Some suggestions: Consider a month in Bali, Indonesia is cheaper than Thailand. Why landlocked Seville in Spain, if you are in the Mediterranean you want to be closer to the beach. Eastern Europe and Greece will also be cheap, especially in early or late summer season (May-June, Sept-Oct). Japan and other expensive places see if you can do them briefly as trip stopovers in paid tickets.

Get some Hilton points that you can use in cheap but good Hilton hotels, categories 1 and 2 around the world. See this for example for Bali: https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea....8/10/07/72171/
Turkey and Egypt will have many more of these, if you are more adventurous. The Amex Hilton Aspire card will be a good choice as well for HH points and Diamond Status, but perhaps wait until closer to the trip.