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Guarantees | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2011
Schedule Of Guarantee Obligations [Abstract] |
Guarantees | NOTE 13 guarantees The Company provides cardmember protection plans that cover losses associated with purchased products, as well as certain other guarantees in the ordinary course of business which are within the scope of GAAP governing the account ing for guarantees. For the Company, guarantees primarily consist of card and travel protection programs, including: • Return Protection — refunds the price of eligible purchases made with the card where the merchant will not accept the return for up to 90 days from the date of purchase; • Account Protection — provides account protection in the event that a cardmember is unable to make payments on the account due to unforeseen hardship; • Merchant Protection — protects cardmembers primarily against non-delivery of goods and services, usually in the event of bankruptcy or liquidation of a merchant. In the event that a dispute is resolved in the cardmember's favor, the Company will generally credit the cardmember account for the amount of the purchase and will seek recovery from the merchant. If the Company is unable to collect the amount from the merchant, it will bear the loss for the amount credited to the cardmember. The Company mitigates this risk by withholding settlement from the merchant or obtaining deposits and other guarantees from merchants considered higher risk due to various factors. The amounts being held by the Company are not significant when compared to the maximum potential amount of undiscounted future payments; and, Credit Card Registry — cancels and requests replacement of lost or stolen cards, and provides for fraud liability coverage. In relation to its maximum amount of undiscounted future payments as seen in the table that follows, to date the Company has not experienced any significant losses related to guarantees. The Company's initial recognition of guarantees is at fair value, which has been determined in accordance with GAAP governing fair value measurement. In addition, the Company establishes reserves when an unfavorable outcome is probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. The following table provides information related to such guarantees as of December 31:
?? |  | Maximum amount of |  |
| undiscounted future | Amount of related
| payments(a) | liability(b)
| (Billions) | (Millions)
Type of Guarantee?? |  | 2011 |  | 2010 |  | 2011 |  | 2010
Card and travel operations(c) |  | $ | 51 |  | $ | 67 |  | $ | 96 |  | $ | 114
Other(d) |  |  | 1 |  |  | 1 |  |  | 98 |  |  | 99
Total?? |  | $ | 52 |  | $ | 68 |  | $ | 194 |  | $ | 213
Represents the notional amounts that could be lost under the guarantees and indemnifications if there were a total default by the guaranteed parties. The Merchant Protection guarantee is calculated using management's best estimate of maximum exposure based on all eligible claims as measured against a nnual billed business volumes. Included as part of other liabilities on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets. I ncludes Return P r otection, Account Protection, Merchant Protection and Credit Card Registry as of December 31, 2010, all of which the Company offers directly to cardmembers. P rimarily includes guarantees related to the Company's business dispositions and real estate, each of which are individ ually smaller indemnifications. Refer to Note 26 for a discussion of additional guarantees of the Company as of December 31, 2011 and 2010.

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- Definition Tabular disclosure of each guarantee obligation, or each group of similar guarantee obligations, including (a) the nature of the guarantee, including its term, how it arose, and the events or circumstances that would require the guarantor to perform under the guarantee; (b) the maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted) the guarantor could be required to make under the guarantee; (c) the current carrying amount of the liability, if any, for the guarantor's obligations under the guarantee; and (d) the nature of any recourse provisions under the guarantee, and any assets held either as collateral or by third parties, and any relevant related party disclosure. Excludes disclosures about product warranties. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 460 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 6 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6851643&loc=d3e12265-110248 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 5 -Paragraph 9, 10, 11, 12 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name FASB Interpretation (FIN) -Number 45 -Paragraph 13, 16 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 460 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6851643&loc=d3e12069-110248 + Details
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