Loans and Accounts Receivable (Details 2) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Jun. 30, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
U S Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member] | Financing Receivables Period Past Due [Domain]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Current	$ 47,797	$ 48,216
Total aging	48,348	48,758
U S Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	155	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	119	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	277	267
U S Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member] | Financing Receivables Period Past Due [Domain]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Current	11,220	12,158
Total aging	11,344	12,302
U S Consumer Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	42	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	24	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	58	69
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member] | Financing Receivables Period Past Due [Domain]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Current	7,124	6,863
Total aging	7,245	6,971
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	38	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	58	52
International Consumer and Network Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member] | Financing Receivables Period Past Due [Domain]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Current	5,903	5,888
Total aging	5,988	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	16	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	44	41
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member] | Financing Receivables Period Past Due [Domain]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Current	10,207	9,378
Total aging	10,324	9,484
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	35	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	25	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	57	49
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member] | Financing Receivables Period Past Due [Domain]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Current	14,967	14,047
Total aging	15,185	14,273
Global Small Business Services [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Past Due	75	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	41	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	102	102
Global Corporate Payments [Member] | Card Member Loans [Member] | Financing Receivables Period Past Due [Domain]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Total aging	54	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	0	0
Global Corporate Payments [Member] | Card Member Receivables [Member] | Financing Receivables Period Past Due [Domain]
Accounts Receivables [Line Items]
Total aging	16,888	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	$ 136	$ 135