Update 1/13/26: A quick reminder that the lounge policy for Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders will be changing with effect from February 1, 2026.
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Since their launches, the Venture X and Venture X Business cards have been popular cards for those seeking lounge access. That’s because Capital One implemented a generous policy for bringing guests into lounges, plus additional cardholders (AKA authorized users) on personal Venture X cards received complimentary lounge access despite the authorized user cards not coming with an added fee.
That’s sadly changing.
As of February 1, 2026, only primary cardholders will get complimentary lounge access. Not only will additional cardholders have to pay a special lounge access fee of $125 in order to gain access, but primary cardholders will also have to pay a fee to have guests join them if they have a personal Venture X card, as will guests of Venture X Business cardholders depending on the type of lounge.
Additional Cardholder Changes
From February 1, 2026, additional cardholders on Capital One Venture X cards will lose lounge access. To regain access, you’ll have to pay an annual lounge access fee of $125. That will reenable access to Capital One Lounges, Capital One Landings and Priority Pass lounges. Venture X Business additional cardholders didn’t previously benefit from complimentary lounge access, but they’ll now have the option to also pay a $125 lounge access fee.
Something important to note is that there still won’t be a fee to get additional cardholder cards on your Venture X and/or Venture X Business cards. It’s only if those additional cardholders wish to have lounge access that a $125 fee will be payable.
For both personal Venture X cardholders and Venture X Business cardholders, there’ll be a limit of four additional cardholders for whom you can pay $125 to gain lounge access.
Guest Access Changes
Also starting from February 1, 2026, primary cardholders will no longer be able to provide complimentary lounge access to traveling companions if they have the personal Venture X card; Venture X Business cardholders on the other hand will have a better policy.
Here’s what the new policies will be based on the lounge types and which version of the Venture X card you have:
Priority Pass
- Venture X – Primary cardholders & additional cardholders who have paid the $125 lounge access fee will be able to bring guests for $35 per visit.
- Venture X Business – Primary cardholders & additional cardholders who have paid the $125 lounge access fee will be able to provide complimentary access for up to two guests. Additional guests can be brought along for $35 per person.
Capital One Lounges & Landings
- Venture X – Primary cardholders won’t be able to provide complimentary access to guests automatically. However, if you and eligible additional cardholders spend $75,000 in a calendar year, you’ll be able to bring two complimentary guests in to Capital One Lounges and one complimentary guest to Capital One Landings. This access is valid for the rest of the year in which $75,000 is spent and all of the following year.
Primary cardholders & additional cardholders who have paid the $125 lounge access fee will be able to pay $45 per guest per visit who’s 18+; children ages 2-17 will be charged a discounted fee of $25, while children under two years old will be free. - Venture X Business – Primary cardholders won’t be able to provide complimentary access to guests automatically. However, if you spend $75,000 across all cardholders in a calendar year, you’ll be able to bring two complimentary guests in to Capital One Lounges and one complimentary guest to Capital One Landings. This access is valid for the rest of the year in which $75,000 is spent and all of the following year.
Primary cardholders & additional cardholders who have paid the $125 lounge access fee will be able to pay $45 per guest per visit who’s 18+; children ages 2-17 will be charged a discounted fee of $25, while children under two years old will be free.
Quick Thoughts
Considering how overcrowded airport lounges have gotten in recent years and how generous the Venture X and Venture X Business lounge policies – particularly for additional cardholders on personal cards – were, it’s not surprising that some kind of restrictions would eventually be implemented. However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that this is potentially a massive hit for Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders.
We added a couple of friends to my wife’s Venture X card a few months ago so that they’d be able to get complimentary lounge access, so it’s a shame that from February 1, 2026 they’ll each have to pay $125 if they want to maintain that.
For infrequent travelers, having complimentary lounge access was nice to have. If you’re only flying a handful of times per year though, it might not seem worth paying the $125 fee, particularly if the airports you fly in and out of only have access to Priority Pass lounges that happen to be mediocre.
It’s even worse for personal Venture X primary and additional cardholders who want to bring along guests. That’s because it’ll now cost $35 per guest for Priority Pass lounges. Venture X Business cardholders can breath a sigh of relief as they’ll still be able to bring two complimentary guests into Priority Pass lounges, for now at least.
