With restaurant-quality meals, craft cocktails curated at famous bars, and wellness amenities like zero-gravity nap pods, Capital One is a compelling case for certain cardholders to arrive early at the airport. For years, the company has boasted one of the industry’s most popular lounge access policies. Venture X’s main cardholders and Venture Name Card Primary Card Holders boast all Capital One Lounges and Landings, and Priority Pass Lounges (a global network of another network of 1,700 lounges).
But with more people signing up for those cards and waiting times to access the lounge are intensifying (for this writer, it’s 45-60 minutes to enter the capital 1 lounge at his home airport in Denver), the company continues to adjust its policies to tackle the challenges of overcrowding. That latest move: We recently announced more stringent entry restrictions. This eliminates free guest access as of February 1, 2026.
The primary card holder enjoys free access to the brand’s four lounges (Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, New York JFK, Washington Dulles) and two landings (a restaurant-style space currently available only at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC). It is scheduled to open second at LaGuardia later this year. However, if you want friends or family to join as guests, you will need to pay in the range of $25 to $45 per guest (more details below, unless it’s a high-priced Venture X business card holder).
Capital One has announced the move to cardholders via email. “As airport lounges are becoming more and more popular across the industry, we’ve seen customers encounter more and more waiting times before they can enter,” the email said. “It is important to maintain a great airport lounge experience for Venture X and Venture X business customers while continuing to offer best-in-class premium travel cards at accessible prices.” The same-worded sign has since appeared in Capital One Network’s lounges.
Once the new policy comes into effect, Venture X cardholders who want to take guests to Capital will have one lounge and landings will require $45 and $25 per adult per guest under the age of 17 (children under the age of 2 will remain free). Guest prices at the Priority Pass Lounge are $35.
New policy change exceptions
Venture X’s business card holders can take advantage of two exceptions to policy changes: First, two free guests are allowed to use the preferred pass lounge (not the Capital 1 lounge and landing; new guest fees still not apply). Big spenders are also making profits. Anyone who charges more than $75,000 on a card in a calendar year is permitted to bring two guests to a Capital 1 lounge or one guest, and land the rest of the year and all the following year for free.
Similarly, certified users (users who are allowed to charge on their cards rather than their primary card holder) will lose free lounge access. However, the primary card holder can add lounge access to other cardholder accounts by paying $125 per card.
The new fee is still less than buying a single visit lounge pass ($90 for a Venture X or Venture X business cardless visitors), but the new policy could lead cardholders to revisit their credit card strategies.
The newly announced changes to Capital One provide the latest examples of airlines and credit card companies that have significantly changed their lounge entry policies. In February 2025, Delta Air Lines introduced restrictions on the popular Sky Club lounge, limiting annual visits by credit card travelers based on which credit card travelers hold. United have reorganized its lounge membership program to introduce increased guest fees and annual fees. Meanwhile, some issuers also reduced lounge benefits, including American Express, which previously allowed two free guests per cardholder, but began charging $50 per guest in 2023.
