Derivatives and Hedging Activities (Details Textual) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2020
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Margin on interest rate swap not netted	$ 8,000,000	$ 11,000,000
Carrying values of hedged liabilities	7,800,000,000	13,100,000,000
Cumulative amount of fair value hedging adjustments	(236,000,000)	237,000,000
Decrease in interest expense on long term debt and other	57,000,000	256,000,000	$ 256,000,000
Not Designated as Hedging Instrument
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Notional amount of derivatives	21,700,000,000	19,000,000,000
Other Expense
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Gain (loss) in changes in fair value of derivatives not designated as hedges	8,000,000	(21,000,000)	10,000,000
Credit Valuation Adjustment
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Fixed-rate debt obligations designated in fair value relationships	0	0
Fair Value Hedges \| Fixed-Rate Debt Obligations
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Fixed-rate debt obligations designated in fair value relationships	8,100,000,000	12,900,000,000
Net Investment Hedges
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Notional amount of derivatives	12,500,000,000	12,600,000,000
Gain (loss) on net investment hedges, net of taxes	237,000,000	176,000,000	(253,000,000)
Reclassifications out of AOCI	0	$ 0	$ 0
Embedded Derivative \| Not Designated as Hedging Instrument
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Notional amount of derivatives	78,000,000
Fair value of embedded derivative asset, gross	27,000,000
Embedded Derivative \| Noninterest Income \| Not Designated as Hedging Instrument
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Gain (loss) on embedded derivative	$ 4,000,000

Cumulative FV hedging adjustments

No definition available.

Name:	axp_CumulativeFairValueHedgingAdjustmentOfHedgedItemInFairValueHedge
Namespace Prefix:	axp_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Changes in the fair value of the derivatives and the related underlying foreign currency exposure

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	axp_GainLossInChangesOfFairValueOfDerivativesNotDesignatedAsHedges
Namespace Prefix:	axp_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount posted as initial margin for centrally cleared interest rate swaps which is not netted against the derivative balances.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	axp_MarginOnInterestRateSwapNotNetted
Namespace Prefix:	axp_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Represents the amount of a net reduction to interest expense on long-term debt and other, primarily related to the net settlements on the Company's fair value hedges.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	axp_NetIncreaseDecreaseToInterestExpenseLongTermDebtAndOtherRelatedToNetSettlementsOnFairValueHedges
Namespace Prefix:	axp_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of hedged item in hedging relationship. Excludes hedged asset or liability.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeAmountOfHedgedItem
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Nominal or face amount used to calculate payment on derivative.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1B
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=125515794&loc=SL5580258-113959

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1A
-Subparagraph (d)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=125515794&loc=SL5579245-113959

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeNotionalAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativesFairValueLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Fair value as of the balance sheet date of the embedded derivative or group of embedded derivatives classified as an asset.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4B
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=125515794&loc=SL5624163-113959

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_EmbeddedDerivativeFairValueOfEmbeddedDerivativeAsset
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Net Increase or Decrease in the fair value of the embedded derivative or group of embedded derivatives included in earnings in the period.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 15
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/subtopic&trid=2229187

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_EmbeddedDerivativeGainLossOnEmbeddedDerivativeNet
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of liability hedged in fair value hedging relationship.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4EE
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=125515794&loc=SL109999712-113959

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_HedgedLiabilityFairValueHedge
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount, before tax and reclassification, of gain (loss) from derivative designated and qualifying as net investment hedge.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4CCC
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=125515794&loc=SL109998896-113959

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_OtherComprehensiveIncomeLossNetInvestmentHedgeGainLossBeforeReclassificationAndTax
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount, before tax, of reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) for gain (loss) from derivative designated and qualifying as net investment hedge.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4CCC
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=125515794&loc=SL109998896-113959

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_OtherComprehensiveIncomeLossNetInvestmentHedgeGainLossReclassificationBeforeTax
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_HedgingDesignationAxis=us-gaap_NondesignatedMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncomeStatementLocationAxis=us-gaap_OtherExpenseMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeInstrumentRiskAxis=axp_CreditValuationAdjustmentMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeInstrumentRiskAxis=us-gaap_FairValueHedgingMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis=axp_FixedRateDebtObligationsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeInstrumentRiskAxis=us-gaap_NetInvestmentHedgingMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeInstrumentRiskAxis=us-gaap_EmbeddedDerivativeFinancialInstrumentsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncomeStatementLocationAxis=axp_NoninterestIncomeMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: