In early 2025, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (review) and Capital One Venture X Business (review) will be updating the Plaza Premium Lounge access perks that they offer. However, the cuts aren’t quite as bad as they might sound.
Capital One & Plaza Premium cut direct ties
The Capital One Venture X is one of the best premium credit cards for lounge access. In addition to offering a Priority Pass™ membership, access to Capital One Lounges, and access to Capital One Landings, the card has also historically offered direct access to Plaza Premium Lounges.
However, that has changed. Capital One has revealed that as of March 1, 2025, Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders will no longer receive complimentary access to lounges in the Plaza Premium Group network, at least when directly using their card.
However, the good news is that virtually all Plaza Premium Lounge locations belong to Priority Pass, so the Priority Pass™ membership issued by the cards will still get you access to these lounges.
Looking at the competitive landscape, Amex continues to have a direct relationship with Plaza Premium for lounge access, while Chase offers access to Plaza Premium locations through Priority Pass.
What are the implications of this change?
What does this change actually mean for cardmembers? For one, it means that you’ll want to present your Priority Pass card rather than your credit card when entering Plaza Premium Lounge locations via Capital One.
Historically, Plaza Premium Lounge access through Amex and Capital One has had two advantages over Priority Pass:
- Priority Pass members are typically limited to using Plaza Premium locations for two hours, while Amex and Capital One cardmembers have been able to use the lounges for three hours
- Priority Pass members typically have to pay extra for Plaza Premium showers, while Amex and Capital One cardmembers have been able to use the showers at no additional cost
It’s worth noting that Plaza Premium and Priority Pass have an interesting history. Keep in mind that Plaza Premium is a lounge operator, while Priority Pass is a company that facilitates access to other lounges, with memberships sold directly, and also through credit cards.
Historically, virtually all Plaza Premium Lounge locations belonged to Priority Pass. That changed in 2021, when the two companies cut ties. Obviously Plaza Premium thought it could somehow better monetize its lounges independently. While Priority Pass might not deliver the highest revenue per guest, it certainly delivers a lot of volume.
It seems that attempt at independence didn’t work out, and in 2023, Plaza Premium and Priority Pass once again partnered. It’s safe to say that credit card issuers partnering directly with Plaza Premium isn’t as important as it was in the period from 2021 to 2023, when Capital One launched its premium credit cards. Still, I’d consider this to be a mild loss.
If accessing Plaza Premium Lounge locations, I’d recommend doing so with American Express Platinum Card® (review) or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (review), which will give you access to lounges for longer, and include showers.
Bottom line
As of March 2025, the Capital One Venture X and Venture X Business will no longer offer direct access to Plaza Premium Lounges. The good news is that the Priority Pass™ membership issued with Capital One cards offers access to virtually all Plaza Premium locations, though with different conditions. Plaza Premium access through Priority Pass generally doesn’t include showers, and is limited to two hours.
What do you make of Capital One and Plaza Premium cutting direct ties?
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