It was a pleasure to watch the planes from several different airlines take off while eating quality food in the Capital One Lounge! Photo by: Evan Berman

I must admit, I get more excited about visiting airport lounges than the average person. I generally live by the motto of “if you never miss plane, you’re spending too much time at the airport.” That being said, I am happy to devote extra time to checking out lounges before my flight. Today I’m going to review the nicest lounge I’ve visited in North America: the Capital One Lounge in DFW. Additionally, I’ll review the Centurion Lounge DFW, though by comparison, this was inferior.

The review of airport lounges in DFW is part of the February in Dallas trip. For more on this trip, follow these links:

Intro

Flight: American Economy, CHS-DFW

Bruce Springsteen in Concert

Tampa Bay Lightning Game

5 Days in Dallas

Food and Drinks in Dallas

Lounges at DFW Airport (This Article)

Flight: American Economy DFW-CHS

Conclusion

Introduction:

I arrived at DFW at 7:43am, well in advance of my 11:34am flight. While I had a meeting and some work to catch up on, I intended to explore the Capital One Lounge and the Centurion Lounge, both located in Terminal D, and see how they compared head-to-head. I’ve visited several other Centurion Lounges– New York-JFK, Philadelphia (PHL), Charlotte (CLT), Phoenix (PHX), and Seattle-Tacoma (SEA)– though this is currently the only Capital One Lounge open. It is expected that a lounge will open in Denver (DEN) and Washington-Dulles (IAD), though it is unclear when that will occur.

In any case, I was not checking a bag so I went straight through security at Terminal D which thanks to Clear (and the early arrival time!), took only 4 minutes.

Capital One Lounge:

After clearing security, I made a left and headed to the Capital One Lounge. Located by Gate D22, it shares an entrance with the American Airlines Flagship Lounge. You take an elevator and then make a left (or a right if you are heading towards the Flagship Lounge). The entrance is quite attractive compared to most lounges.

Access:

According to the rules, you may only enter 3 hours prior to departure, though I was admitted at just over 3 hours 15 minutes before departure. It’s possible this is due to how empty it was at 8:15am.

For entry there are a couple of options:

• Unlimited access to Capital One Lounges with the $395 Annual Fee Capital One Venture X Card (which I presented) with 2 guests
• 2 free lounge admissions yearly with the $95 Annual Fee Capital One Venture Card or Spark Miles for Business with 2 guests
• Purchasing a day pass for $65, though anecdotally, I hear that this lounge is becoming very crowded so it might not be feasible to purchase access for long

Food and Drinks:

I didn’t test out the bar as it was only 8am when I arrived and they were just setting up. In contrast, I was certainly eager to try the food and juices. I opted for a few dishes (apologies, some of my photos were not saved, so I will describe the other options) and was pleased with the setup. When you enter the lounge, there is a grab and go section with sandwiches, salads, yoghurt, and other easy-to-consume food as well as juices and water. The center portion of the lounge, which segments the seating areas has food on each side.

The setup is a smart “cupboard-style” with individual areas for each type of food. As it was breakfast, there were eggs, bacon, and ham self-serve stations. However, I opted for the more upscale options to see what the lounge was made of. I was not disappointed! I had grits with crumbled bacon and cinnamon french toast with real maple syrup (as shown above). While the grits were nothing special, the french toast was excellent and I was pleased to see real syrup, not the cheap substitute.

The amuse bouche (if you will) of olives and mozzarella was a pleasant surprise. The orange juice was above average, especially for a lounge in the wintertime. I was still a bit hungry, so I went back and had a piece of crumble cake and a corned beef hash. Talk about variety! Both of those were excellent and certainly restaurant-quality. I was highly impressed and consider this to be the second-best meal I’ve had in a US airport lounge behind only the Pumpkin Soup and Chicken Tikka Masala at the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse in New York- JFK (review forthcoming). One final note: I appreciated the presentation of the food as well. The hash was served in a mini Le Creuset skillet and was a nice touch to a terrific meal!

There is also a coffee station, taps for sodas and iced teas, and a full bar.

Wi-Fi:

As I mentioned in the introduction, I had some work to do and a meeting during my time in the lounge. While I did not measure the speed, the wi-fi was more than adequate to host a video meeting and surf the internet. Ironically, one of the participant’s home wi-fi was causing glitches in the meeting, though mine was solid.

