Please sign in to post.

Getting the annual Museumkaart (Museum Card)

Now that the temporary Museumkaart is limited to 5 visits (this started in 2018), it can be an OK deal, but just barely. But f you have the annual card then for a longer visit it is truly a good deal.

My son is currently studying at Maastricht University and we will be joining him and then spending 12 days in the Netherlands. According to Rick's book, you can purchase a temporary pass, then register the card online, including a photo and some other info and they will send it to you.

Since my son is a temporary resident, I was thinking he could purchase two temporary passes at a local museum, and then we could register and have them sent to his address before we arrive so we can take full advantage of this.

So first off, does anyone know if there are any issues with him purchasing two temporary cards? (My guess is no issue, since you can purchase them as gifts).

But more importantly, on this web page, https://www.amsterdamtips.com/museumkaart, I found the following:

Registering a temporary Museumkaart is possible with any EU or UK address. You need to upload a passport-style profile photo and give a bank account (IBAN/BIC) number to pay a one-off €3.25 admin fee. The full annual card will then be sent out by standard mail to your address.

My son does not have a Netherlands bank account - he has simply been using his Credit Card.

In Rick's book, he simply says you pay an additional €4.95 fee and they will mail the card to your address. No mention that it requires a IBAN/IBIC number.

So is Rick's info outdated, or is there a process by which you can pay be credit card for that upgrade?

I looked at the museum.nl web site, which seems to be the official site for the card but could find no clear answer on this.

Posted by
1587 posts

The information given by RS is indeed outdated. The only way to register a museumkaart now is to follow the process as you described. And in order to follow that process you need a European bank account that has an IBAN. The reason why you need to enter a bank account number is so that both the registration fee and the annual renewal fee for the museumkaart can be deducted from your bank account. In the Netherlands payment by credit card is very uncommon, especially for things like a Museumkaart, and fees for merchants are high. That’s why there is no option to pay by credit card.