The richest credit card offer ever for frequent flyer miles — British Airways, is ending today living up to its “limited-time only” announcement. Thought to perhaps go into February, this rich offer has garnered nearly 150,000 viewers to FlyerTalk and made many travelers rich with miles. It does continue with many of the benefits such as bonus for $35,000 spend and companion voucher, but the buzz was never higher than for this.

Follow the buzz!

Bid online for Lufthansa flights to Germany and other destinations in Europe  from the U.S. in a one-day only auction with bids for flights starting at just $1.47. This auction, only on Thursday, December 10 will be for flights beginning Christmas Day through April 30, 2010. The timing of this is very crucial so schedule your time at work on Thursday from 9:00 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. eastern standard time (EST). Numerous flights from the U.S. to Germany and other destinations in Europe will be open for bidding as follows:

9:00 a.m. – From any U.S. destination to Europe in Business Class
9:05 a.m. – From Charlotte to Munich in Economy Class
9:16 a.m. – From Chicago to Dusseldorf in Business Class
9:35 a.m. – From Florida to Frankfurt in Business Class
9:55 a.m. – From New York to Dusseldorf in Business Class

In addition, a worldwide auction of 72 flights from Germany to Europe, Asia and Africa will take place from 4:00 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. EST.  Bidders who wish to participate in the auctions must use their Lufthansa.com profile username and password to log in. Customers can create a free profile under Lufthansa.com >Login > New Registration. Miles & More members can simply use their Miles & More membership number and pin tolog in and participate.

In prescribed steps, customers can then place a bid for their chosen flight: From 10 to 50 euros for an Economy Class flight to European destinations, or from 10 to 100 euros for a Business Class flight.  Bids for a seat on long-haul flights in Economy Class start at 10 euros rising to 100 euros in Economy Class, or range from 30 to 300 euros in Business Class. Participants can check directly under “My Bids“ whether their bid for their dream flight has been successful. The Lufthansa Service Center will then phone them and make an immediate booking.

Flights in the auction must be taken in the period between December 25, 2009 and April 30, 2010. If specified in the bid, they may include a feeder flight within Germany as part of the deal. Depending on availability, flights in booking classes V and Z can be re-booked for a fee of 50 euros, even if a ticket has already been issued. Should a flight be re-booked, the booking guarantee will elapse. Moreover, those flights for which tickets have been issued already cannot be cancelled. Mileage on flights won in the auction in booking classes V and Z will be credited to the accounts of Miles & More members.

Further details on individual flights are available under terms and conditions in the respective “auction room“ on www.lufthansa.com.

Up in the Air, which opens today, stars George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizer, motivational speaker and über frequent flyer with the loathsome job of helping fire unlucky (and unsuspecting) employees, and Vera Farmiga as the hotel-lobby-bar hottie who shares his “Airworld.”

Airworld is a mythical place where many frequent flyers find themselves going about their daily lives at 33,000 feet—a world keenly described by Walter Kirn in his book of the same name, on which this movie is based. You’ll be sure to recognize his protagonist: the well-mannered but slightly odd management-consultant or business-owner type who spends way too much time on planes. You’ll also laugh at Bingham’s countless odd mannerisms and obsessions, even as you see the hints that there is a seriously dark side to the guy’s life.

Surprisingly, the film does a truly convincing job of portraying a frequent flyer’s relationship to the skies. But as you might guess, 108 minutes isn’t long enough for real attention to be paid to the details of what it’s like to fly. Film critics will judge Up in the Air based on its cinematography and appeal, and I predict it will be a bona fide critical and audience darling. Fair enough—but it’s also fair for us to judge the movie based on the lives and times of actual frequent fliers.

To log his 10 millionth frequent-flyer mile, Bingham embarks on a complicated six-day, eight-city trip during which he juggles business, family matters and a love affair. He deals with absent car rental upgrades, a stay at a hotel where he’s not a member of the elite program, talkative seatmates, a not-especially-believable airline captain who (spoiler alert!) awards Bingham his coveted 10 millionth mile while flying over Dubuque, Iowa—and a few commercial plugs from the likes of American Airlines, Hilton HHonors and Hertz’s #1 Gold Club.

