Accounts Receivable and Loans (Details 3)	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
U S Card Services [Member] \| Card Member Loans [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Loans and Receivables
Net Write-Off Rate - Principal Only	1.90%	2.20%
Net Write-Off Rate - Principal, Interest, and Fees	2.10%	2.40%
30 Days Past Due as a % of Total	1.10%	1.30%
U S Card Services [Member] \| Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Loans and Receivables
Net Write-Off Rate - Principal Only	1.80%	2.00%
Net Write-Off Rate - Principal, Interest, and Fees	1.90%	2.10%
30 Days Past Due as a % of Total	1.70%	1.80%
International Card Services [Member] \| Card Member Loans [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Loans and Receivables
Net Write-Off Rate - Principal Only	1.90%	1.90%
Net Write-Off Rate - Principal, Interest, and Fees	2.30%	2.50%
30 Days Past Due as a % of Total	1.50%	1.60%
International Card Services [Member] \| Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Loans and Receivables
Net Loss Ratio as a % of Charge Volume	0.20%	0.16%
90 days past billing as a percentage of receivables	1.10%	0.90%
Global Commercial Services [Member] \| Card Member Receivables [Member]
Credit Quality Indicator for Loans and Receivables
Net Loss Ratio as a % of Charge Volume	0.07%	0.07%
90 days past billing as a percentage of receivables	0.80%	0.70%

Name:	axp_CreditQualityIndicatorForLoansAndReceivablesAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	axp_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

Represents the ratio of charge card write-offs consisting of principal (resulting from authorized and unauthorized transactions) and fee components, less recoveries, on cardmember receivables expressed as a percentage of gross amounts billed to cardmembers.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	axp_NetLossRatioAsPercentageOfChargeVolume
Namespace Prefix:	axp_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Represents the amount of cardmember loans or cardmember receivables written off consisting of principal (resulting from authorized transactions), less recoveries, as a percentage of the average loan balance or average receivables during the period.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	axp_NetWriteOffRatePrincipal
Namespace Prefix:	axp_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents the amount of cardmember loans or cardmember receivables written off consisting of principal, interest, and fees (resulting from authorized transactions), less recoveries, as a percentage of the average loan balance or average receivables during the period.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	axp_NetWriteOffRatePrincipalInterestFees
Namespace Prefix:	axp_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents metric calculated as cardmember receivables that are 90 days past billing expressed as a percentage of total cardmember receivables.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	axp_NinetyDaysPastBillingAsPercentageOfReceivables
Namespace Prefix:	axp_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Represents metric calculated as accounts receivable or loans that are 30 days past due expressed as a percentage of total accounts receivables or loans.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	axp_ThirtyDaysPastDueAsPercentageOfTotal
Namespace Prefix:	axp_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant