D.C.'s hottest club is an airport lounge
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A full house at the Capital One Landing at DCA. Photo: Gabe Hiatt/Axios
Comfy leather seats. High ceilings. A celebrity chef-backed kitchen that sends out jamón, tapas and burnt Basque cheesecake.
- The catch? You'll need a boarding pass to get in. It's the Capital One Landing at DCA.
Why it matters: Most airport lounges are unpredictable and often bad. This one —opened in partnership with José Andrés — is a place I actually show up early for.
⌚️ State of play: I'm not the only fan. The 90-seat space in Terminal 2 at Reagan National Airport seems to always have a wait.
- Venture X or Venture X Business cardholders get access to Landings in the D.C. area and New York (LaGuardia) as part of their annual membership.
- On the Capital One mobile app, you can reserve a table ahead of time or put yourself on a wait list. Last time I was there, I waited 11 minutes.
- You can only enter with a valid boarding pass and seat for a same-day flight within three hours of your departure time.
❌ Capital One took away one of the big perks in February.
- Instead of cardholders getting a free guest pass to Landings, the company started charging $45 for adults and $25 for kids.
- Additional cardholders on your account can buy an annual pass for $125.
😎 One travel hack is to ask for a spot at the standing-only high-top at the DCA Landing. I did this the other day when the lounge was on a wait, and they ushered me right in.
- Capital One wouldn't tell me if they keep this table free for walk-ins.
David Borowik, the director of airport experiences, programs and partnerships at Capital One, tells Axios via email that the Landing at DCA has "seen an outsized number of repeat visitors compared to other locations."
- Capital One also has lounges at Washington Dulles, New York JFK, Dallas-Fort Worth, Las Vegas and Denver.
- Borowik wouldn't say just how many travelers have been through the DCA Landing since it opened in November 2024, but Capital One is seeing "consistent month-over-month growth with an increasing number of travelers taking advantage of the space each week."
🍳 What to order:
- Huevos rotos — olive-oil fried eggs served with jamón and fries. Break the yolk!
- Xuixo — Part croissant, part churro, stuffed with custard.
- Media combinación —A gin cocktail revived from the '20s that flips the proportions of a Negroni to make it less boozy. This one has Cynar.