Loss Contingency, Number Of States With Remaining Claims Under Antitrust Laws

No definition available.

Name:	axp_LossContingencyNumberOfStatesWithRemainingClaimsUnderAntitrustLaws
Namespace Prefix:	axp_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Loss Contingency, Number Of States With Remaining Claims Under Consumer Protection Laws

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	axp_LossContingencyNumberOfStatesWithRemainingClaimsUnderConsumerProtectionLaws
Namespace Prefix:	axp_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingenciesLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of loss contingency liability.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 450
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121557415&loc=d3e14326-108349

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingencyAccrualAtCarryingValue
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Reflects the estimated amount of loss from the specified contingency as of the balance sheet date.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 450
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121557415&loc=d3e14435-108349

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 450
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 9
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121557415&loc=d3e14557-108349

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 460
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=124440162&loc=d3e12021-110248

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingencyEstimateOfPossibleLoss
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	srt_RangeAxis=srt_MinimumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_RangeAxis=srt_MaximumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingenciesByNatureOfContingencyAxis=axp_ExposureAssociatedWithCardMemberPurchasesOfGoodsAndServicesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_LitigationCaseAxis=axp_ViolationOfFederalAntitrustLawAndConsumerLawsClassActionCaseMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Contingencies (Details Textuals)	Jun. 30, 2021 USD ($)	Jan. 29, 2019 state
Minimum
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Current estimate of possible loss	$ 0
Maximum
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Current estimate of possible loss	210,000,000
Exposure Associated with Card Member Purchases of Goods and Services
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss accrual	$ 33,000,000
Violation Of Federal Antitrust Law And Consumer Laws Class Action Case
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of states with remaining claims under antitrust laws \| state		11
Number of states with remaining claims under consumer protection laws \| state		6