ATM withdrawals

[Billy_whiz]

Hi everyone, I am visiting Luxor soon and was hoping if somebody living there who uses a UK bank card could advise what the current daily limit is for withdrawing money from an ATM. I know all banks are not the same, but a general figure would be useful. Thanks in anticipation

[Who2]

On the east bank you can withdraw however much is in your cc account, on the west it's less, but just carry on pushing buttons.

The Bank of Cairo has been done up 24 hr access to 8 ATM's plus a kalashnikov carrying policeman engrossed in
his phone...lol....

Ps: At least all the Chinese tourists are totally familiar with ATMs...

[jcoote]

Not sure if this is any use to you since I don't know what the total limits are. However, we were in Luxor recently and were making quite regular withdrawals from a few different atms. Each time we were taking out 8000 EGP but had to do it in two separate transactions of 4000EGP as this was the limit for each transaction. We never let our funds get too low before topping up, but were mindful that we didn't want to bring much, if any, EGP back home.

[A-Four]

I know in this so called modern day, more and more people rely on internet banking. Many people in Egypt are now paid their salaries through the ATM system, with little or no access to the bank, the system of course is similar for many in the the UK.

Up until recently, I have travelled to many countries, including some quite dodgy places, but I have always found cash is king, and always carry an extra £1,000 in reserve should the 'you know what hits the fan', in whatever country you could be in, and that twice happened in Egypt while I was there in the past.

In the past week, three British banks went down, Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, when I went to my local branch they offered me £50, when I told them I do not do internet banking, believe me, I left that branch with the full amount I requested. A bank manager once told me that the most vulnerable time for a bank to be hacked for more than a couple of days, would be the day after any of the usual bank holidays in the UK.

[John Landon]

I too just take UK cash and then exchange it at the Atm at the side of the Winter Palace as and when I need it.

The UK cash also comes in handy if I want to book a tour or balloon ride etc, as you can get a good rate.

I generally know how much I'm going to spend and have a stash of emergency money just in case.

The only time I use my card is because I have to when paying for visits to the sites, as they charge you more when trying to pay in Egyptian currency.

[Gordon292]

As long as I can remember I have always taken cash and use a body belt. Maybe I am old fashioned but I would never dream of using an ATM. Of course I do carry a visa card but because I have been to all the sites in Luxor over the years there has been little need to use it. And for many years I have changed my GBP to EGP at either the bank in the Sonesta St George or the Money Exchange Bureau on Sharia al Karnak street. I usually have a very good idea how much I am going to need each day. With the exchange rate being what it is today the UK tourist has never had it so good. Mind you years and years ago I thought it was good as some friends and I were staying at the Hapshetsut Hotel on TV street for £1 that is right £1 a night. Perhaps Who2 may know of it.

[Teddyboy]

"that is right £1 a night"

We left 19 months ago, and I'm sure that some 'hotels' were still charging only £8 per night! We used to check the (so-called) competition's prices regularly, but we never wanted cheapskates staying with us anyway. The Winter Pavilion was often cheaper than we were!

[Gordon292]

Please take this response Teddyboy as being tongue in cheek, very firmly. I am having great difficulty in wondering if in some way I am being referred to as cheapskate!. So I must emphasise that the days when I and a bunch of friends stayed at the Hatshetsut was many many years ago and none of us were rich. Not only that but I used to stay for 2 months at a time. Over time I have stayed in a number of top hotels, too many to mention but one I will mention because I think it is a wonderful family hotel is the St Joseph Hotel. One hotel which I longed to stay was The Little Garden. Today the prices are very reasonable. 1 night is between £12.18 and £20.45. This is at The Little Garden and is a good price. So A Very Happy Christmas Teddyboy to you and the good wife.

[Teddyboy]

I've never thought of you in the cheapskate class, and I apologise if you thought that for even a minute.

Mind you, even though we never wanted cheapskates staying with us, we were, and still are, amongst the worst of the cheapskates that I've ever come across! You can ask anyone with whom we dealt in Luxor, and they'll verify that.

It used to break my heart to see so many foreigners hoping to resettle in Luxor, only to realise too late that they were being taken to the cleaners by some unscrupulous bandit. We lost count of the poor things even years before we left. Some had lost tens of thousands, with one or two losing hundreds of thousands.

[Who2]

Re: The West Bank Ticket Office Scams...

When cash was used lots of money disappeared.
Hawass introduced his own ticketing pocketing a fair bit, err..so the local stories go.

Then CC's were introduced, only accepted besides iphones, Sisi has been trying many methods of raising cash.
Who had shares in the Chinese company that sold all the recording cameras as demanded in every shop.

Lets face it the new Ramla shopping mall will just get covered in dust and stay derelict.
Long gone have the days of the black-market money exchangers.

I would only ever use East Bank ATM's, when my card got snatched, went to see my black market mate Elia,
who promptly took me back to the bank of cairo, walked straight behind the counters had a chat,
5 minutes later my card' back.

I had to 'lose it big-time with the manager of the then new bank in Gizera when that nicked my card...

Ps: They the west bank say, Hawas got a kick-back for his bloody great wall and all the security cameras around the temples.
The lads who set up that whole system were British, when I first met them they had been here for 8 months,
I met them at The Russian Mission's party over at their place in Quorm Lola.
The 'Russkis gave great parties....

Pss; I now use The Egyptian Argriculural Bank, they don't even charge and very very few people use the ATM.
'A god's send..