Card Member Receivables and Loans (Details 3)	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016
U.S. Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	0.67%	0.67%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	0.71%	0.58%
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	1.55%	2.13%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	1.20%	1.39%
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	1.28%	1.40%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	0.85%	0.70%
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%	0.06%
90+ Days Past Billing as a % of Receivables	0.84%	0.72%
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	1.03%	1.18%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	1.10%	0.82%