CREDIT CARDS IN EGYPT

Amex, Visa, MasterCard and Diners Club are becoming ever more useful in Egypt. Generally speaking, they are accepted quite widely in foreign-friendly hotels, shops and restaurants, though away from tourist establishments, they are far less common, and in remote areas they remain useless. In many places you will be charged a percentage of the sale (anywhere between 3% and 10%) to use them.

Make sure you retain any receipts to check later against your statements as there have been cases of shop owners adding extra zeros. It’s a dumb, easily detected crime, but the swindlers are playing on the fact that they will only be found out once the victim has returned home, and is thousands of kilometres from Egypt.

Visa and MasterCard can be used for cash advances at Banque Misr and the National Bank of Egypt, as well as at Thomas Cook offices.

To report lost cards in Egypt, call Amex (02-870 3152); MasterCard (02-797 1179, 796 2844); Visa (02-796 2877; 797 1149); or Diners Club (02-578 3355).