Using Your Benefits · cardholder perks

EBT Cardholder Discounts & Perks: Museums, Internet, Prime, Transit & More (2026)

Most people think the EBT card only buys food. It does much more. The same card that proves you get SNAP also unlocks a long list of discounts — near-free museum days, half-price Amazon Prime and Walmart+, cheap home internet, reduced bus and train fares, and discounted grocery delivery. None of it is automatic; you have to know the program exists and ask. This is the verified-as-of-June-2026 list, with exactly who qualifies and the official sign-up link for each. Prices change, so we link the source for every one.

Last reviewed: 2026-06-01

Museums for All — $1 to $5 admission at 1,600+ places

This is the best-kept secret on the list. Show your EBT card plus a photo ID at any participating institution and admission drops to somewhere between free and $5, for up to four people on one card, during all normal hours. No registration, no application — just show the card at the desk.

It is not only museums. More than 1,600 institutions take part across all 50 states, DC, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the list includes a lot of zoos, aquariums, science centers, and botanical gardens. Search your city on the official map before you plan a family outing.

Official map: museums4all.org.

Amazon Prime Access — $6.99/month instead of $14.99

Amazon offers a discounted Prime membership (now called Prime Access) for people on government assistance: $6.99 a month, half the standard $14.99, with the full set of Prime benefits — fast shipping, Prime Video, the lot. There is a 30-day free trial, and you re-verify your eligibility every 12 months.

You qualify with SNAP/EBT, and also with Medicaid, WIC, SSI, TANF, LIHEAP, the National School Lunch Program, Direct Express, or Tribal TANF — so even if your SNAP ends, you may still keep the discount through another program.

Sign up: Amazon Prime Access.

Walmart+ Assist — 50% off the membership

Walmart+ Assist gives qualifying customers 50% off Walmart+ — about $6.47 a month or $49 a year, versus the regular $12.95/$98. It is the full membership, not a stripped-down tier: free delivery, member fuel prices, and the Scan & Go app all included.

Eligibility is broad: SNAP, Medicaid, WIC, SSI, TANF, LIHEAP, federal public housing, a veterans pension, or a Pell Grant. You verify once through Walmart's partner and the discount applies.

Details: walmart.com/plus/assist.

Cheap home internet — the honest state of it in 2026

First, the bad news so you do not waste time on it: the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which gave $30/month off internet, ended on June 1, 2024. Congress did not refund it. If a site or a person tells you to sign up for ACP, the information is out of date.

What still works: Lifeline, the older federal program, takes up to $9.25/month off a phone or internet bill (up to $34.25 on Tribal lands). And several providers run their own low-income plans — Comcast Internet Essentials is $14.95/month for 75 Mbps, and your Lifeline benefit can stack on top to bring it down near $5.70. You qualify for both with SNAP.

Lifeline: lifelinesupport.org. Internet Essentials: xfinity.com/learn/internet-service/internet-essentials. One caveat: Lifeline's eligibility rules are being tightened under recent federal law, so confirm you still qualify when you apply.

Reduced bus and train fares

A growing number of transit systems now give SNAP recipients half-price or free rides — this expanded a lot in 2025. A few live programs: Metro LIFE in Los Angeles (a free 90-day pass, then discounted fares), Metro Lift across the DC/Maryland/Virginia region, the RTA Access reduced-fare pilot in the Chicago area (running through the end of 2026), Equifare in Austin, and Allegheny Go (half off) in Pittsburgh.

Search your local transit agency's name plus "reduced fare SNAP" — if your city is not listed above, it may still have a program.

Discounted grocery delivery — and using SNAP online

You can already spend SNAP online for eligible groceries at Walmart, Amazon, many regional chains, and on Instacart. On top of that, Instacart offers Instacart+ at $4.99/month for a year (half off) if you have placed an EBT order in the last six months. Delivery fees can eat into a tight budget, so weigh it against picking up in person.

Instacart EBT: instacart.com/ebt-snap.

Parks, zoos, and state-specific passes

Beyond the Museums for All zoos and aquariums, some states run their own outdoor passes. California's Golden Bear Pass, for example, gives free day-use vehicle entry to more than 200 state parks and beaches to households on EBT. Individual zoos also discount on their own — Cincinnati Zoo charges roughly $6 for adults with EBT, and Mystic Aquarium is free for Connecticut and Rhode Island SNAP households (up to four people).

These are state- and facility-specific, so check your own state parks department and your nearest zoo or aquarium directly.

How to actually use these

Three habits make the difference. Carry your EBT card and a photo ID when you go out — most of the in-person perks (museums, zoos) need both at the counter. Re-verify when asked — Amazon and Walmart re-check eligibility yearly, and missing the email quietly bumps you back to full price. And do not pay for any of these through a third-party "EBT discount" site — every program here is free to enroll in through the official links above. Anyone charging you a fee to "unlock EBT perks" is running a scam.

For what the card buys at the register, see what you can buy with SNAP, or check a specific item in the eligible-item lookup.

Programs and prices verified June 2026. Discount amounts and eligibility change — confirm current terms at each official link before you rely on them.

Sources

Lost benefits or worried about losing them? Run the 5-question lost-benefits triage — appeal timing, emergency food, and alternative programs in one walkthrough.