Card Member Receivables and Loans (Details 3)	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
U.S. Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	0.67%	0.91%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	0.58%	0.75%
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	2.13%	1.92%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	1.39%	1.33%
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	1.40%	1.03%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	0.70%	0.72%
Global Corporate Payments [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Loss Ratio as a % of Charge Volume	0.06%	0.07%
90+ Days Past Billing as a % of Receivables	0.72%	0.73%
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	1.18%	1.21%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	0.82%	0.91%