If you have a Bank of America, Merrill, or Bank of America Private Bank credit or debit card, you can get access to 8 museums in NYC for free on September 5 and 6, 2026. No registration or promo code. Just show your physical Bank of America card and a matching photo ID at the door. BofA's Museums on Us® program can cover general admission at institutions like The Met, MoMA, and the Intrepid, which can run $30 or more per person on a normal day.

The Museums on Us program runs on the first full weekend of every month, and September 2026's dates fall on the weekend right before Labor Day, since Monday, September 7 is the holiday. Expect a lot of people stretching this into a three-day weekend, so crowds will be heavier than a typical weekend, but the savings are real. This guide breaks down every participating NYC location, what's included and what isn't, and a few picks worth planning your Saturday or Sunday around.

TL;DR

• Show your physical Bank of America card and ID at the door to get free entry to eligible NYC museums on September 5-6, 2026 (the first full weekend of September)

• Effectively save $30+ per museum visit at spots like MoMA, The Met, and the Intrepid without paying for general admission

• Digital wallets won't always work, and restrictions apply: the Intrepid excludes the Space Shuttle Pavilion and submarine, while the Jewish Museum only opens Sunday

• Sign up for nextcard Notifs so you can get reminded to use the Museums on Us benefit every month, before the relevant weekend passes

All The Free NYC Museums You Can Visit with Bank of America Museums on Us in September 2026

Bank of America cardholders can access 8 museums in NYC, on September 5 and September 6, 2026, as part of Bank of America's Museums on Us® program. This benefit is available to cardholders on the first full weekend of every month. Popular, eligible Bank of America cards include Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card, Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card, and Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card. The Museums on Us program covers one general admission per cardholder at each participating location. Authorized users are not eligible for the program. Here's the NYC list:

The NYC lineup covers art, science, history, and design across three boroughs. Most locations are in Manhattan, with the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx and the Staten Island Children's Museum rounding out the list on Staten Island. Whether you want to spend a quiet morning at The Cloisters or take kids through the Intrepid's flight deck, there are many options for Bank of America cardholders.

One thing worth flagging. The Jewish Museum is the only location restricted to Sunday, so if Saturday is your only free day, skip that one. Participating institutions can shift from month to month, so it's worth confirming directly with each museum before you visit. You can also check the list of eligible institutions through Bank of America's full list of participating partners.

What to Know Before You Go to These Museums in September 2026

You'll need two things at the door:

1. your active Bank of America, Merrill, or Bank of America Private Bank credit or debit card and

2. a valid government-issued photo ID.

The name on the ID has to match the cardholder, and the offer covers only the cardholder, so friends and family pay regular admission unless they carry their own eligible card.

Digital wallets are a gray area. The program's official language says to present a physical card, so leaving yours at home is a gamble. As a reminder, authorized users do not qualify for the Museums on Us program benefits.

High-traffic spots like MoMA and The Met can sometimes enforce timed entry or capacity limits, especially on holiday weekends, which are factors outside the program's control. September 5-6, 2026 falls on the weekend right before Labor Day, which means heavier crowds than usual.

Museums on Us can't be combined with other promotional offers, meaning existing memberships and local resident pricing operate on separate tracks. If you already hold a membership at one of these spots, save it for another visit if you're visiting during the first full weekend of the month.

NYC Museum Picks Worth Planning Around This September

Each of these museums brings something different to the table, so picking the right one depends on what you're in the mood for. Here are a few standouts worth building your July weekend around:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met Fifth Avenue)

Sitting along the edge of Central Park, The Met Fifth Avenue is best for visitors who want the biggest, most classic New York museum experience. Its collections span more than 1.5 million objects, with major works in Egyptian art, Greek and Roman art, European paintings, Asian art, Islamic art, arms and armor, American art, fashion, musical instruments, photography, and modern and contemporary art. September 2026 is also a strong time to visit because Giacometti in the Temple of Dendur is in its final days, running through September 8, making this Museums on Us weekend one of the last chances to catch it before it closes. Costume Art is also still on view and is scheduled to run through January 10, 2027.

