Opinion: Credit Card Issuers Should Limit Airport Lounge Access. Carefully. 

The fact that globe-trotting consumers flock to airport lounges comes as no surprise to credit card issuers. Access to private airport lounges is one of the primary selling points for a travel card, especially for products with annual fees deep into the hundreds. 

Having unlimited access to thousands of lounges all over the world via programs like Priority Pass or entry into their own branded clubs can elevate the flying experience and makes paying for the card worthwhile. 

With flight delays and cancellations so common they are almost expected, cardholders who have this account perk know they can escape to a preferred place to wait the time out. It can even help make a good experience better. 

I recently accepted a generous travel credit from United Airlines for an overbooked flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The next flight out was hours later. Since I have a Chase United Explorer Card that comes with two United Club passes a year, the timing was perfect. 

Hanging around the gate may be a misery, but the Club is marvelous and relatively quiet, with delicious food and drinks, as well as an outdoor patio from which to watch the planes you aren’t on drift by. 

For reasons like this, airport lounges are becoming increasingly packed. Anyone who can get in, will get in. A recent study conducted by Airport Dimensions found that 57% of frequent travelers visit a lounge at some time during their travels.

That’s a tremendous number of people, all taking advantage of the goods and services, and many didn’t pay anything to enjoy it all. 

Perhaps counterintuitively, the success of free and unfettered entry into airport lounges is the very reason credit card issuers ought to make access to them not quite so available. If they do it right, it will be a net positive for the company. 

Travel card issuers know quite well that providing airport lounge benefits is extremely expensive. Each per person visit costs the company somewhere around $20, though lounges with more impressive features can easily cost twice that amount. Hence the annual fee, which can cover at least part of the expense. 

That’s why it doesn’t always make financial sense to offer the same lounge entry to people who have access to the card but who are not paying into the system. 

Capital One acknowledged this fact and made the appropriate adjustments. The company announced it would be not offering the Capital One lounge benefit to authorized users on certain cards.

As of Feb. 1, 2026, authorized users on Venture X Rewards Card and Venture X Business Card will no longer get a free day at the lounge. They can still enter, but it will cost them $125 for the day. 

What needs to be stressed: Both of these cards allow up to four authorized users on the primary’s account.

These are frequently family members of the primary, such as a spouse, partner, or children, which meant entire families could go to the Capital One lounges, all on a single card charging $395 each year. That can become economically untenable, particularly as the cost to operate these lounges is rising. 

Another practical change concerns automatic entry for lounge guests, based on spending thresholds. 

Both the personal and the business Capital One Venture X Rewards cards will require a minimum annual spend of $75,000 to bring two guests into the Capital One lounge at no extra fee. If that threshold isn’t met, the fee for adult guests is $45 and $25 for children ages 2 to 17. This is still a good deal, since Capital One charges non-cardholders $90 to get in. 

High spenders should be rewarded more liberally because they are lucrative. Even if they pay their bills in full so they can avoid interest on revolved balances, interchange fees kick in with each charge. The more the cardholder spends, the more the company earns. 

Capital One is not alone in setting high spending minimums for airport lounge access for guests. Qualified American Express cardholders who spend at least $75,000 can bring two guests into their U.S. Centurion Lounges at no charge. If they spend under that sum, the fee is $50 for adults and $30 for minors.

The challenge: conveying the benefits of big spending. Credit card issuers should take care to avoid alienating customers who use their cards for smaller purchases and instead offer tiered perks. This way it won’t be perceived as punitive but as aspirational. 

As a credit card issuer, you want the benefits to be desirable. After all, if they aren’t, there is less reason for a consumer to apply and pay the annual fee in the first place. 

Given that complimentary airport lounge access is such a popular perk, these spaces need to offer a distinct experiential difference from what is happening outside the gates. It has to be better. Diminishing quality is becoming a major problem. 

Travelers who once viewed lounges as refined respites are complaining about overcrowding to the point of not being allowed in.

Once inside, the rooms can be uncomfortably noisy, with business travelers yelling into phones, children running around, and loud group conversations. Staff can struggle to keep up with food and beverages, cleanliness, and customer service. 

Credit card issuers can help ensure that the quality of lounges is worth the price of admission — the annual fee on the credit card. And that means thinning out the throngs with reasonable measures, such as limiting authorized users and guests as well as setting goal-oriented spending minimums.