Like I said, it depends on the card you have and you'll have to call Amex to find out. For me paying $90 to earn 6k MR points a month was worth it. Your decision may vary... Also it's worth noting that if you pay to earn MR points on your Gold card, you get transfer ability to hotels/airlines. I don't know what other Amex you have, but at the time I had a Blue so I couldn't transfer MR to airlines because it gives you the watered down version of MR.