Credit cards used to reward travelers with airline miles, which remain a valuable type of currency, but lounge access is increasingly becoming the carrot with which banks lure new customers to their cards. And some of those customers are willing to pay annual fees as high as $695 (for the Platinum Card from American Express and United Club Card) to access the cards’ perks. Are the benefits worth the cost?

Often they are, if you’re a frequent traveler and you typically purchase food and drink at the airport. Lounges’ complimentary fare may be worth the cards’ annual fees, given the high prices of airport offerings ($20 salads abound). But even occasional travelers find value in cardholder perks when they encounter flight delays. Weather snafus and ongoing shortages of pilots and air traffic controllers continue to monkey-wrench travelers’ best-laid plans—and that’s when escaping into a private lounge can preserve your sanity (or, at the very least, your positive attitude).

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Here, our picks for the best credit cards for travelers who are regulars at Denver International Airport.

Jump Ahead:

Venture X Rewards from Capital One

Denver Capital One Lounge. Photo courtesy of Capital One
  • Annual fee: $395
  • Standout perk: Access to Capitol One Lounge on Concourse A at DIA, plus more than 1,300 additional lounges worldwide
  • Best airline compatibility: Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, United

Credits for Venture X Rewards from Capital One Cardholders

A $300 travel credit brings the annual fee down to just $95, provided you book through Capital One Travel. Cardholders also receive up to $120 in credit for applying to Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (currently $120 and $85, respectively).

Lounges for Venture X Rewards from Capital One Cardholders

This card’s standout advantage remains its unfettered access to the Denver Capital One Lounge near gate A34, as well as additional Capital One Lounges at Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Washington, D.C. (IAD), and Las Vegas (LAS). A fifth facility will open at New York’s JFK Airport this year. (Cardholders also receive complimentary membership to the Priority Pass network, which spans more than 1,300 lounges across the globe.)

Guests: For now, two guests are admitted free of charge. But after February 1, 2026, cardholders must spend $75,000 on the card before getting complimentary access for two guests. Or, they can spend $45 per guest ($25 for kids 17 and under) at Venture X lounges and $35 per guest at Priority Pass locations.

What it’s like in there: Though relatively compact at 10,800 square feet, Denver’s Capital One Lounge packs in plenty of appeal. Showers, a relaxation room, a family area, and meeting rooms round out the food and beverage options, which are excellent.

Mornings, you’ll find an espresso bar and breakfast options such as hatch chile chilaquiles, fruit and chia parfaits, and maple-baked brioche bites. By midday the menu phases into the likes of elk sliders, smoked gouda mac and cheese, and kale salads. Taps pour Colorado beers, and the cocktail menu includes some creative non-alcoholic potions. Menus change every few weeks to ensure that habitués won’t get bored with the options.

Extra likable: A grab-and-go food station includes sandwiches, snacks, and salads, plus hot and canned beverages that you can take with you for future enjoyment.

Less impressive: We’ve found that the points earned through purchases (10x dollars spent on rental cars and hotels; 5x on flights) don’t get you much upon redemption, when you typically fork over a lot of points for even basic accommodations. Even when you’re paying cash, prices for hotels, rental cars, and flights sold through Capital One Travel cost slightly more than they do on the open marketplace.

Read More: 7 Things We Love About the New Capital One Lounge Inside DIA

Who Should Get the Venture X Rewards from Capital One

Look hard at this card if you regularly fly Delta, Frontier, or JetBlue (these airlines use DIA gates at Concourse A).

The Platinum Card from American Express

  • Annual fee: $695
  • Standout perk: Access to the Centurion Lounge on DIA’s Concourse C, plus additional domestic and international airport lounges
  • Best airline compatibility: Delta and Concourse C airlines Alaska, American, Southwest

Credits for the Platinum Card from American Express Cardholders

The $695 annual fee can be recouped with a $200 credit for hotel bookings through American Express Travel, $200 credit for airline fees, up to $200 annually in Uber Cash, $199 for membership in CLEAR Plus, and fee credits for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. More credits with vendors such as Walmart+ and Equinox offer additional value.

Lounges for the Platinum Card from American Express Cardholders

With this and the Business Platinum Card from American Express, travelers enjoy access to the Centurion network of 25 lounges worldwide—including the Centurion Lounge that opened at DIA’s Concourse C mezzanine on February 1, 2021. Ten visits to Delta’s Sky Club locations are also included when the cardholder displays a boarding pass for a Delta flight (not including Basic Economy seats). Lufthansa, Priority Pass Select, and Plaza Premium lounges also participate in the American Express Global Lounge Collection, spanning some 500 airports worldwide.

Guests: After spending $75,000, primary cardholders can bring up to two guests free of charge for that calendar year, the following year, and until January 31 of the third year.

What it’s like in there: Denver’s 14,000-square-foot Centurion Lounge near gate C46 includes a live-action cooking station where travelers get made-to-order dishes designed by Lachlan Mackinnon-Peterson (who co-owns Frasca in Boulder). Centurion Lounge menus change each month to hold regulars’ interest; recent offerings included French toast made with Italian cinnamon, nut, and raisin gubana cake and Rigatoni al Portonat with prosciutto and poppy seeds.

There’s also a craft beer bar and a full bar serving wine and cocktails, a game room with shuffleboard and pool tables, shower suites stocked with L’Occitane body products, and oodles of creatively comfortable seating with abundant charging ports.

Extra likable: The made-to-order food option gives diners a way to avoid some common allergens.

Less impressive: AmEx isn’t accepted by all merchants.

Who Should Get the Platinum Card from American Express

Go with this card if you’re a frequent flyer on Delta Airlines; holders of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve credit card can also access Centurion Lounges (restrictions apply). Regulars on Southwest (which uses C concourse gates) will also get the most benefit from this card.

More Credit Cards for Airline Loyalists

Concourse B United Club seating area. Photo courtesy of United Airlines

Frontier Airlines World Mastercard from Barclays

The Frontier Airlines World Mastercard doesn’t offer lounge access among its benefits, but it does provide the primary cardholder with two free checked bags (savings that may offset the $99 annual fee you pay after the first year), and its mileage-accrual program can pay off for frequent Frontier fliers.

United Explorer Card from Chase

The United Explorer Card has a $150 annual fee (after the introductory year) but gives you and a companion one free checked bag apiece, includes up to a $120 credit toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus, and provides two passes to the United Club lounge each year. The network includes more than 45 United Club locations, and two of those are located on DIA’s Concourse B. (Note: During peak periods, the Clubs are closed to one-time passholders, meaning that United Explorer cardholders may find themselves denied access.)

United Club Card from Chase

The United Club Card costs $695 annually but waives fees for two checked bags and includes Club membership. Given how United has expanded its Club locations at DIA, with a new lounge on Concourse A near gate 25 and renovated lounges on the B Concourse (the East side renovation is already complete, and the West side project is underway), this is a compelling option.

Downside? You can’t access United lounges unless you’re holding a United boarding pass.

Read More: 6 Things We Love About the New United Clubs at DIA

Our Best Advice for DIA Travelers

If you’re a frequent solo traveler, spring for the Platinum Card—because a year’s worth of airport food can easily equal this card’s annual fee, though with it, you’ll get better meals and so much more.

If you travel as a couple, get the Venture X Rewards card. Primary cardholders can pay $125 to add unlimited lounge access for a secondary cardmember. And beyond lounge access, this card’s benefits package beats most.

If you can manage a second credit card, make it the United Club Card—because United dominates Denver’s flight options, and with just a few round-trip flights, the savings on checked bag fees can pay for the card’s annual cost.