My credit card application strategy for this year just shifted. With Capital One making drastic cuts to lounge access privileges — particularly for guests and authorized users — here’s why I no longer plan to apply for the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
Decreased Lounge Access With the Capital One Venture X Card
Since 2021, the Capital One Venture X card boasted an incredibly generous list of lounge benefits — more so than other premium credit card. The offerings were especially generous when you consider that competing cards charged annual fees of $550 (or more), yet the Capital One Venture X card charges just $395 annually (rates & fees).
Before March 1, 2025, the Capital One Venture X card was offering the following:
However, that has since changed when the issuer announced that Capital One Venture X card and Capital One Venture X Business Card holders would no longer have access to Plaza Premium Lounges.
Since many Plaza Premium Lounges also participate in Priority Pass, this wasn’t a massive change. That said, if you enter a lounge using your Capital One Venture X card benefits instead of your Priority Pass membership, the time you’re allowed to stay and the amenities available may be different.
This Plaza Premium lounge change alone did not change my view of the Capital One Venture X card, but the most recent lounge news on June 3, 2025, sure did. The issuer announced sweeping cuts to guest privileges on the Capital One Venture X Business card and Capital One Venture X card, which will go into effect on February 1, 2026:
- Now Until January 31, 2026
- After February 1, 2026
- Authorized Users: Add up to 4 authorized users with no annual fee (rates & fees) to grant them full lounge privileges. Can still add authorized users for no annual fee (rates & fees), though you must pay $125 per authorized user to grant them full lounge privileges (rates & fees).
- Capital One Lounges: Bring up to 2 guests at no cost. Spend $75,000 annually on your card to earn guest privileges (up to 2 guests per visit), or Pay a per-visit guest fee of $45 per adult or $25 for children ages 2-17.
- Capital One Landings: Can bring 1 guest at no cost. Spend $75,000 annually on your card to earn guest privileges (1 guest per visit), or Pay a per-visit guest fee of $45 per adult or $25 for children ages 2-17.
- Priority Pass Lounges: Unlimited guests at no cost, subject to space restraints at the lounge. Pay $35 per guest.
No Longer The Best Lounge Access Credit Card
There are a lot of changes to digest. Applying for any credit card should always include a commitment to hold the card for at least a year, in order to not upset the issuing bank and risk your future relationship with that bank, risk losing your welcome bonus, or risk damage to your credit report.
If I were to apply for the Capital One Venture X card now, I would experience significant changes to authorized users and lounge guest benefits — all within the first year of holding the card.
This means I won’t be allowed to bring my wife into the lounge unless I pay $125 annually to give my wife an authorized user card (rates & fees), pay a $35 to $45 guest fee, or spend handsomely on the card. None of those options feels ideal.
Since I no longer see the Capital One Venture X card as a good match between my airport lounge desires and my travel style, applying for it no longer makes sense for me. I’ll wait until it has a larger welcome bonus (if it ever does) to provide more value in exchange for these lost lounge offerings.
For context, I currently use The Platinum Card® from American Express as my primary lounge access card. It provides access to numerous lounges in the Amex Global Lounge Collection and a Priority Pass membership (which requires enrollment) that allows me to bring up to 2 guests to most lounges. I’ll be sticking with this card, rather than my previous plan of shifting to the Capital One Venture X card as my method of accessing airport lounges.
Bottom Line: How you value credit card benefits can vary greatly, and it’s often personal. As I evaluated the loss of guest privileges at Priority Pass, loss of direct access to Plaza Premium, and the $75,000 spending requirement to get guest privileges at the handful of Capital One Lounges, applying for the Capital One Venture X card as a go-to premium card for lounge perks no longer made sense.
Final Thoughts
Over the past 3 months, the Capital One Venture X card has suffered from 2 announcements that reduced its lounge benefits for cardholders. Cardholders already lost direct access to Plaza Premium Lounges, and they’ll lose benefits for both guests and authorized users in early 2026.
There will still be options to bring guests into lounges going forward, but they’ll come with a sizable cost — something that made me decide I’ll no longer apply for this card in 2025.
Source: Upgraded Points
