Capital One Cutback: No More Unlimited Priority Pass Guests – View from the Wing

A week and a half ago I noted that Capital One credit cards lose Plaza Premium lounge access after February, except for those Plaza Premium lounges that are members of Priority Pass (in which case you access them with your Priority Pass card, rather than your credit card).

Plaza Premium Lounge DFW Is Priority Pass-Accessible

Now we learn that Capital One will be limiting Priority Pass guests to two (complimentary, more can be paid for), which is fairly standard. Until now they’ve had unlimited guests, like the Chase Ritz-Carlton card and like Sapphire Reserve used to offer.

Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders can bring two guests to Priority Pass lounges.

This appears to be new language. The card has covered unlimited guests in the past. I’ve reached out to Capital One for clarification about whether this is a hard limit that’s already gone into effect, or just a change in marketing language.

I’ve written about someone who brought 19 guests into a Priority Pass lounge and a reader who used Priority Pass to bring 35 people into the Pearl lounge in Kigali, Rwanda.

[W]e were a group of ~35 people on a wedding trip flying [Bujumbura, Burundi to Kigali, Rwanda to Dar Es Salaam to Saadani National Park in Tanzania] and had to wait around 6 hours in Kigali (nice airport by the way)….The lounge wasn’t that full but we did fill a around half of it. Lounge is great also, good food etc.

Both of these changes to Capital One lounge access are modest, and won’t affect more cardmembers. Still, it’s sad to see. I’ll still continue to access Plaza Premium lounges via Amex Platinum, and my wife and I each have Priority Pass cards (from several issuers).

The unique value add of Capital One from a lounge perspective is their own-branded airport spaces. I find that Capital One manages crowding better in their lounges than others, even when there’s a wait (virtual queue, decent estimates of how long it will take to get inside, and once you’re in they don’t feel as crowded as others). I think their food is generally better, too. And that’s not even counting their fantastic new tapas restaurant at Washington National airport.

Capital One’s Venture X still represents amazing value, in my opinion. The card’s $395 annual fee gets offset by a $300 travel credit and with 10,000 bonus points at renewal (worth $100 in travel, or transferable to airline miles and hotel points). Then you get lounge access and other benefits, as well as double points on all spend. It’s priced better than competitor premium cards.