Despite these changes, for many cardholders it’ll still be a no brainer to pay the $395 annual fee on these cards seeing as you get a $300 annual credit for bookings made through Capital One’s travel booking site or Capital One Business Travel, as well as 10,000 bonus miles at renewal. However, if you find it to be a hassle to redeem that $300 credit, having Capital One greatly restrict lounge access for additional cardholders and guests might make the decision on keeping the card more of a toss up.
Question
Will these lounge access changes have an effect on your decision to renew your Venture X and/or Venture X Business card? Let us know in the comments below.
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“We added a couple of friends to my wife’s Venture X card a few months ago so that they’d be able to get complimentary lounge access”
While that’s technically within the rules, it’s definitely abusing the rules and a good part of the reason changes like this happen. Thanks – now I can’t even bring my wife in for free when traveling with me.
[…] Full reading at Frequent Miler 2226 ♥️ […]
The credit card points scam continues. My wife and I have been traveling the globe for 20
Non-stop months and we see almost no value points credit cards. Airline flights are 3/5ths the price on regional airlines instead of the big international airlines. When you do use points, the taxes on international airlines cost more than tickets where you don’t pay with points. And much more luxurious hotels with more character are half the price of Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Wyndham. Now, the only advantage left was lounges, which in most Priority Pass lounges aren’t worth much more than $10pp, are a thing of the past unless you want to pay $900 for a premium card. The food options are often much better in the airport than the lounges, and Wi-Fi is free everywhere. Don’t fall for the points game scam!
lol traveling for 20 months nonstop and still dont know how to use points??? big yikes. major skill issue
Karl, I agree with your trend assessment of credit card points devaulations across all sectors. But I would not call it a scam. It is a game that many of us have benefited greatly in the past until after post Covid-era. However that said, plenty of us are still able to generate a lot of points during a year, due to high level of spending that we would rather put on credit cards with rewards attached to it than using a debit/checking account to pay for. We would like to get statuses and perks that we would not have gotten going the hard and time consuming way. Of course, the increase of annual fees are insane, but that doesnt mean we can not switch to cards like Amex Business Blue plus that earns 2X pts ($50K spend cap per year) with no annual fees. And the other point is that I travel with my family of 5 about 9-10 times a year and this credit card points game have saved us a lot of money on airport food and travel perks like no bag fees, free flights and free hotels. Unfortunately, the credit card industry is selectively screening for high spenders and forcing many low, credit-use cardholders to reevaluate this game. To end this note, it is not a scam, but a filter to select that right cardholder for that issuing bank.
Thank you for your kind reply. You make some good points. Here’s been my experience traveling 10 months in Africa, 10 months in SE Asia, and with a break in-between, to South America and Europe. Yes we have gotten “free” flights, free hotels, and no baggage fees at times. I just feel, especially in the realm of hotel, that they are a scam. I routinely find luxurious/fabulous hotels in brands not commonly known in the US for $250/nt that compare equally to $500/nt brands associated with credit cards. I can almost always spend less doing less research than the time it takes to discover all the tricks necessary to get value out of the points. Who among us hasn’t tried to pay with an Amex card only to find out the vendor doesn’t accept it. Okay, no issue, I can pull out the Cap1 card and get two pts per dollar. Whoops, not always, because when a restaurant in France insisted on charging and extra +3% for using a credit card and I stood my ground, they threaten to call the police. It has been my experience that Amex Gold is not accepted at approximately 50% of the Michelin bib gourmand or higher restaurants in SE Asia, South America and in many “lower end” (but local and delicious) restaurants in Europe. Additionally, any of the hotel credit card promotions only apply to US hotels these days, not including those outside the US, further reducing value. Many restaurants in Spain, France, Thailand, Indonesia regularly charge 3% for using a credit card, obliterating the value of those earned points. Freq Miler says 2 or 3 pts value is “great value” but the prices of the hotels by Marriott, IHG, Hilton and Hyatt are so overly inflated, that you can find other non-American 5-star brands at half the price. Or worse yet, I can find those same hotels at 20% less cost at consolidators. How is it not a scam when the credit card companies keep drastically changing the rules (like Sapphire recently). Have you tried to book hotels with points lately on the Sapphire Reserve card? There are so many exclusions, so much fine print and so little choice that in one change of policy, the over inflated price on their Edit hotels really feels like a scam. I booked the Dusit Thani Bangkok for $300/nt where Chase Sapphire wanted $450/nt and the Dusit Thani site wanted $400/nt. I prefer going out and meeting a local during our travels instead of spending nights stuck in front of a computer reading about work arounds and tricks. Correct me if I’m wrong, but with $140k spend per year on my one Chase card, is that what is now considered “low spenders?” My friends that spend handsomely on travel booked the same exact itinerary as I, but used 260k Amex points that I purchased using $700 cash. And they have paid versions of PointsYeah, Seat.aero and some other one I am unfamiliar with. Recently, to use up some expiring miles on Air France we booked an international flight within Europe, only to find out that the 20k pts used to fly 2pax to Spain would have been less if I would have just bought a ticket on a regional airline and not used points at all–because of Air France’s new additional taxes scheme. I’ve been a follower of FM for 10+ years and played the game well, unlike the comment from the reader above that accuses me (without knowing my history) of not being skilled enough on how to accumulate or use points, I just feel the points game is over. I’m no Greg, Nick or Stephen, but I have a memory like a trap, I’ve taken 45 one-way flights this past year, and stayed in hotels or Airbnb’s 20 consecutive months. Best of luck to you and your family. I am truly happy that you are enjoying the points game. Thank you for your constructive comments. Peace out!