Bathrooms:

There is a shower suite in this lounge, though I did not use it. If you are interested in showering before your flight (remember, no access to this lounge upon arrival, though connecting passengers may access), ask the attendant while you are checking in– the wait may be long and you need to get in line.

The bathrooms are individual and there are 5 total. This is a nice feature and I was impressed at the cleanliness.

Amenities:

Since I was working and eating during my time in the lounge, I did not get a chance to check out the amenities for which this lounge is famous. There are 2 Peloton bikes, 2 prayer rooms, and 2 “relaxation rooms” which are perfect for getting some rest.

If you have some time to kill and want to get some rest or exercise in you can easily do so and then take advantage of the shower! Not a bad perk to have before your flight. Personally, I’ll stick to using the fast wi-fi and eating and drinking, but to each their own!

Centurion Lounge:

After my meeting finished, I decided it was time to visit the Centurion Lounge. Also located in Terminal D, I had a bit of trouble finding the entrance. You can see the lounge from the main floor but need to go around to the other side of a large pillar before finding the elevator. Thankfully, I kind airport employee directed me to the lounge. The Centurion is located near Gate D15, no more than a 2 minute walk from the Capital One Lounge.

Access:

As I’ve discussed in previous articles, the guest access for Centurion Lounges changed this year. In short, if guest access is important for you, have your guest be an authorized user on your account. Otherwise, you will need to pay $50 per guest. Additionally, the 3 hour rule is still in effect– you may only access Centurion Lounges 3 hours prior to departure, though that rule is not in effect for connecting passengers. You will need one of the following cards to gain access:

• $695 Annual Fee AmEx Platinum Card (Business or Personal, including the Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab versions)
• $550 AmEx Delta Reserve Card (Business or Personal) when flying Delta
• Invite-only $5,000 Annual Fee Centurion Card (Business or Personal). If you have either card, you may still bring in 2 free guests (though few people have either card so it’s a moot point!)

Food and Drinks:

While the food here was decent, it did not compare favorable to that which the Capital One Lounge served, in presentation, taste, and variety. I arrived at the Centurion Lounge just after 10:30am, when the bar opens for the day. At 11am, the food begins to switch from breakfast to lunch, though I ate from the breakfast buffet. This second breakfast would serve as a prelude to lunch since my arrival would be around 3pm, so I made sure to have another helping!

In addition to the scramble, I had some fruit, though it was a bit syrupy and much too sweet for my liking. The sausage was very tasty and I enjoyed the detox “shot” to go along with my cocktail.

The Blue Door is the Centurion Lounge staple. I’ve had it several times before, most notably at the CLT (Charlotte) Centurion Lounge. I always like to try their “locally inspired” drink; however, when I can. This time, that meant ordering the Tex/Mex. Tito’s is from Austin, though that’s not what I mean by local! 😉 The spice of the jalepeño was a great addition to the overall quality drink. I was impressed as usual by the Centurion drink selection.

Wi-Fi:

As with the Capital One Lounge, I got some more work done and had no issues with the wi-fi here. Although there was no meeting this time, I felt the wi-fi was fast as is typical of Centurion Lounges.

Bathrooms:

The bathrooms in the Centurion Lounge were not quite as nice as in the Capital One Lounge, though were well-maintained and feature the typical L’Occitane products. The bathrooms were divided by sex and featured individual stalls, rather than individual bathrooms.

There is a shower suite as well as a spa (although it seems that this is more of a massage chair operation than full-on spa as was the case pre-COVID. Yes, that’s still the excuse in 2023, definitely not cost-saving measures. 🙂 )

Recap:

DFW Airport is the 2nd busiest airport in the world and has numerous international flights departing for Asia, Oceania, Europe, and South America. Terminal D is the International Terminal, so it makes sense that the major lounges are found here.

On the surface, the Capital One Lounge and the AmEx Centurion Lounge are similar. After all, both are available to customers of premium credit cards and offer an elevated experience. However, in nearly every facet– food, drinks, bathrooms, views, seating, and presentation– it is the Capital One Lounge that comes out ahead. If you have a Capital One Credit Card, make sure to visit this lounge (and hopefully the ones in IAD and DEN open soon!).

After my visit, it was time to head to the SkyLink and Terminal C where my flight was awaiting me. That entire trip took only 10 minutes. I wish more airports had post-security terminal connections!