Other Liabilities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Disclosure Text Block Abstract

Other Liabilities Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 10

Other Liabilities

The following is a summary of Other liabilities as of December 31:

(Millions)	2018		2017
Membership Rewards liability	$	8,414	$	7,751
Employee-related liabilities(a)		2,164		2,277
Deferred card and other fees, net		1,759		1,554
Repatriation tax liability(b)		1,689		1,703
Card Member rebate and reward accruals(c)		1,596		1,564
Book overdraft balances		1,028		2,837
Other(d)		3,629		4,503
Total	$	20,279	$	22,189

• Employee-related liabilities include employee benefit plan obligations and incentive compensation.
• Refer to Note 21 for additional information.
• Card Member rebate and reward accruals include payments to third-party reward partners and cash-back rewards.
• Other includes accruals for general operating expenses, client incentives, merchant rebates, payments to third-party card-issuing partners, marketing and business development, restructuring and reengineering reserves, QAH unfunded commitments and derivatives.

Membership Rewards

The Membership Rewards program allows enrolled Card Members to earn points that can be redeemed for a broad range of rewards including travel, shopping, gift cards, and covering eligible charges. We record a balance sheet liability that represents management’s best estimate of the cost of points earned that are expected to be redeemed in the future. The weighted average cost (WAC) per point and the Ultimate Redemption Rate (URR) are key assumptions used to estimate the Membership Rewards liability. We use statistical and actuarial models to estimate the URR based on redemption trends, card product type, enrollment tenure, card spend levels and credit attributes.

The expense for Membership Rewards points is included in Card Member rewards expense. We periodically evaluate our liability estimation process and assumptions based on developments in redemption patterns, cost per point redeemed, partner contract changes and other factors.

Deferred Card and Other Fees, Net

The carrying amount of deferred card and other fees, net of deferred direct acquisition costs and reserves for membership cancellations as of December 31, was as follows:

(Millions)		2018		2017
Deferred card and other fees(a)		$	2,208	$	1,996
Deferred direct acquisition costs			(282)		(280)
Reserves for membership cancellations			(167)		(162)
	Deferred card and other fees, net	$	1,759	$	1,554

Includes deferred fees for Membership Rewards program participants.