Other Liabilities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Other Liabilities Disclosure [Abstract]

Other Liabilities

OTHER LIABILITIES

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

(Millions)	2020		2019
Membership Rewards liability	$	9,750	$	8,892
Employee-related liabilities(a)	2,336		2,429
Card Member rebate and reward accruals(b)	1,367		1,790
Income tax liability(c)	943		1,122
Other(d)	12,838		10,715
Total	$	27,234	$	24,948

(a)Includes employee benefit plan obligations and incentive compensation.

(b)Card Member rebate and reward accruals include payments to third-party reward partners and cash-back rewards.

(c)Includes repatriation tax liability of $1,012 million as of both December 31, 2020 and 2019, which represents our remaining obligation under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted on December 22, 2017 (Tax Act) to pay a one-time transition tax on unrepatriated earnings and profits of certain foreign subsidiaries, the net position for current federal, state and non-U.S. income tax liabilities, and deferred tax liabilities for foreign jurisdictions.

(d)Primarily includes book overdraft balances, net deferred card and other fees, Travelers Cheques and other prepaid products, lease liabilities, derivative and hedge liabilities, dividends payable, client incentives and restructuring and reengineering reserves.

MEMBERSHIP REWARDS

The Membership Rewards program allows enrolled Card Members to earn points that can be redeemed for a broad variety of rewards including travel, shopping, gift cards, and covering eligible charges. We record a Membership Rewards liability that represents management’s best estimate of the cost of points earned that are expected to be redeemed by Card Members in the future. The weighted average cost (WAC) per point and the Ultimate Redemption Rate (URR) are key assumptions used to estimate the 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 WAC per point assumption is derived from 12 months of redemptions and is adjusted as appropriate for certain changes in redemption costs that are not representative of future cost expectations and expected developments in redemption patterns.

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)	2020		2019
Deferred card and other fees(a)	$	2,639	$	2,532
Deferred direct acquisition costs	(166)		(270)
Reserves for membership cancellations	(191)		(200)
Deferred card and other fees, net	$	2,282	$	2,062

(a)Includes deferred fees for Membership Rewards program participants.