Card Member Receivables and Loans (Details 3)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016
U.S. Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	0.81%	0.59%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	0.80%	0.69%
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	1.53%	1.95%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	1.12%	1.35%
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	1.41%	1.24%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	0.80%	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	0.07%	0.06%
90+ Days Past Billing as a % of Receivables	0.89%	0.77%
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Receivables and Loans
Net Write-off Rate	1.01%	1.01%
30+ Days Past Due as a % of Total	1.10%	0.76%