Yes, if you're going to connect to the internet via public wifi (coffee shops, airports, hotels, etc), you want to use a VPN. Plain and simple. There's the risk of man in the middle attacks via spoofed wifi spots, connecting to a legitimate network that's been compromised due to bad security practices, etc. A VPN encrypts your connection to help protect you so even if you inadvertently connect to a compromised network your passwords aren't stolen. No protection may be 100% but you want to do what you can, right?
Anyways, thanks to "Robbie, Umbra and others for their comments.