Frequent flyers, take note! Capital One has just cut ties with Plaza Premium Group, impacting lounge access for Venture X cardholders. Here’s what you need to know about the changes affecting 53 airports worldwide.
Effective immediately, holders of the popular Capital One Venture X Rewards credit card and Capital One Venture X Business card no longer have access to 20 airport lounges operated by Plaza Premium. They’ll also experience restrictions at 72 additional clubs.
In this post:
What’s changing?
Up until February 28th, 2025, the Capital One Venture X lounge network included:
- 4 Capital One Lounge and one Capital One Landing location at Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW), Denver (DEN), Las Vegas (LAS), Washington Dulles (IAD), and Washington National (DCA) airports, accessible upon presentation of a Venture X Rewards or Venture X Business card.
- Over 1,200 lounges affiliated with Priority Pass, accessible upon presentation of a card holder’s Priority Pass membership. (Card members must activate their Priority Pass benefit prior to visiting Priority Pass lounges.)
- 92 Plaza Premium lounges, which included both Plaza Premium-branded lounges and airline or independent clubs that are operated or marketed by Plaza Premium Group. Card holders would present their Venture X card to visit Plaza Premium lounges.
As of March 1st, 2025, Plaza Premium lounges are no longer part of the Capital One Venture X lounge network.
The good news: 72 Plaza Premium lounges remain accessible through Priority Pass. The bad news: The terms of access have become more restrictive.
You’ll notice subtle but important changes when visiting Plaza Premium lounges going forward:
- Stay duration: Capital One Venture X card holders used to be able to visit Plaza Premium up to three hours before their departure time. Going forward, access will only be granted two hours prior. With many airlines boarding up to an hour in advance, this means just one hour of lounge time, which drastically reduces the value of lounge access on layovers. (Fortunately, you can stay as long as you want in the event of a flight delay, at least unofficially.)
- Guest policy: Under the previous arrangement, you could invite unlimited guests. Going forward, you’ll only be able to bring two guests to Plaza Premium operated lounges. (The silver lining is that many lounges are crowded, so perhaps access restrictions aren’t necessarily a bad thing.)
- Shower fees: Going forward, you’ll need to pay in order to use showers at Plaza Premium lounges. This marks another significant downgrade in the quality of the experience. (Private rooms and spa treatments, where available, have always been a-la-carte; there is no change to this policy.)
- Credentials: Going forward, you’ll need to present your physical or digital Priority Pass credentials in order to visit Plaza Premium lounges—your credit card won’t suffice.
- Waitlist priority: While this varies by location, empirical evidence suggests that Priority Pass members tend to be prioritized lower on the waitlist when a lounge is at capacity.
What’s not changing?
While it’s difficult to put a positive spin on benefit erosion, the core value proposition of the Capital One Venture X cards isn’t changing much overall.
- Venture X card holders continue to enjoy unlimited complimentary access to 5 Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landing lounges in the US. Upcoming locations include New York JFK and New York LaGuardia.
- The Priority Pass benefit is not changing. Venture X cards holders can still visit 1,200+ airport lounges worldwide. Capital One Venture X Rewards Card additional users are also eligible for a complimentary Priority Pass membership—a unique benefit that makes the card a standout among its peers. (Note that this benefit does not apply to the Capital One Venture X Business card.)
- Capital One Venture X card holders can still visit 72 Plaza Premium-affiliated lounges out of 92, although with the aforementioned restrictions.
Capital One Venture X card holders no longer have access to 20 airport lounges
Here is the full list of Plaza Premium Group-operated airport lounges that are now off-limits to Capital One Venture X Rewards credit card and Capital One Venture X Business card holders.
- Barranquilla Ernesto Cortissoz (BAQ):
- Bogotá Eldorado (BOG):
- Bucaramanga Palonegro (BGA):
- Cancún (CUN):
- Jakarta Soekarno Hatta (CGK):
- Kuala Lumpur (KUL):
- Macau SAR (MFM):
- Medellin Jose Maria Cordova (MDE):
- Rio De Janeiro Galeao (GIG):
- San Salvador (SAL):
- Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU):
- Sydney Kingsford Smith (SYD):
- Vancouver, BC (YVR):
It’s worth pointing out that the list above only captures lounges that were accessible as of February 28, 2025. Several Plaza Premium Lounges were never accessible to Capital One credit card holders, while others were quietly dropped over the last 12 months.
