McCormick & Schmick’s is a brand in managed decline. At its peak it operated close to 100 restaurants across the United States and Canada. By April 2026 the chain had contracted to roughly 15 open U.S. locations, with additional closures confirmed through mid-year. The Chicago Loop flagship closed in January 2026. Portland, the chain’s founding city, lost its last location in March 2025. Charlotte closed in May 2025. Pittsburgh followed in May 2026.
This context matters before any loyalty program discussion begins. A rewards program is only as useful as the restaurants that accept its currency. If you have a McCormick & Schmick’s within reach, this review still applies. If the nearest location is a three-hour drive, the points math is irrelevant.
The program: Landry’s Select Club, not a standalone card
McCormick & Schmick’s does not operate its own loyalty program. Since Landry’s Inc. acquired the chain in 2012, members participate in the Landry’s Select Club — a multi-brand program that covers more than 600 locations across a portfolio that includes Morton’s The Steakhouse, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Saltgrass Steak House, The Oceanaire, Rainforest Cafe, and roughly two dozen other concepts.
That multi-brand architecture is the most important structural feature of the program. It means points earned at a McCormick & Schmick’s dinner are redeemable at a Saltgrass lunch or a Morton’s anniversary meal. As McCormick & Schmick’s locations close, that portability becomes less of a bonus feature and more of the primary value proposition.
How enrollment works
Joining requires a one-time, non-refundable $25 membership fee. The program issues a $25 welcome reward within 24 hours of online registration, effectively zeroing out the out-of-pocket cost for any member who returns for a second visit. There is no annual renewal fee. Once you’re in, you’re in.
Points cannot be earned on the membership fee itself, on taxes, on gratuity, or on gift card purchases.
Earning and redemption mechanics
The earn rate is 1 point per dollar of qualifying food and beverage spend. Every 250 points converts to a $25 reward. That works out to a 10% return on paper — meaningfully above the industry average for casual-dining programs, which cluster around 2–5%.
The practical return is lower. Rewards are issued only in $25 increments, which means you need to accumulate $250 in spend before you see a dollar of benefit (beyond the welcome and birthday rewards). Certificates carry an expiration window, and members who don’t dine frequently enough to redeem before expiry lose accrued value. The program does not allow partial redemptions — you cannot apply $10 toward a $35 check. You wait for a full $25 certificate or you don’t redeem at all.
Standing benefits worth noting
Two annual benefits exist independently of point accumulation. First, the $25 welcome reward on enrollment. Second, a $25 birthday reward issued automatically on the first day of your birthday month, usable throughout that month at any participating Select Club location. That’s $25/year in guaranteed value for members who dine at any Landry’s brand during their birthday month — a genuinely strong offer with no hoops beyond having an account in good standing.
Members also receive priority seating at participating locations. In practice, this matters more at high-traffic Landry’s concepts than at McCormick & Schmick’s current footprint, but it remains a listed benefit.
The multi-brand redemption network: the real reason to join
For anyone already dining at Morton’s, Saltgrass, or other Landry’s brands, adding McCormick & Schmick’s spend to the same account is straightforward incremental value. A business traveler who expense-accounts a McCormick & Schmick’s dinner in Houston earns points redeemable against a family dinner at Bubba Gump on vacation. That cross-brand flexibility is rare in restaurant loyalty — most programs trap value inside a single concept — and it represents the single strongest argument for the Select Club.
The flip side: if McCormick & Schmick’s is the only Landry’s concept you use, the shrinking location count limits how quickly you can accumulate and redeem before certificates expire.
Why the program disappoints in 2026
Three structural problems have worsened since the program launched.
No status tier. A guest spending $5,000 a year is treated identically to one spending $250. The program acknowledges cumulative spend through faster certificate accumulation, but there is no recognition layer, no priority access beyond general member seating, and no differentiated treatment for high-value regulars. For an upscale-casual chain where wine-and-seafood-tower tabs can run well above $100 per person, that omission reads as indifference toward the most profitable guests.
Expiring certificates punish infrequent diners. The math works for regulars. It punishes occasional guests who accumulate slowly and may not redeem before certificates expire. The program structure implicitly assumes you dine at Landry’s brands multiple times per year. If you don’t, you will lose points.
The chain itself is in structural decline. Landry’s has not announced a turnaround plan for McCormick & Schmick’s. Where the brand has vacated prime real estate, Landry’s has replaced it with other concepts (Mastro Ocean Club took over a former McCormick & Schmick’s location in Atlanta). The closures are concentrated in urban office-tower markets — exactly the locations that served business travelers and expense-account diners, the core audience the loyalty program was designed for.
Who should still join
Current Landry’s Select Club members: If you already hold a Select Club card and there is a McCormick & Schmick’s accessible to you, there is no reason not to earn points there. The program is the same card.
Diners near one of the remaining locations: If you live or travel near one of the ~15 open restaurants and dine upscale-casual more than twice a year, the birthday reward alone justifies the free-after-welcome-reward enrollment.
Business travelers at Landry’s-adjacent destinations: The 600-location Landry’s network still delivers real value if you use multiple brands. McCormick & Schmick’s is just one earn point among many.
Who should not bother
Anyone who doesn’t have a McCormick & Schmick’s or another Landry’s brand within realistic dining distance. The certificate model assumes regular cadence. If you’re enrolling on the hope that the chain survives and expands, the evidence does not support that bet.
Bottom line
The Landry’s Select Club is a competently designed program with a real birthday benefit, a fair earn rate, and genuine multi-brand utility. McCormick & Schmick’s as a standalone destination has become a minor entry point into that network — useful for those who live near the remaining locations, incidental for everyone else. The program earns its score on the merits of the Select Club infrastructure. The chain itself gets no such benefit of the doubt.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a fee to join Landry’s Select Club? Yes — a one-time, non-refundable $25 membership fee. A $25 welcome reward is credited within 24 hours of online registration, so the net cost to members who return for a second visit is effectively zero.
How many McCormick & Schmick’s locations are still open? Approximately 15 U.S. locations as of April–May 2026, down from roughly 100 at the brand’s peak. Closures have continued into 2026.
Where can I redeem points earned at McCormick & Schmick’s? At any participating Landry’s Select Club location — over 600 spots nationwide, including Morton’s, Saltgrass, Bubba Gump, The Oceanaire, Rainforest Cafe, and others.
What is the birthday reward? A $25 reward issued automatically to your account on the first day of your birthday month, usable at any Select Club location during that month.
Do points expire? Earned points convert to $25 reward certificates once you hit 250 points. Those certificates carry an expiration window — check current Select Club terms for the active validity period.
Can I earn points on the membership fee? No. Points are not earned on the $25 enrollment fee, taxes, gratuity, or gift card purchases.
Further Reading from Authoritative Sources
- McCormick & Schmick’s — Wikipedia documents the McCormick & Schmick’s brand history and Landry’s acquisition that are foundational to the article’s analysis — the peak-to-current location decline from ~100 to ~15 restaurants is the central fact determining whether the loyalty program delivers useful value to prospective members.
- National Retail Federation — NRF publishes restaurant loyalty benchmarks that contextualize the Landry’s Select Club mechanics — the 10% paper return, $25-increment redemption, no-tier structure, and expiring certificates — against industry standards for upscale casual dining programs, supporting the article’s assessment of where the program competes and where it falls short.
