Capital One Venture X Rewards and Venture X Business cards set to lose Plaza Premium lounge access

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Venture X Business are the issuer's two premium travel rewards cards with lounge access. Unfortunately, starting March 1, cardholders will lose access to Plaza Premium lounges, a network of over 250 independently owned lounges worldwide. It's not all doom and gloom, though — most Plaza Premium lounges will still be accessible to cardholders via Priority Pass.

Capital One ends access to Plaza Premium lounges

According to Capital One's website, Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders will lose access to Plaza Premium lounges starting March 1. Additionally, some cardholders have received notice via recent monthly statements about the upcoming loss of access to the lounges.

As the Capital One website points out, this change won't affect access to most Plaza Premium lounges, most of which will still be accessible via Priority Pass membership with the cards.

Accessing Plaza Premium lounges with the Venture X and Venture X Business after March

Even with access to Plaza Premium lounges removed March 1, cardholders can still access most Plaza Premium lounges via their included Priority Pass membership.

For Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders (and authorized users) who aren't already enrolled in the complimentary Priority Pass membership that comes with the cards, it's a simple process:

• Visit the Capital One Priority Pass page (or click on the link in your welcome email).
• Enter your 16-digit card number.
• Follow the prompts to finish creating your Priority Pass account.

You can then download and log into the Priority Pass mobile app to access your digital membership card and see an up-to-date list of accessible lounges while traveling.

Related: How to enroll in Priority Pass with eligible credit cards

However, there are some downsides to entering Plaza Premium lounges with Priority Pass.

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When entering the lounges via Priority Pass, guests will only have access to the lounge for two hours (if you enter with a credit card with direct access or via a business-class ticket, you can stay three hours), and you must pay to access showers. I witnessed this firsthand on a trip last month when I visited the Plaza Premium Lounge in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) with my Priority Pass membership; I was told I could only stay for two hours and had no access to the showers during my visit.

Additionally, not all Plaza Premium lounges are currently part of Priority Pass, including some in Brazil, Indonesia and other countries.

It's important to note that cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express still include complimentary Plaza Premium lounge access, though they both charge much higher annual fees than the Venture X and the Venture X Business.

Bottom line

Despite the loss of direct access, cardholders will still be able to access most Plaza Premium lounges with their card's Priority Pass membership, albeit with a two-hour visit limit and a charge for shower access. While we hate to see benefits removed from cards, this one should not affect travelers much unless they are traveling to specific countries where the Plaza Premium lounges are not included in Priority Pass.

Related reading:

• Best credit cards for airport lounge access
• A complete guide to Capital One's airport lounges
• The 8 do's and don'ts of visiting an airport lounge
• 9 domestic lounges that are worth going out of your way for
• Best Capital One credit cards