When you travel, you can get free reciprocal benefits at museums around America.

Most people don’t know that in many cases, if you have a museum membership, you could have free access to hundreds more.

Two programs — the North American Reciprocal Museum Association (NARM) and the Reciprocal Organization of Associated Museums (ROAM) — offer free admission to museums all over North America. NARM covers nearly 1,500 museums, and ROAM covers about 600, and you can gain access to them by becoming a paid member of a participating museum.

Some museums even participate in both, which means you can unlock two networks with just one membership.

Here’s the trick: some museums will charge thousands of dollars for reciprocal benefits, while others offer them for as low as $100. Do a little research, pick the least expensive museum membership, and you’ll get a membership card that works nationwide. And you don’t have to travel often to make this cost-effective.

It’s really one of the better travel deals around.