I have been doing a little research myself on the OP's question. He said, I'm looking for a data plan for a hot spot to operate the tablet and laptop that I can activate when I travel, 4-6 times a year for 2-4 weeks at a time."
I am finding most of the good deals are on phone plans that can be used as mobile hotspots instead of dedicated hotspots. Typically, phone plans can be upgraded to some version of unlimited data for an extra $50 or so per month. I will activate an old smartphone as a second line on Verizon Prepaid to do what you want for $55/month unlimited (with throttling)