The impact of these changes will vary by location. While some airports have many alternative lounges available, some travelers will feel the pain. For example, the only alternative at Vancouver airport International Terminal is the SkyTeam Lounge, which is already already chronically crowded and likely won’t be able to cope with increased demand.
Capital One Venture X card holders lose perks at 72 airport lounges
Here is the list of the Plaza Premium Group lounges that participate in Priority Pass, and thus remain accessible to Capital One Venture X Rewards credit card and Capital One Venture X Business card holders, albeit with the restrictions called out above.
- Adelaide (ADL)
- Beijing Daxing (PKX)
- Brisbane (BNE)
- Budapest Liszt Ferenc (BUD)
- Cali A. Bonilla Aragon (CLO)
- Cartagena Rafael Nunez (CTG)
- Mactan-Cebu (CEB)
- Chongqing Jiangbei (CKG)
- Christchurch (CHC)
- Clark (CRK)
- Copenhagen Kastrup (CPH)
- Dallas, TX/Ft. Worth (DFW)
- Dammam King Fahd (DMM)
- Dubai International (DXB)
- Durban King Shaka (DUR)
- Edinburgh (EDI)
- Edmonton, AB (YEG)
- Gothenburg Landvetter (GOT)
- Helsinki Vantaa (HEL)
- Hong Kong SAR Chek Lap Kok (HKG)
- Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Jakarta Soekarno Hatta (CGK)
- Jeddah King Abdul Aziz (JED)
- Johannesburg O.R. Tambo (JNB)
- Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
- London – Gatwick (LGW)
- London Heathrow (LHR)
- Macau SAR (MFM)
- Melbourne (MEL)
- Montreal, QC – Pierre Elliott Trudeau (YUL)
- Nairobi – Jomo Kenyatta (NBO)
- Orlando, FL (MCO)
- Penang (PEN)
- Phnom Penh (PNH)
- Pulau Langkawi (LGK)
- Qingdao Jiaodong (TAO)
- Queenstown (ZQN)
- Rome Leonardo da Vinci (FCO)
- Singapore Changi (SIN)
- Stockholm Arlanda (ARN)
- Sydney Kingsford Smith (SYD)
- Taipei Taoyuan (TPE)
- Toronto, ON Lester B. Pearson (YYZ)
- Plaza Premium Lounge (Terminal 1, Concourse D, Domestic departures)
- Plaza Premium Lounge (Terminal 1, Concourse E, International departures)
- Plaza Premium Lounge (Terminal 1, Concourse F, US Departures)
- Plaza Premium Lounge (Terminal 3, Concourse A, US Departures)
- Plaza Premium Lounge (Terminal 3, Concourse B, Domestic departures)
- Plaza Premium Lounge (Terminal 3, Concourse C, International departures)
- Vancouver, BC (YVR)
- Winnipeg, MB (YWG)
Bottom line
Capital One and Plaza Premium Group have parted ways. As of March 1st, 2025, Capital One Venture X Rewards credit card and Capital One Venture X Business card holders can no longer visit Plaza Premium-operated or marketed lounges by presenting their credit card.
Out of the 92 clubs that are impacted, 72 locations participate in Priority Pass and thus still welcome Venture X card holders, albeit with notable restrictions—stays are now limited to two hours, showers are no longer complimentary, and customers and only bring two guests.
Capital One has never widely advertised the Plaza Premium benefit, and, quite frankly, many customers probably didn’t even know that that they could get a superior experience by presenting their Venture X card in lieu of their Priority Pass at Plaza Premium lounges. But for cardholders who were in the know and valued longer stays or complimentary showers, the new policy is a significant downgrade.
If you value unlimited access to Plaza Premium lounges, then The Platinum card by American Express may be a great alternative to the Capital One Venture X card. American Express and Plaza Premium are long-time partners, and Platinum Card holders enjoy complimentary access to all Plaza Premium lounges. If you’d rather be able to extend Priority Pass benefits to authorized users at no cost, however, then the Capital One Venture X card remains the best value.
Can’t keep track of airport lounge access rules? Use our handy Lounge Access Wizard or download the free LoungeReview app for iOS and Android. Simply add your Frequent Flyer Programs, memberships, and credit cards to your profile and we’ll tell you exactly which lounges you have access to, anywhere in the world—no guess work and no cheat sheet required.