Loans and Accounts Receivable (Details 2) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
U S Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member] | Financing Receivables Period Past Due [Domain]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Current	$ 46,158	$ 48,216
Total aging	46,714	48,758
U S Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	160	156
U S Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member] | Financing Receivables 60 To 89 Days Past Due [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	120	119
U S Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member] | Financing Receivables Equal To Greater Than 90 Days Past Due [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	276	267
U S Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member] | Financing Receivables Period Past Due [Domain]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Current	10,778	12,158
Total aging	10,918	12,302
U S Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	48	45
U S Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member] | Financing Receivables 60 To 89 Days Past Due [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	32	30
U S Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member] | Financing Receivables Equal To Greater Than 90 Days Past Due [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	60	69
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member] | Financing Receivables Period Past Due [Domain]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Current	6,698	6,863
Total aging	6,814	6,971
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	37	32
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member] | Financing Receivables 60 To 89 Days Past Due [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	25	24
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member] | Financing Receivables Equal To Greater Than 90 Days Past Due [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	54	52
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member] | Financing Receivables Period Past Due [Domain]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Current	5,462	5,888
Total aging	5,543	5,966
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	25	22
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member] | Financing Receivables 60 To 89 Days Past Due [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	17	15
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member] | Financing Receivables Equal To Greater Than 90 Days Past Due [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	39	41
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member] | Financing Receivables Period Past Due [Domain]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Current	9,850	9,378
Total aging	9,971	9,484
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	37	34
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member] | Financing Receivables 60 To 89 Days Past Due [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	28	23
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member] | Financing Receivables Equal To Greater Than 90 Days Past Due [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	56	49
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member] | Financing Receivables Period Past Due [Domain]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Current	14,351	14,047
Total aging	14,591	14,273
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	84	77
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member] | Financing Receivables 60 To 89 Days Past Due [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	52	47
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member] | Financing Receivables Equal To Greater Than 90 Days Past Due [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	104	102
Global Corporate Payments [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member] | Financing Receivables Period Past Due [Domain]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Total aging	69	52
Global Corporate Payments [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member] | Financing Receivables Equal To Greater Than 90 Days Past Due [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	1	0
Global Corporate Payments [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member] | Financing Receivables Period Past Due [Domain]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Total aging	16,593	14,767
Global Corporate Payments [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member] | Financing Receivables Equal To Greater Than 90 Days Past Due [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	$ 122	$ 135