A CAVU APR charge on your statement is almost always a travel booking processed through CAVU, a company that runs the payment platform behind airport parking, lounge access, FastTrack security lanes, and airport car rentals at more than 350 airports in over 40 countries.1CAVU. The Global Travel Marketplace The “APR” at the end is a month tag for April, not an interest rate. If the name looks unfamiliar, that’s because you probably booked through an airport’s own website or a travel site, and CAVU was the processor working behind the scenes.
What CAVU Is and Why “APR” Appears
CAVU operates what it calls a Global Travel Marketplace, powering ecommerce for airports and airlines so travelers can buy parking, lounge access, and related services.1CAVU. The Global Travel Marketplace You may never have seen the CAVU name during checkout. The site you used — an airport’s parking page, a lounge booking tool, a travel retailer — handed the transaction off to CAVU, and CAVU is the name your bank saw.
The three-letter suffix is a billing descriptor convention. Processors append month codes so transactions can be identified later. APR means April. If a future statement shows CAVU JUN or CAVU OCT, the same logic applies. Nothing about the “APR” refers to Annual Percentage Rate or finance charges.
How to Verify the Charge Is Yours
Most unrecognized CAVU charges turn out to be legitimate bookings the cardholder forgot about. Work through these checks before filing a dispute.
- Search your email inbox for booking confirmations from airport parking sites, lounge platforms, or travel retailers. The confirmation often names CAVU or references the airport service you bought.
- Match the dollar amount and date against any flights you took that month. Airport parking charges usually line up with a specific trip.
- Log into any booking accounts you’ve created and check your reservation history.
- Note the full transaction ID from your statement. You’ll need it if you contact CAVU or your bank.
How to Dispute the Charge
If you’ve confirmed the charge isn’t yours, or it’s wrong in some way, start with the merchant and preserve your legal rights with your card issuer in parallel.
Contact CAVU or the booking site directly first. The support team can usually find your reservation by email address, card details, or transaction amount, and a merchant refund is faster than a formal dispute.
If the merchant won’t resolve it, your next steps and your deadlines depend on how you paid.
If You Paid With a Credit Card
Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, your maximum liability for an unauthorized credit card charge is $50, and the major card networks’ zero-liability policies usually bring that to nothing.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 1643 – Liability of Holder of Credit Card The deadline that matters: you must send written notice of the billing error to your card issuer within 60 days of the statement that first showed the charge.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors Miss that window and you lose the statute’s protections.
Send the dispute to the billing inquiries address on your statement, not the payment address. Include your name, account number, the date and amount of the charge, and why you believe it’s an error. Most issuers also offer an online dispute portal, which is fine for speed, but following up in writing keeps you squarely within what the statute requires.
If You Paid With a Debit Card
Debit card protections are weaker and the timing is tighter. Report an unauthorized charge within two business days of learning about it and your liability caps at $50. Wait longer than two days but report within 60 days of the statement, and the cap rises to $500. After 60 days, you can be liable for the full amount.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1693g – Consumer Liability
Your bank must investigate and respond within 10 business days of receiving your notice.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1693f – Error Resolution The bank can take up to 45 days total, but only if it provisionally credits the disputed amount to your account within those first 10 business days.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation E – Section 1005.11 Procedures for Resolving Errors The provisional credit keeps you from being out the money while the investigation runs.
Whichever card you used, keep screenshots, confirmation numbers, and copies of every message you send or receive. Documentation is what separates a successful dispute from a denied one.
Stopping Recurring CAVU Charges
Some CAVU-related services bill on a recurring basis — a lounge membership, for instance, or an airport parking subscription that renews automatically. Disputing one charge won’t stop the next one from hitting your card.
Log into the platform where you originally booked and look for subscription or membership settings. Cancel there first, then confirm the cancellation by email so you have it in writing. Federal law requires online merchants using automatic renewals to disclose material terms up front, obtain your express consent before charging, and provide a straightforward way to cancel.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 8403 – Negative Option Marketing on the Internet If a merchant makes cancellation unreasonably difficult, that itself may violate federal law.
If you cancel and a charge still appears afterward, treat it as a billing error. On a credit card, file an FCBA dispute within 60 days of the statement and attach your cancellation confirmation.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors On a debit card, notify your bank the same day you spot it to stay inside the two-business-day window.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1693g – Consumer Liability If the merchant stays unresponsive, ask your bank to block future charges from CAVU. Banks sometimes charge a fee for a stop-payment order, so ask about the cost before you request one.