I run into this about every time I use my AmEx card (once every couple of months). I just fix it, but next time it happens, I will send a report. Here's what happens.
I have a charge for say $500. I enter the charge. I also cash in my rewards from the last time. I enter that cash back. Then I do a transfer from my bank to pay the balance.
04/11 Spectrum Resorts $500.00 Trips
04/11 AmEx Rewards +$10.00 Rebates
04/12 American Express +490.00. Transfer:Checking
I do all this to remind me that I have paid, etc.
OK, first comes in the charge; it matches correctly. Then comes in the Payment. And even though it has a different payee and a much different amount, it matches with the Rewards and changes it to $500 categorized as rebates. Now I have a payment for $490 linked to checking and a $490 rebate and an erroneous balance.
Fixing this without losing the transaction download requires the following.
- I go to the Checking account and change the payment category to Credit Card Payment (to decouple it from the original transaction still in AmEx).
- Go back to AmEx, change the AmEx to American Express and the category to Transfer:Checking to link it up with the transaction already downloaded in my checking account.
- Then I edit the original payment now uncategorized to change it to the rebate AmEx Rewards, Rebates, +10. When the rebate actually comes in, it will be right.
I suppose I need to do something with rules (I don't have any for this as I am a Rules Minimalist), but I don't understand why it wouldn't use the amount first to do the matching!
