Also see: Priority Pass by Credit Card: Guest Access and Access to Dining / Experiences
This one is going to sting for fans of the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture X Business Card.
There’s no doubt that different credit card companies and airlines have taken various approaches to try to cut down on overcrowding. For instance, The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express cardmembers no longer can bring a guest into a Centurion lounge without either a $50 fee ($30 for kids 2-17), but they can still bring two guests into a Priority Pass lounge.
Chase Sapphire Reserve cardmembers maintain the best possible policy of pure lounge access, which even includes airport “experiences” but excludes Priority Pass dining as do Amex and Capital One, as they can bring up to two guests into both Priority Pass lounges and Chase Sapphire lounges for free (and Ritz Carlton cardholders get unlimited guests!).
That said, the policy for Capital One is changing significantly.
The changes are similar but slightly different for Venture X and Venture X Business. I’ll highlight the key differences after the changes.
In this article
Venture X Lounge Access Changes for Primary Cardmembers
- Beginning February 1, 2026, additional cardholders on Venture X accounts and Venture X Business accounts will not automatically have airport lounge access. There will be a $125 charge to the primary cardholder to add lounge access to an authorized user card with a limit of 4 AU cards with lounge access. This will grant additional cardholders access to Capital One Lounges, Capital One Landings, and Priority Pass lounges.
- You can also spend $75,000 to continue to bring up to two complimentary guests to Capital One Lounges and one complimentary guest to Capital One Landings per visit. Even with that spend, you cannot bring guests into Priority Pass lounges without a $35 guest fee.
- You can keep the additional cardholders for no fee, they just won’t have lounge access.
- Venture X primary cardholders will continue to receive discounted pricing of $45 per guest per visit, and will now receive a discounted rate of $25 per visit per guest 17 and under at Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings, and $35 for even one Priority Pass guest, again, regardless of spending $75,000 on the card.
Venture X Lounge Access Changes for Authorized User Cards
- Primary cardholders and eligible additional cardholders that spend at least
$75,000 across their Venture X or account per calendar year can bring up to two complimentary guests to Capital One Lounges and one complimentary guest to Capital One Landings per visit. - Cardholder spend towards the $75,000 threshold begins in the 2025 calendar
year. Complimentary guest access is valid for the calendar year in which the $75,000 spend occurs and the following calendar year. - Venture X primary cardholders and eligible additional cardholders will continue to receive discounted pricing of $45 per guest per visit, and will now receive a discounted rate of $25 per visit per guest 17 and under at Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings; Venture X Business is the same fee at Capital One lounges, but Venture X primary cardholders will pay $35 for even one Priority Pass guest while Venture X Business primary cardholders get two guests complimentary at Priority Pass lounges.
- Children under two remain free.
Venture X Business Lounge Access Changes for Primary Cardmembers
- Priority Pass Lounges: Venture X Business primary cardholders will continue to receive complimentary access for two guests at Priority Pass lounges. Beginning Feb. 1, 2026, eligible additional cardholders will also receive complimentary access for two guests at Priority Pass lounges.
- Primary cardholders and eligible additional cardholders will also be able to bring more than two guests into Priority Pass lounges at a rate of $35 for each additional guest per visit.
- Capital One Lounges and Landings: Beginning Feb. 1, 2026, guests of Venture X Business cardholders will no longer automatically receive complimentary access to Capital One Lounges and Landings.
- Primary cardholders and eligible additional cardholders that spend at least $75,000 total across all cardholders on their Venture X Business account per calendar year can bring up to two complimentary guests to Capital One Lounges and one complimentary guest to Capital One Landings per visit.
- Cardholder spend toward the $75,000 threshold begins in the 2025 calendar year. Complimentary guest access is valid for the calendar year in which the $75,000 spend occurs and the following calendar year. Venture X Business primary cardholders and eligible additional cardholders will continue to receive discounted pricing of $45 per guest per visit, and will now receive a discounted rate of $25 per visit per guest 17 and under. Venture X Business additional cardholders will now receive discounted pricing of $45 per guest per visit and $25 per visit per guest 17 and under. Children under two remain free.
Venture X Business Lounge Access Changes for Authorized User Cards
- Beginning Feb. 1, 2026, primary cardholders on Venture X Business accounts who want to add lounge access for their additional cardholders will have the ability to pay an annual lounge access fee of $125 per cardholder to grant them access to Capital One Lounges, Capital One Landings and Priority Pass lounges.
- You can still keep or add additional cardholders without lounge access for no fee.
If you wish to add lounge access, you can do so for up to four additional cardholders. You will have the option to do so beginning on Feb. 1, 2026.
Key Differences Between Venture X and Venture X Business Lounge Access Changes
- Venture X Business retains two guests per visit on Priority Pass lounges ($35 for more than 2) while Venture X (personal) cards get none. They’ll pay $35 for even one guest.
My Take
This is…. unfortunate.
I only had my very first experience at a Capital One lounge a few weeks ago at DFW after presenting at Frequent Traveler University. I did enjoy it and found it similar to a Chase Sapphire lounge, although without the made-to-order dishes at the Sapphire lounges.
(I’m told they do have that – on steroids – at their Capital One Landings lounges but there is only one currently, at DCA, although another one is shown on the walls at LGA as coming soon with celebrity chef Jose Andres heading up the kitchen.)
I’m going to write up another article ASAP with lounge access rules / restrictions / guest access ASAP but the bottom line is this:
I have known for some time that something had to give on the Venture X and Venture X Business cards. The benefits are very rich for what amounts to a net negative annual fee (at $395 with a $300 annual portal travel credit and 10,000 points at renewal, they essentially pay you $5 to have the card).
I was never going to be surprised at a change to their lounge access – especially the unlimited authorized users each getting their own free Priority Pass and C1 lounge access. I mean, let’s be real, that was unsustainable but I’m sure it brought many into the ecosystem that wouldn’t have otherwise and so I think that worked as intended.
However, they have gone from having the richest lounge access policy to the worst of the major US issuers. In my opinion, which matters not at all, the one thing they could have done to at least maintain parity with Amex is to have left two Priority Pass guests. As they’ve done it, now, there is no way at all to use a Capital One Venture X consumer card to bring a guest in for free.
That puts a couple or family in a bind as now they are weighing a $35 per visit fee at Priority Pass ($45 at Capital One lounges), a $125 fee for an AU card (but a kid can’t get that so a kid aged 2-17 is paying $25 regardless), or the $75,000 a year on the card which as I say with the Amex Platinum, is usually not worth it compared to putting that same spend on card with bonus categories (not to mention welcome bonus offers on new cards). At least with VX and VXB, you are earning 2X miles per dollar (vs 1 on Amex Platinum) so it’s maybe slightly more feasible? It’s still a LOT of spend on one card.
The bottom line for me is that when I travel with my wife and son, we’ll either be using Chase lounges or Priority Pass lounges (I have the Ritz Carlton card so we are all free at Chase or Priority Pass lounges). In a pinch, since my wife also has an Amex Platinum, we could just pay the child fee to go there, but even that fee for a 3 year old irks me.
I’ll keep the Venture X for me to have access to the lounges as I travel far more for work than my family does, but for maybe 4-5 trips a year as a family, I can’t see doing any of the paid options. The math doesn’t math. And while I could see getting on parity with Amex (despite fewer lounges), I don’t get going a step lower on the lagger.
All in all, given all the cards that come with Priority Pass guest access, I simply find the no guests at all to be an odd move by Capital One. Still love their Miles and the lounges (at least the one I’ve been to ;-)) and the overall Venture X product, but I don’t love this move.
Thoughts?
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