Citi Travel booking with Thankyou points, really was never a strong suit when compared to AMEX and Chase point bookings, AMEX offers good selections of fine hotels and resorts, and Chase points usually can book redemption rates at 1 point=1.5 cents.
but a few months ago when Citi launched the new portal with Booking.com, they offered unlimited use of $100 off per $500 (including taxes and fees) on hotel bookings, so maybe it's time to look into some hotel booking with City Thankyou points.
the promotion ends on 1/31/24, so if you like me, begin to look into next year's travel needs, it can be a good alternative.
In 2023 I did 11 trips, for 2024 so far I booked 6 trips and looking for good redemption fares to Africa.