Customer Deposits - By Deposit Type (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2023	Dec. 31, 2022
Deposits, by Type
Savings and transaction accounts	$ 93,722	$ 76,731
Certificates of deposit:
Direct	5,557	2,760
Third-party (brokered)	12,960	13,331
Sweep accounts – Third-party (brokered)	15,907	16,297
Total U.S. retail deposits	128,146	109,119
Other deposits	77	76
Total customer deposits	129,144	110,239
Card Member Credit Balances
Certificates of deposit:
Card Member credit balances	$ 921	$ 1,044

Other Interest and Noninterest-Bearing Deposit Liabilities

No definition available.

Name:	axp_OtherInterestAndNoninterestBearingDepositLiabilities
Namespace Prefix:	axp_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Represents third party certificate of deposit accounts offered by the Company's Banks

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	axp_ThirdPartyCertificatesOfDeposit
Namespace Prefix:	axp_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Represents third party sweep accounts offered by the Company's Banks.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	axp_ThirdPartySweepAccounts
Namespace Prefix:	axp_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The aggregate of all deposit liabilities held by the entity, including foreign and domestic, interest and noninterest bearing; may include demand deposits, saving deposits, Negotiable Order of Withdrawal (NOW) and time deposits among others.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03.12)
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147479853/942-210-S99-1

+ Details

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

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

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

- Definition

Amount of interest bearing deposits with no stated maturity, which may include passbook and statement savings accounts and money-market deposit accounts (MMDAs).

+ References

+ Details

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

- Definition

Total amount of interest-bearing domestic deposit liabilities, which may include brokered, retail, demand, checking, notice of withdrawal, money market and other interest-bearing deposits.

+ References

+ Details

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

- Definition

Amount of interest-bearing domestic certificate of deposit liabilities.

+ References

+ Details

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

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

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

- Definition

The aggregate amount of all domestic and foreign noninterest-bearing deposits liabilities held by the entity.

+ References

+ Details

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

- Details

Name:	axp_CreditBalancesAxis=axp_CardMemberCreditBalancesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: