Capital One adds Plaza Premium lounge access for select cardmembers

If you have a Capital One credit card, listen up, as your airport experience may be getting an upgrade.

Starting Tuesday, Capital One has expanded its partner lounge network to provide access to Plaza Premium lounges for select cardmembers. This adds over 100 new locations for customers to visit.

But what are Plaza Premium lounges, and who has access now?

Let's look at these important details about this expanded benefit.

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Plaza Premium lounges

There are over 100 Plaza Premium lounges worldwide, located in numerous airports. You can view all of those locations by clicking here.

Note that this includes Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses in the U.S., the Air France Lounge at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) and the Mera Business Lounges at Cancun International Airport (CUN).

You can expect things like food and drinks, free Wi-Fi and a more comfortable seating area while waiting for your flight.

Interestingly, Priority Pass members lost access to nearly 60 Plaza Premium locations in July 2021. However, they remained accessible to holders of The Platinum Card® from American Express — and Plaza Premium launched its own membership program earlier this year.

But now, Capital One is providing access to these lounges to some of its cardholders.

Capital One cardholders with Plaza Premium access

Effective Tuesday, Capital One is adding access to Plaza Premium lounges for select cardholders. However, access policies vary by which card you have.

For those with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, you'll enjoy unlimited, complimentary access to Plaza Premium lounge locations. No registration is required — simply present your Venture X card and same-day boarding pass to the lounge agent to gain access. Cardmembers can also bring two guests for free (additional guests are charged an additional fee that varies by location).

Note that this is in addition to the current lounge network for Venture X cardholders, which includes unlimited access to the Capital One Lounge at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) along with a full Priority Pass Select membership (the latter requires registration).

Meanwhile, holders of the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Spark Miles for Business receive two complimentary lounge passes annually. Previously, these were limited to Capital One lounges, but cardholders can now use these passes to enter participating Plaza Premium lounges. However, there are no guest privileges with these passes; each traveler needs one to enter.

Plaza Premium lounge access for Venture X authorized users

Fortunately, this new benefit also extends to authorized users on the Venture X card, which already had an extremely consumer-friendly policy when it comes to lounge access. As a reminder, you can add up to four authorized users to your Venture X card for free, and each of these users enjoys the same lounge privileges as the primary cardmember. That includes activating a Priority Pass Select membership (with access to Priority Pass bars and restaurants) along with access to Capital One lounges.

And now, these privileges extend to over 100 Plaza Premium lounges, including the ability to bring two guests for free.

Bottom line

Access to more lounges while waiting for your flight is always welcome news, especially on a card that extends these privileges to authorized users. Venture X cardholders and their authorized users can now access all Plaza Premium lounges for free (with up to two complimentary guests), while Venture and Spark Miles cardholders can now use their annual lounge passes at these locations.

While there are other ways to gain entry to Plaza Premium lounges when traveling (including with the Amex Platinum), this represents a great addition to the long list of perks with the Capital One Venture X.