Card Member Receivables and Loans (Details 3)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015
U.S. Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	0.59%	0.81%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	0.69%	0.83%
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	1.95%	1.76%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	1.35%	1.67%
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	1.24%	1.03%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	0.70%	0.51%
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	0.77%	0.71%
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	1.01%	1.00%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	0.76%	1.06%