Let me make one thing clear to my fellow flyers who will flock to see this film: In the hopes of identifying with the nuances of elite cards, pursuit of miles and “That’s me!” moments, you may be missing some very good entertainment. So, see it once for yourself and see it again for the story line because this one will surely have the Oscar buzz! But beyond the Clooney factor, the miles, the identification of the road warrior and the theme that no man is—or at least no man should be—an island, the true stars of this film might be the real-life interviewees who have lost their jobs. That element of the story will surely strike a chord with sympathetic audiences.

Is the movie real? Well, Director Jason Reitman told me that two years ago, he did a mileage run in December from Los Angeles to Chicago just to requalify for elite with United. He bought a Gino’s pizza right there in the airport, then flew directly back. That’s real enough for me—he knows the game.

Rating: Five upgrades.

NOTES:
As to the “product placement” of American, Hilton and Hertz: American does well, they seem to over promote the Concierge Key program which really does exist — but is invitation only so don’t get any ideas. The overall images of American in the movie are positive. Rating A.

As for Hilton, the hotels look fine, the hotel bar where the pickup scene is truly Hilton and of course the pillow that George Clooney is leaning on and the robe that co-star Vera Farmiga half wears is truly Hilton style (haven’t seen those items listed on eBay yet.). But, in a scene where Mr. Clooney overhypes the ability for HHonors members to go to the head of the checkin line, well let’s say that may be true but the way it was portrayed in the movie was a bit arrogant and wanted to make me go back to being a regular member, not to be seen elitist. Could have been written in with a little less pompous so will have to write them down to a rating of B-.

As to Hertz #1 Club Gold. Well, let’s say that in rating their part in the movie from one to five, I’d give it a 2, as in “2 many mentions of Hertz #1 Club Gold.”. Entirely too commercial and this is a weakness on the part of the director Jason Reitman to let some of the commercial interests write their own parts into the script. One of the most cringing parts of the movie from the eyes of the road warrior is when Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) returns to Chicago unsuspectingly to surprise his elite status loving love interest and uses the Hertz #1 Club Gold. He appears to use the service but yet when driving away from the Hertz lot in the snow, the Hertz rental agent in the lot raises his clipboard and yells “You forgot to give me your Hertz #1 Club Gold card number.” I wanted to stand up and yell, “It’s in the members rez profile dummy, how do you expect he was able to use the #1 Club anyway.” Well, to the delight of the actual film critics, I didn’t. Too bad there isn’t a real car rental company named “Maestro.” (see the movie and you’ll get that joke). Hertz, you actually are number one, as in one out of five for your part in the movie … Rating D+.

As mentioned, we easily adopt Jason Reitman, the director of the movie as a fellow frequent flyer. About the only criticism we have (love the opening music by the Dap Kings) is that in all his flying time (about 100,000 miles annually), has he really paid attention to who flies these planes? I know, Hollywood can be tight and as such, he likely casts Sam Elliott because he’s worked with him in Thank You for Smoking. But Sam Elliott wearing the uniform of an American Airlines pilot awarding Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) his ten-millionth frequent flyer mile is just a little too close to the parachute ripcord. Sure, I know that American is located in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and there is certainly a history of the old west there, but please, Sam Elliott (and I like him for his cowboy dude roles) is not pilot material. The only real miscast part of the whole movie.

There is a very positive effect that will come out of this movie and I’ll refer to it as the Clooney Connection. Many of the more traveled frequent flyers who amass the miles and the mileage runs have often suffered as fools in the eyes of significant others or distant employees and even family members in the role of “I don’t get it.” Now that we have Mr. Box Office, George Clooney, playing the role of a miles obsessed man traveling with the goal of achieving his 10,000,000th frequent flyer mile, how hard do you think it will be to simply refer to Mr. Clooney when he stands up to collect an Oscar for this movie. Seriously, when you tell your wife or others that George Clooney is playing you as a road warrior in this movie (forget the rest of his sins), you’ll never ever have to plea for a kitchen pass for a mileage run or answer the question about seeking frequent flyer miles again. What’s good for George Clooney (more miles) is good for us all. Frankly, I was going to suggest that he play the part of me if they ever did a movie about frequent flyer miles anyway.

Notable quotes from the movie:

Do you want cancer? (do you want the can, sir?)

Everyone needs a co-pilot

To know me is to fly with me

What’s in your backpack

I have a number in mind and I haven’t hit it yet

Nothing cheap about loyalty

322 Days on the road, 43 miserable days at home

Where are you from?