) don't participate, and it doesn't provide benefits at most major aquariums. Participating locations.

    • Unlike most of the other major programs, you usually only receive a 50% discount, rather than free admission. However, memberships with a smaller set of participating zoos and aquariums will give you free admission with that same set of locations (and 50% off everywhere else).

    KansasCityZoo.png
  • Association of Children's Museums (ACM). Provides benefits at around 200 different children's museums. Like the Zoo program, and unlike the other programs, you'll only receive 50% off the regular admission. Nearly every US children's museum participates, admission is good for up to six people, and the conveniently don't block privileges at nearby museums. Participating Museums.
  • Time Travelers. Provides benefits at more than 300 historical sites and museums throughout the United State. Participating Locations.

Access multiple programs with a single membership

Many museums belong to multiple reciprocal programs. Becoming a member one of these museums lets you enjoy the benefits of multiple programs for a single membership fee.

Art Museums

Others

  • Science museums and zoos. A handful of places are members of both the Science Museum and Zoo programs.
    • Qualifying membership at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery (Dayton, Ohio) costs $115 for a family, but provides the option to join at a $145 level and also qualify for the Children's Museum program. Both include free admission, rather than 50% off, at a subset of the participating Zoos.
      • BoonshoftMembershipLevels.png
    • Qualifying Membership at the Western North Carolina Nature Center (Asheville, NC) is only $34 for one person, $49 for two, and $69 for a family, and your membership entitles you to free admission, rather than 50% off at a subset of participating Zoos. At the Lake Superior Zoo (Duluth, Minnesota), qualifying family membership is only $75.
    • Other options are he CuriOdyssey (San Mateo, California), Museum of Science (Boston, Massachusetts), Greensboro Science Center (Greensboro, NC), and Museum of Life and Science (Durham, NC).
  • Science, Art, History, and Specialty museums. A handful of museums are members of both the Science Museum program and of the North American Reciprocal Museum program. You'll need to pay at least $100 for any membership that includes NARM privelges. If you aren't interested, there are some Science Museum only options that are as low as $50/family, such as the Experimental Aircraft Association.
    • The Kern County Museum (Bakersfield, CA) also includes benefits in ROAM and at Children's Museums. Qualifying membership is $125/family, and also includes benefits at a hundreds of historical sites through the Time Travelers program.
      • KernCounty.png
    • The Corning Museum of Glass (Corning, NY) and Burke Museum (Seattle, WA) also include benefits in ROAM, but memberships are more expensive.
    • The Great Explorations Children's Museum (Saint Petersburg, FL) and Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences (Charleston, WV) also include benefits at Children's Museums. Qualifying memberships are $150 per family.
    • A qualifying membership at the Evansville Museum of Art, History, and Science (Evansville, IN) only costs $100, and includes the Time Travelers program as well as NARM and ASTC.
    • A qualifying membership Minnestrista (Muncie, IN) costs $125/family and also includes reciprocal benefits at American Horticultural Society members.
    • Other options include the Powerhouse Science Center (Sacramento, CA), Yale Peabody Museum (New Haven, CT), Delaware Museum of Natural History (Wilmington, DE), Hagley Museum (Wilmington, DE), Museum of Arts and Sciences (Daytona Beach, FL), South Florida Museum (Bradenton, FL), Peoria Riverfront Museum (Peoria, IL), Indiana State Museum (Indianapolis, IN), Grout Museum District (Waterloo, IA), Berkshire Museum (Pittsfield, MA), Springfield Museums (Springfield, MA), Air Zoo (Portage, MI), Farmington Museum (Farmington, NM), Cape Fear Museum of History & Science (Wilmington, NC), The Works (Newark, OH), University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History (Eugene, OR), Reading Public Museum (Reading, PA), McDonald Observatory (Fort Davis, TX), The Reach (Richland, WA), and Wenatchee Valley Museum (Wenatchee, WA).
  • Science and Children's Museums. There is a lot of overlap between the Science Museum and Children's Museum programs. Many museums belong to both. As listed above, the Boonshoft museum also includes membership in both programs plus the the Zoo program, the Kern Museum in both programs plus NARM and ROAM, and the Great Explorations and Clay Center in both programs plus NARM.






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