The bank is the latest airport lounge operator to erode perks that were once a given. Guests and additional card users will no longer routinely get in for free.
Capital One is tightening access to its exclusive airport lounges, no longer allowing all premium credit cardholders to extend free entry to additional cardholders and guests.
Starting early next year, Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders will no longer have this perk to offset the card’s nearly $400 annual fee. In its email announcing the changes to customers on Tuesday, Capital One cited the popularity of its lounges — which feature chef-curated menus, specialty cocktails and relaxation amenities — and the ensuing long waits to enter.
Lounge access for each additional cardholder will now cost $125 annually on a Venture X or Venture X Business account, and the cost for guests will hinge on how much credit card users spend. Cardholders and authorized users who spend more than $75,000 a year can continue to bring two guests to the lounges and one guest to the bank’s Landings locations, which are a lounge-restaurant hybrid, for no additional fee. Those who don’t meet this threshold will pay $45 per adult guest and $25 for each guest 17 years old and under. Children under 2 will remain free.
“We thought carefully about these changes, and we remain committed to delivering a differentiated premium travel card for our customers,” a bank spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
While Venture X Business cardholders will still be allowed to bring two guests to Priority Pass lounges — a separate network of exclusive lounges in which Capital One participates — with no additional fees, Venture X cardholders will pay $35 per guest to get in.