Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAirplane tickets are getting cheaper, but it’s getting more expensive to bring your family to an airport lounge.Capital One is the latest company to limit access to booming airport lounges to combat overcrowding.Starting Feb. 1, Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders will no longer be able to automatically take a guest into lounges or bring authorized second card users.They will instead have to pay $125 annually for each additional cardholder to keep their lounge access, $45 per adult guest per visit and $25 per guest 17 or younger. The $125 fee also includes second cardholder access to a network of Priority Pass lounges.”As airport lounges continue to grow in popularity across the industry, we’ve seen our customers increasingly encounter wait times to enter them,” Capital One said in a statement. “It is important to us that we maintain a great airport lounge experience for our Venture X and Venture X Business customers, while continuing to deliver best-in-class premium travel cards at an accessible price point.”Primary cardholders will have to spend at least $75,000 per calendar year to bring up to two complimentary free guests to Capital One lounges and one guest to Capital One Landings, smaller lounges built for travelers who tend to spend less time at the airport, like those heading to short flights.The $75,000 spending requirement for complimentary guests matches what American Express announced two years ago, also a measure to minimize crowding and keeping the clubs feeling exclusive.Read more CNBC airline newsBoeing, Justice Department reach deal to avoid prosecution over deadly 737 Max crashesRecession in Row 33: Plane tickets are getting cheaper as domestic travel demand weakensInternational tourism to the U.S. slumps, but Americans can’t stop traveling overseasGoodbye to ‘bags fly free’ on Southwest, the last free perk in AmericaCredit card companies have ramped up their airport lounge networks in recent years, opening new locations to handle demand. And airport lounge access has been a central perk attached to rewards cards, which generally come with an annual fee.The Venture X card, which launched in 2021, is $395 a year, less than the $695 a year American Express charges for its Platinum card or the $550 JPMorgan Chase charges for the Chase Sapphire Reserve, both of which come with airport lounges.”When it comes to lounges, Capital One is a challenger brand; they’re an underdog,” said Henry Harteveldt, foun …
