I have an Apple Watch, weirdly I don't find myself doing that a lot. Something about turning the screen around and being unable to see it. Although I think the newer watch versions have a better interface that comes up quicker. I might want to try using it more often.

Still, you have to admit that having a $400 watch as a barrier vs. a card that my bank gave me for free is a bit of an advantage toward the contactless card.

For sure, it's just a convenient feature if you already have one. If you haven't used it, the flow is:

    1) Double press the side button (not the crown)
    2) Put watch on reader

Optionally you can swipe left/right to change which card you're using, but it's immediately ready to go with the default one.