The only time I've "needed" to do it is at places that limit their wifi connection times. For example, the Panera Breads in my area all limit their connection

The only time I've "needed" to do it is at places that limit their wifi connection times. For example, the Panera Breads in my area all limit their connection times to 30 minutes during lunchtime. If you spoof your MAC address every 30 minutes, you can keep going.