Priority Pass restaurant access will no longer be allowed by the Capital One Venture X credit card on January 1, 2023. Capital One joins Amex in not allowing restaurant access and the way the announcement is worded makes me a little nervous about whether Chase will follow suit.
Priority Pass has expanded access to restaurants where you can get $28 in credit per person per visit (guest access varies by the card from which you get your Priority pass). There is a new Priority Pass restaurant option at the Baltimore-Washington International airport that seems to be great news for Southwest travelers.
Those with the Capital One Venture X will no longer have access to non- lounge airport experiences like dining, retail shopping, and spa discounts. Priority Pass restaurants, which have been a perk since the card's launch, will no longer be available. American Express has been the only issuer to restrict restaurant access.
I don't know what this means for things like Minute Suites, where you can access a private room for an hour via Priority Pass, a great lounge replacement as it is a silent place to get some work done or a nap. Amex doesn't have restaurant access, but Minute Suites does.
We have seen a number of nap Pod Priority Pass locations added in recent years, and I assume that they will not be included in the Venture X-associated Priority Pass.
I assume that if you use the Priority Pass app and you have a Capital One account, you will be able to see which locations you can visit with your Capital One membership, but I don't think that will change until January 23.
I wonder if the way this announcement is worded will affect other Visa Infinite cards.
Access to non-lounge airport experiences would not be part of the Visa Infinite benefit program for Venture X cards. I was worried that this could become a Visa Infinite limitation that would affect other Visa Infinite cards that offer Priority Pass restaurant access. It is hoped that this change only affects Venture X cards.
I put the word "announcement" in quotation marks because I don't think it's a good idea to call it an announcement. I am not aware of a general press release or an official communication from the government yet, but my wife is a cardholder and has not received any notification of the change. I didn't know about this change until I saw a screen shot of the info from Capital One Travel, which was reported on other websites. It was buried in the Frequently Asked Questions about Priority Pass on the Capital One Venture X card's benefits page. Capital One hasn't made a better effort to inform its cardholders of the change
Guests are unlimited for Venture X cards when visiting Priority Pass lounges, as confirmed by Capital One, which limits the number of guests to 2. You will still be subject to limits set by individual lounges, some of which will not allow you to enter with your entire group.
I used to carry my Priority Pass from the Chase Ritz card in my wallet, but at one point I lost my card and switched to the Venture X Priority Pass. I thought guests were unlimited, but I don't think we've ever confirmed that. Confirmation is a good thing.
The removal of restaurants and non-lounge options means that I will need to replace my Ritz Priority Pass card in order to get my entire family into the lounges.
We wouldn't have expected the benefits to be pulled so soon. Whether or not this matters to you depends on where you travel the most. I don't think this is a huge hit to the value proposition of the Venture X unless you frequent places that have a good restaurant option and you are based in an airport with a good restaurant option. This is really bad if you are in that situation. Those who rarely use this benefit will find plenty of value in the $300 annual travel credit when booking through Capital One and the 10,000 anniversary miles each year to still justify the $395 annual fee. Again, I think the worst part is the combination of the short notice change and complete and total lack of notice being given to the people who aren't blogs readers up to this point.
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