Reader Thank You: Museum Memberships
We often get thanked for the information we help share with other families and saving money. Every once in a while a great note comes along, and below is one I would like to share. A friend of mine from high school initially asked via Facebook on recommendations on museum memberships for her family. I chimed in mentioning the pros and cons of the various museums she was looking to join, and pointed out the best benefit of these programs, the reciprocal admission to other museums.
I know it has been awhile, [but I] wanted to let you know we ended up getting a pass to the History Museum. I figure with the cost difference [between a Natural History Museum membership versus Science Center membership), I could pay towards a single trip to the Science Center next year to see if we like it better before we renew. I cannot believe more people do not take advantage of this.
We just got our pass last week, visited the Natural History Museum and tomorrow we are going to COSI. In 1 week we have the pass paid for. Everything else is now FREE!!! We are planning a trip to Pittsburgh in June and plan on using it at the Children’s Museum. I am also going to check out where else we can go for upcoming vacations we have planned. When I had the idea, I am glad you gave me some hints. Sometimes I feel like my ideas are crazy, but you chiming in let me know this is a great idea. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Thanks!
Our family has been longtime members of the Cleveland Zoo, which grants us 50% off the price of admission to 130+ other zoos around the country. We have also written extensively about discounted memberships that have appeared on Groupon (Los Angeles and Philadelphia).
It makes me extremely happy to see families out there traveling and enjoying their surroundings, all while saving money. Do you have a success story you would like to share?
Save Money, Travel More!
Source: InACents
We’ve purchased annual memberships for years mainly because of the reciprocal benefits that we receive. My kids are older now so we don’t often purchase museum memberships anymore, but last year we did buy one for The Wilds and the Columbus Zoo. Since my husband and I now pay adult prices for our kids, our Wilds membership paid for itself on that first trip. We could have paid $150 for an open air tour for the five of us ($30 each) and instead opted to purchase a membership for $125! We could have paid $110 but we opted to upgrade to the Family Plus which allowed us to return as often as we liked and take two guests on each visit. Earlier this month I took my parents’ and last week, I visited again with another family member. You also receive 50% off entrance to the Columbus Zoo, but we decided to support the zoo as well for an extra $75 for the year and received the same benefits– my family plus 2 guests. Memberships have saved my family thousands of dollars over the years.