I am still enjoying this credit card points game. Recieved my Chase sapphire reserve business card 3 days ago and made a $32K payment for our company’s insurance policy (no fees for credit card payment!!) on the very same day which will now net me 200K bonus Chase UR points. But I completely understand and have first hand witnessed most of what you are saying. I do not fault you for the many hoops these credit card reward incentives make us go through and later realizing that it was just better off to charge the card outright, then afterwards, redeeming the pts to pay for that charge instead of spending boat loads of pts and time to get very little in return. I remember using pointsyeah (paid version) and seeing 5 available economy flights from DSM to Athens using bargain atmos pts flying AA metal, only to see it not go through Alaskan Atmos booking (phantom award space) . It was a very frustrating experience. But I have been successful 85% of the time doing award bookings for flights and hotels all over the world. There are certainly plenty of sweet spots out there to redeem at great value. I usually apply for 8-10 credit cards between my wife and I each year (not all applications get approved). We do earn over 2-3 Million pts each year by maximizing our 30 plus credit cards we use ( some canceled when annual fees hit then apply for similar cards – mostly business cards and 1-2 personal that are usually chase southwest cards to extend our companion passes). We have been to many places in Europe and Asia. Marriott was great in Asia until the massive devaluation. Marriott awards are still great in Vietnam. Currently, we stick with Hyatt if its available (already have 2 rooms for 3 award nights booked with Hyatt in Egpyt this summer before flying to Barcelona to go on MSC World Europa cruise). Also, I remembered using 20K choice pts for a Venice hotel per night for Suite in 2023. Hotel cost was $1500 if not using pts during summer peak time. That is what you call a great deal. Now its 45K choice pts, but same cash price during peak season. I may add that the hotel was very beautiful with high mark reviews and their breakfast was pure European delight. That said, points devaluation will continue to happen. What I found delightful in your last comment was that you seem to be very knowledgeable in finding bargain pricings than most of us credit card churning fools. Finally, may your New Year be filled with great memories.
Actually, maybe I’m just jealous! 🙂 I retired and don’t have access to business cards points any longer. Plus, getting a new card on the road and shuffling them all is challenging due to timing of good offers, and meeting friends that can carry cards to us wherever we are. I do remember in 2023 spending $100k on business renovations and receiving 500k pts from 5 new cards. And I think your first example given about paying the company insurance policy is majorly awesome. Anyway, you have given me a bit of incentive to keep mining for good value uses for our 1M stagnating points, but it seems to be getting harder and harder not to spend money to make the points fun or useful. We bragged to our friends when I retired that my wife and I used 100k United pts to travel one way from NYC to Zanzibar to Tanzania to Kenya to Egypt to Morocco to South Africa in 2024. Two short years later our friends also retired and wanted to follow in our footsteps. Now that same trip isn’t possible for less than 450k points–caused from policy changes in just the last 2 years. Anyway, I do see value in how you accumulate points, 2-3M pts/year is an achievement! Happy travels and keep exposing those kids of yours to amazing experiences and places. It’s all about exposure. Kind Regards, karl
I called to pay for one authorized user to continue lounge access and they said it is not yet possible to do so. So even if you want to grant AU to continue to use it, C1 doesn’t have the capability to do so yet!
If I pay the $125 fee for my authorized user, do they get C1 lounge access for twelve months after Feb 1? Or do they get it for 12 months after the payment date (e.g. May 2026-May2027)? Or does that just get them access for that calendar year, even if I pay it in May or June?
