1 Shockingly Valuable Perk of the Capital One Venture X Card

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, with a $395 annual fee (see rates and fees), is already a relative bargain in the world of premium travel credit cards. For one thing, it is the lowest-priced credit card on our radar that offers unlimited access to airport lounges. And its $300 travel credit is more flexible than what other travel cards offer.

In addition to these perks, there are a few other ways that the Capital One Venture X Card stands out among its peers -- by allowing cardholders to add as many as four authorized users to the account for free. Here's how this is different from what some of its premium-card peers do, and why it can be an extremely valuable perk.

Adding authorized users to premium cards isn't always free

For most credit cards, you can add an authorized user with no additional charge. I have a few credit cards that I've added my wife to, and she has a few that I'm an authorized user on, and we don't pay anything extra for the privilege.

However, it's different with premium cards, as authorized users typically get some of the benefits of card membership for themselves.

As an example, The Platinum Card® from American Express charges $195 per year (see rates and fees) for each "Additional Card Member," although there's a no-benefit form of authorized user available for free. Terms apply.

Also, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a $75 annual fee per authorized user, which includes some valuable perks.

Why it's such a big deal

As I alluded to in the previous section, adding an authorized user to the Capital One Venture X Card (see rates and fees) isn't just about getting your spouse, kids, or someone else a card with their name on it to make purchases. Authorized users get to enjoy some of the card's benefits as well.

While some of the Capital One Venture X Card benefits -- such as the $300 annual travel credit -- don't extend to authorized users, a few do.

Most importantly, Capital One Venture X Card authorized users get their own airport lounge access benefit. That means they can get into the ultra-high-end Capital One Lounges that are in a few airports so far, and they can get into the Plaza Premium Lounges worldwide. Plus, they can sign up for their own complimentary Priority Pass Select memberships, which include access to over 1,500 lounges and experiences worldwide. They can then access any of these lounges when traveling and can bring as many as two guests each.

Think of it this way. You could theoretically open a Capital One Venture X Card account, add four authorized users, and bring two guests per card into a Capital One Lounge. That's 15 people all together. For context, Capital One Lounges cost $65 per person for a day pass without a qualifying card.

The airport lounge access benefit is by far the biggest benefit for authorized users. But there are a few others, such as free Hertz President's Circle elite status*, as well as the same excellent purchase and travel protections that apply to the main cardholder.

An extremely valuable perk, if you take advantage

It's tough to fully quantify the value of the lounge access benefit. It depends how often you use it, and the type of Priority Pass membership cardholders get is only used as a credit card perk (you can't buy the same type of membership). However, a one-person unlimited Priority Pass lounge costs $469 per year with no free guest access, so conservatively we can value the Capital One Venture X Card lounge benefit at this amount -- although to a frequent traveler, especially one who doesn't typically travel alone, it could have far more value.

To be perfectly clear, if you add four authorized users to your Capital One Venture X Card account and then each sign up for Priority Pass memberships, you're getting about $2,000 worth of airport lounge network memberships completely free.

Of course, not everyone has four people they would trust enough to add to their credit card account -- especially because high-annual-fee cards like the Capital One Venture X Card tend to also have relatively high spending limits. But even if you just add a spouse or a trusted relative, the free authorized user benefit is an often-underappreciated reason why the Capital One Venture X Card deserves a closer look.