I use ApplePay every chance I get - probably a few dozen times since early december. It's still awkward reaching for my wallet and then switching to my phone when I realize it's an option. It's quick - it works well. I don't know if I could ever leave my wallet though. Maybe. I don't like the idea of being single threaded.
I don't remember all of it - I think I just had my card in my hand, opened the passbook app and input the number. It did some kind of activation behind the scenes… anyway - now when I go to home depot, I just hold my phone up to the card reader, put my finger on the home button and the reader beeps, my phone buzzes and it shows that I paid. Kinda cool. EDIT: I just remembered - actually - I think you can even use the camera to capture your card info. It was super easy. My credit card just worked, but I think I had to log into my bank account online to activate the debit card.