Does anyone know if the $125 lounge access fee might be charged automatically? Is it premature to remove additional cardholders before February to ensure the fee isn’t charged? P2 currently has Priority Pass through the AU card.
Considering that AU are still free to add, I would very much hope they don’t auto charge to keep a benefit they are removing, that would really be a big “what crazy thing did…”
Steven, so we have a US Bank altitude Reserve card, a Chase Sapphire reserve, and and a couple of venture x’s. So it sounds like I could get some priority pass and Escape Lounge access with my family 4 using a combination of cards. But I would need to use more than one card on a single visit. I understand with the US Bank altitude Reserve that I can use up all eight visits into occasions with my four people . But we take about six trips a year and wind up using at least four or five lounges throughout the year . Is there a strategy or trying to use these since you have to register them with priority pass?
I don’t really use airports that have capital one lounges, so it was really the priority pass benefit that was helpful to me and my family (4 total). We have other cards that have priority pass with two free guests, but I’m not sure how to deal with the fourth person. If I have two separate sets of priority pass select benefits, with two guests, does that mean I can bring up to 4 guests with me between the two cards? Is there a way to make this work? Maybe my wife should keep her C1VX card active so she can use that as the fourth person?
If one person has two Priority Pass memberships, the person cannot stack the respective guest allocations on a single visit.
Yes the news of lounge restrictions will have me looking for a new travel card. I am not a fan of advertising perks and then clawing them back. At least grandfather existing account holders to the old rules
@CapitalOne
[…] “The biggest blow is the loss of free lounge access for authorized users, which was a huge part of the value proposition.” – Frequent Miler […]
This is a big hit for family travelers. My family (2 adults + 4 kids) have been able to enter virtually any priority pass lounge with only one Venture X card and one AU. Yes, most are not great (I have never been to one worth $35/pp for a child), but it does make pre-departure time much more manageable. Would love to see FM to an article geared towards family access for PP lounges.
Love this idea.
Ritz-Carlton PP Lounge access works well for families.
Access for additional users was silly anyway. If someone not in my family wants lounge access, they should get their own card. It’s like sharing your Netflix password with your friends.
But taking away the guest pass is a hard slap, especially for family travel. Now if I take a trip with my son or daughter I basically can’t use the Priority Pass perk. It ain’t worth the $35 charge — most of these lounges only offer skimpy snacks, not enough to justify a $35/kid charge.
As a parent traveling with a child with ADHD and anxiety issues, this is painful.
No issues with the additional card rule changes — as others have said, that was nice while it lasted but way ahead of the competition.
The new guesting policy for primary cardholders is asinine though.
TBH the previous lounge policies were too good to be true. No other card with lounge access offers free AU’s. $125 per AU is still cheaper than any of the competition. Not to mention the base annual fee is still significantly cheaper than the CSR and the AMEX Plat. I’d MUCH rather see these changes than another annual fee go up, or more couponification.
I normally much prefer FM to TPG, but I think TPG had the more clear-headed vibe when covering these changes this time.
Even though these changes will end up costing our family $125 more per year, I still think this was the right thing for them to do 🙂
I do think the guesting policy for families with kids will lose some customers, however. Although that doesn’t apply to us, I think Capital One will see families with kids use the CSR or AMEX Plat instead. I guess folks in the know can start setting their kids up as AUs, but I doubt that will be “mainstream” just because many people would feel weird about their 5 year old having a credit card (even if they don’t have access to it).
Then again, a lounge with fewer kids could be nice…
Ritz card has free AUs and unlimited PP guests
I feel like I’m advertising for the BoA PRE on this comment section, but you can enroll 4 people in Priority Pass select with a PRE without needing to even make them AUs on the card. I think each enrolled person also comes with unlimited guests, but I haven’t tried myself.
Wow good catch…that’s very generous!
Excellent point, I stand corrected. I keep feeling lucky this card even continues to exist…and with the rumored CSR changes on the horizon, I will “pray they do not alter the deal” as Darth Vader said.
I am going to cancel, myself.
If I had to do a ton of biz travel, I might stick around. But I am just doing a few trips and already using the restricted credit is an annoyance. Use up the points and bail is my strategy.
Don’t really see the logic here. A cap for the heavy users seems to make more sense, but I guess someone else will want the spend. On the bright side, not having to pay $400 a month and kind of get it back with overpaying on the C1 travel portal or converting points works too.