Card Member Receivables and Loans (Details 3)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
U.S. Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	0.57%	0.69%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	0.78%	0.71%
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	1.82%	1.98%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	1.22%	1.57%
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	0.84%	0.92%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	0.87%	0.94%
Global Corporate Payments [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Loss Ratio as a % of Charge Volume	0.08%	0.05%
90+ Days Past Billing as a % of Receivables	0.74%	0.72%
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	0.88%	1.11%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	1.18%	1.05%