Document and Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2017	Jul. 18, 2017
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
Trading Symbol	AXP
Entity Central Index Key	0000004962
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2017
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		883,979,644