VPN service for personal devices

Due to new circumstances, my job has me in locations (mostly hotels) that
do not supply secure wifi internet connections. As a result, I am
investigating subscribing to a VPN service so I can use services such as
online banking while I am away from home.

I chatted at length with someone at FlashRouters.com, and was advised to
check out IPVanish. They currently have an offer through FlashRouters to
add three free months to their 3- or 12-month plans (@ $27 and $78,
respectively). IPVanish appears to have some nice selling points, but as a
noob in this area, I'm not sure how they stack up against other players.
So, any advice on this type of service is welcomed.

Also, I am curious as to why I can trust a VPN service to keep my browsing
information private. What guarantees are there that a VPN service
can't/won't use my browsing information? It is for this reason why I
considered setting up a VPN server in my home, but the FlashRouters rep
suggested that it can get pretty complicated and very difficult to support.

FWIW, I am on a budget, a working stiff just like all/most of you.
$78/year is below my pain point. A one-time cost (i.e. setting up my own
VPN server) of, say, $200 - $300 is within the realm of possibility.

If this is not the best forum to post this, please advise.

Thanks!
- Dan