XML 66 R54.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.7.0.1

Investment Securities (Details 2) $ in Millions | 3 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended
--- | --- | ---
Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($) securities | Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) securities
Available For Sale Securities Continuous Unrealized Loss Position Qualitative Disclosure [Abstract] |  |
Number of securities, less than 12 months | securities | 21 | 37
Number of securities, 12 months or more | securities | 6 | 6
Number of securities, total | securities | 27 | 43
Available-for-sale Securities, Continuous Unrealized Loss Position, Fair Value [Abstract] |  |
Estimated Fair Value, Less than 12 months | $ 397 | $ 451
Estimated Fair Value, 12 months or more | 32 | 32
Estimated Fair Value, Total | 429 | 483
Available-for-sale Securities, Continuous Unrealized Loss Position, Aggregate Losses [Abstract] |  |
Gross Unrealized Losses, Less than 12 months | (10) | (19)
Gross Unrealized Losses, 12 months or more | (2) | (2)
Gross Unrealized Losses, Total | $ (12) | $ (21)
Ratio Of Fair Value To Amortized Cost Between Ninety And One Hundred Percent [Member] |  |
Available For Sale Securities Continuous Unrealized Loss Position Qualitative Disclosure [Abstract] |  |
Number of securities, less than 12 months | securities | 21 | 33
Number of securities, 12 months or more | securities | 6 | 6
Number of securities, total | securities | 27 | 39
Available-for-sale Securities, Continuous Unrealized Loss Position, Fair Value [Abstract] |  |
Estimated Fair Value, Less than 12 months | $ 397 | $ 411
Estimated Fair Value, 12 months or more | 32 | 32
Estimated Fair Value, Total | 429 | 443
Available-for-sale Securities, Continuous Unrealized Loss Position, Aggregate Losses [Abstract] |  |
Gross Unrealized Losses, Less than 12 months | (10) | (13)
Gross Unrealized Losses, 12 months or more | (2) | (2)
Gross Unrealized Losses, Total | $ (12) | $ (15)
Ratio Of Fair Value To Amortized Cost Less Than Ninety Percent [Member] |  |
Available For Sale Securities Continuous Unrealized Loss Position Qualitative Disclosure [Abstract] |  |
Number of securities, less than 12 months | securities | 0 | 4
Number of securities, 12 months or more | securities | 0 | 0
Number of securities, total | securities | 0 | 4
Available-for-sale Securities, Continuous Unrealized Loss Position, Fair Value [Abstract] |  |
Estimated Fair Value, Less than 12 months | $ 0 | $ 40
Estimated Fair Value, 12 months or more | 0 | 0
Estimated Fair Value, Total | 0 | 40
Available-for-sale Securities, Continuous Unrealized Loss Position, Aggregate Losses [Abstract] |  |
Gross Unrealized Losses, Less than 12 months | 0 | (6)
Gross Unrealized Losses, 12 months or more | 0 | 0
Gross Unrealized Losses, Total | $ 0 | $ (6)

X
- Definition Securities available for sale. Estimated fair value, twelve months or more + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | axp_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesContinuousUnrealizedLossPosition_TwelveMonthsOrLongerFairValue
Namespace Prefix: | axp_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Available For Sale Securities Gross Unrealized Losses Due To Temporary Impairments by ratio of fair value to amortized cost + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | axp_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesGrossUnrealizedLossesDueToImpairments
Namespace Prefix: | axp_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Amount of unrealized loss on securities classified as available-for-sale that have been in a loss position for twelve months or longer. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 320 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 6 -Subparagraph (a)(2) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=73527792&loc=d3e27290-111563 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesContinuousUnrealizedLossPosition12MonthsOrLongerAggregateLosses
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Amount of unrealized loss on securities classified as available-for-sale. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 320 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 6 -Subparagraph (a)(2) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=73527792&loc=d3e27290-111563 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesContinuousUnrealizedLossPositionAggregateLosses
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesContinuousUnrealizedLossPositionAggregateLossesAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition This item represents the aggregate fair value of investments in debt and equity securities in an unrealized loss position which are categorized neither as held-to-maturity nor trading securities. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 320 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 6 -Subparagraph (a)(1) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=73527792&loc=d3e27290-111563 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesContinuousUnrealizedLossPositionFairValue
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | instant

X
- References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesContinuousUnrealizedLossPositionFairValueAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Amount of unrealized loss on investments in available-for-sale securities that have been in a loss position for less than twelve months. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 320 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 6 -Subparagraph (a)(2) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=73527792&loc=d3e27290-111563 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 320 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 7 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=73527792&loc=d3e27337-111563 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesContinuousUnrealizedLossPositionLessThan12MonthsAggregateLosses
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesContinuousUnrealizedLossPositionQualitativeDisclosureAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Number of investment positions in available-for-sale investments in a continuous unrealized loss position for less than one year or normal operating cycle, if longer, for which an other-than-temporary impairment (OTTI) has not been recognized in the income statement. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesInUnrealizedLossPositionsQualitativeDisclosureNumberOfPositionsLessThanOneYear
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Number of investment positions in available-for-sale investments in a continuous unrealized loss position for which an other-than-temporary impairment (OTTI) has not been recognized in the income statement. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 320 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 6 -Subparagraph (b)(3) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=73527792&loc=d3e27290-111563 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_AvailableforsaleSecuritiesInUnrealizedLossPositionsQualitativeDisclosureNumberOfPositions1
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Number of investment positions in available-for-sale investments that have been in a continuous unrealized loss position for greater than or equal to a year for which an other-than-temporary impairment (OTTI) has not been recognized in the income statement. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_AvailableforsaleSecuritiesInUnrealizedLossPositionsQualitativeDisclosureNumberOfPositionsGreaterThanOrEqualToOneYear
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Details
Name: | axp_RatioOfFairValueToAmortizedCostAxis=axp_RatioOfFairValueToAmortizedCostBetweenNinetyAndOneHundredPercentMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | axp_RatioOfFairValueToAmortizedCostAxis=axp_RatioOfFairValueToAmortizedCostLessThanNinetyPercentMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |