I have a specific question for people who use Samsung phones: do you prefer Samsung Wallet or Google Wallet? And why?
I’m thinking about payments as well as keeping track of airline tickets.
Samsung Wallet. Two reasons.
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If I have a Samsung device, I’ll try to use what the brand offers. It gives off the vibe that it fits better.
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Rewards. Yes, it offers very little, but it’s that: 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing. I’ve already gotten a lot of things with Rewards coupons. Unfortunately it’s only offering promotions on hardware lately. I wish it would bring back Uber, Spotify, and iFood coupons…
Google Wallet, because it has no 10-card limit and, at least abroad, gave me access to some boarding passes that Samsung Wallet wouldn’t accept.
Another thing is that Samsung’s wallet doesn’t import boarding passes here in Brazil natively (you can import by reading the QR code generated by the airline).
But, in fact, Samsung Wallet is better integrated with One UI. But since I always use it via the 2x side button shortcut, that better integration doesn’t make a difference to me.
Google Wallet. Why isn’t one of my credit cards (Caixa Elo) available on Samsung Wallet?
Google. More widely used and device-agnostic (I have Samsung and Apple).
The difference in usability is very small.
Samsung Pay for sure today.
One reason is that it can auto-activate NFC without needing to keep the feature always on. When paying, it activates and deactivates automatically…
And another thing is the Rewards points…
I have my cards registered with both wallets, but I’ve been preferring Samsung Wallet because of the Rewards points; the program today is pretty lousy (compared to what it used to be in the past), but every now and then a coupon from Uber, iFood, and the like still pops up.
For PIX payments I’ve been using Google Wallet because it’s much faster than banking apps, and when I need to save a digital ticket or something similar it also works better than Samsung’s service, in my experience…
If I switch to a brand other than Samsung, I think it’s one more waste of time to import the wallet without having the Samsung device in hand.
And airline boarding passes?
Not all airlines…
So, Google Wallet, for sure.
You’re going to have to verify the cards anyway, and the transfer isn’t automatic in Google Wallet.
Thanks for the heads-up @evefavretto.
Google Wallet. I hate solutions that are very proprietary and exclusive to a single brand (and I don’t even own a Samsung).
If it were open to all Android devices, I could even use Samsung.
I switch between the two. I found it interesting that Now Brief shows the trip status with the boarding pass added to Samsung Wallet, but it’s just a gimmick. Before I used Google more, because it would make the payment on the home screen without opening anything else, just unlock, but I’ve noticed that the authentication is getting worse.
For some reason, until recently, the fingerprint authentication in Samsung Wallet was worse than in the rest of the system.
Regarding Rewards, I’ve redeemed two coupons I couldn’t use: the first was 1 year of Galaxy Lock to extend my subscription I got with the purchase of the phone, but I found out it’s not possible. The other was supposedly a 73% discount coupon, which would have brought the soundbar down to R$460 given the price in the Rewards store. I went ahead and bought it only to discover that the coupon wasn’t fully applied because it was already on sale; in the end the price ended up the same as in the main store, pure fraud. So to me these points are irrelevant.
Oh, Pix via Google Wallet is a real time-saver, much faster than opening the bank app.
Recently I took a trip where, on both Gol and Latam, a floating Samsung Wallet button appeared; it seemed to me that the system detected it rather than being integrated as it is with Google Wallet.
Google Wallet
Even when using a Samsung smartphone, my integration is basically on Google’s end.
The Samsung apps integrate well with the interface, but I don’t even like that very much lol
Here at Samsung, there are a few features that aren’t very useful, but you never know. I’ve already used Google Wallet as a secondary for a while, because the pass only had support on it, but the card changed and there’s no support on any of them anymore 
I only pay by tapping with Samsung Wallet. I think it’s safer because it has two biometric verifications (it’s been a while since I used Google’s; it might have it too).
To make Pix payments, I use Google Wallet. Much more convenient than any bank.
The worst part is that I’ve already redeemed them for a lot of iFood and Uber vouchers. It’s a pity the thing has turned into a useless little Samsung coupon extension. It’s far more worthwhile to buy through Samsung Members.
I only use Samsung for automatically turning NFC on and off.
I’ve used a few points here and there, but there’s rarely anything worthwhile, especially if you only have a few points, so it’s not very useful.
Google Wallet seems more useful for tickets; Samsung is quite limited in that regard.
Samsung Wallet… I dunno, I got used to it? lol
Only on a recent trip did I have to use Google’s Wallet, because global cards aren’t compatible with Samsung Wallet.
I only use Samsung for the feature that automatically turns NFC on and off.
I’ve used some points a few times, but there’s rarely anything useful, especially if you have only a few points, so it ends up not being very useful.
Google Wallet seems more useful for tickets; Samsung is quite limited in this regard.
This is Samsung Wallet’s default behavior, but it’s not solved by simply creating a routine in the OS. Here’s how I do it: I open Google Wallet, enable NFC, close it, and lock the phone. In practice, battery savings are negligible, and even with NFC on, if the device is locked, no purchase is made.