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

Set in Midtown Manhattan, MoMA is best for visitors who want a focused experience into modern and contemporary art, design, photography, film, architecture, and media. Its collection includes nearly 200,000 works, with familiar anchors like Van Gogh, Matisse, Warhol, Kahlo, Duchamp, and major postwar and contemporary artists. September 2026 is also a strong time to visit because Pierre Huyghe: UUmwelt and Architects of Liberation: Modernism in Western Africa, both of which opened in July, remain on view, alongside the ongoing exhibitions on Marcel Duchamp and Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Docked at Pier 86 on the Hudson River, the Intrepid Museum is best for visitors who want history, engineering, aviation, and space exploration in a hands-on setting. Its major exhibits include the aircraft carrier Intrepid, the space shuttle Enterprise, the submarine Growler, the British Airways Concorde, historic aircraft, and the family-friendly Exploreum. Summer 2026 is also a strong time to visit because rotating exhibitions include Final Flight: The Story of a WWII Corsair, On the Mend: Restoring Intrepid’s Sick Bay, and Kamikaze: Beyond the Fire. Even if you only have a short window, the flight deck adds extra value, with open-air views over the Hudson and Manhattan.

Staten Island Children’s Museum

Located on the Snug Harbor campus, the Staten Island Children’s Museum is best for families with younger children who want a playful, hands-on museum day outside the faster pace of Manhattan. Its exhibit areas include House About It, Bugs and Other Insects, Great Explorations, Sea of Boats, Ladder 11, a veterinary clinic, Portia’s Playhouse, the Garden Terrace, and Big Games. July is also a strong time to visit because the surrounding Snug Harbor grounds and gardens make it easy to pair indoor exhibits with outdoor time.

How to Track Your Bank of America Benefits with nextcard

Museums on Us is one of the simpler Bank of America perks to remember, since it follows the same first-full-weekend schedule each month. But other card benefits can be much easier to overlook. If you carry the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card, for example, the up to $100 in Airport Security Statement Credit credit resets once every 4 years, making it the kind of perk that's difficult to keep track of in your head.

That’s why it helps to track your card benefits in one place. nextcard shows your Bank of America benefits and reset timelines together, so you’re not relying on memory, old statements, or scattered spreadsheets to figure out what credits and benefits you still have left to use. The free tier supports unlimited manual credit tracking, while nextcard Pro adds automated Plaid tracking to sync eligible transactions automatically and help make sure valuable credits don’t slip through the cracks.

Never Miss Museums on Us Again with nextcard notifs

Museums on Us resets on the first full weekend of every month, which makes it surprisingly easy to forget about by the time the next month rolls around. The benefit is free money sitting on your card and it can quietly pass if you don't have something nudging you before the weekend hits.

That's what nextcard Notifs are built for. Sign up and you'll get a reminder before each Museums on Us weekend so you're not scrambling to remember the dates mid-Saturday. The future dates to participate can be the kind of thing that slips unless you've got a system. nextcard Notifs handle that for you, month after month, without you having to think about it.

FAQs

What counts as the first full weekend for Museums on Us in September 2026?

Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 6, 2026. A "full weekend" means both Saturday and Sunday fall within the calendar month, so any partial weekend where only one day lands on the weekend would not count.

Does Apple Pay or a digital wallet work for Museums on Us admission?

This is a gray area. Some cardholders on forums like Reddit have reported that they've successfully been granted admission by logging into their Bank of America account. Still, the Bank of America site says to bring a physical credit or debit card presented alongside a government-issued photo ID. Showing a digital wallet at the desk will not guarantee admission.

Do authorized users on my Bank of America card get their own free admission?

No, authorized users do not get their own free admission. Only primary cardholders are eligible for the benefit, meaning no guest passes.

Does the benefit cover special exhibitions at NYC museums?

No. Any special exhibitions, ticketed exhibitions, enhanced experiences, or additional offerings are typically not included and must be purchased separately. The best way to verify which exhibitions are included would be to call the front desk of the participating institution.

Can I use Museums on Us at the same museum multiple times if I have multiple Bank of America cards?

The benefit is one free general admission per cardholder, not per card. Holding three Bank of America cards still gets you one entry per museum per weekend. A different household member with their own eligible Bank of America card and matching ID qualifies separately.

If you're looking to add a card to gain access to this benefit, take a look at the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card: it currently has a limited time welcome bonus of $250 (after meeting qualifying spend requirements).